It requires an enormous amount of expenses to construct a high-speed new Shinkansen line of the standard 1,435mm-gauge or modify conventional 1067mm narrow-gauge tracks. To solve this problem, the Railway Technical Research Institute is developing a "Gauge Changing Train" or "GCT" which enables expansion of Shinkansen lines at low costs, as a commercial research activity of the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation under the supervision of Ministry of Transport.
  The direct drive type permanent magnet synchronous motor and independent drive wheel truck are applied to the GCT from the viewpoint of down sizing and simplification of bogie structure. The authors have developed traction circuit of the GCT to drive a permanent magnet synchronous direct drive motor.
  In the first part of this paper, we describe technical subjects for the development. The second part will discuss the permanent magnet synchronous motor control system and show the developed system. The final part introduces some of the test result obtained at the test site and by a trial operation on an actual line and concludes that the developed traction circuit system is suitable for driving the GCT.

Copyright (c) 2000 Railway Technical Research Institute