Barbara SCHROEDER

Biographical Note
Barbara M Schroeder, Director, Systems and Infrastructure Business Development for Alstom Transportation Inc., has enjoyed a 37-year career in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of transit and railway systems in the United States and abroad. She currently specializes in turnkey systems, infrastructure (track, electrification), rolling stock, and the maintenance services thereof for streetcar, light rail, commuter rail, metro, and automated people mover systems. Barbara’s project experience includes development and design, construction, quality, and safety management for alternative delivery and P3 railway initiatives. Barbara is a registered professional engineer in 10 states and is a member of AREMA, APTA, and various state and regional railway organizations.

Presentation: Drawing lessons from plus 10 years of catenary less light rail expertise
Market for Catenary less light rail lines is increasing in selected regions of the world and the available techniques to deliver them is in constant evolution be through continuous ground power supply or on board energy storage.
Alstom is the pioneer and leader of catenary-free solutions since 2003, with 50% of the catenary-free lines in operation and in construction in the world featuring the widest range of solutions on the market.
Challenges to deliver a catenary less line are numerous; we would like to highlight that each line is specific and no technology will fit all. With a 3 step approach considering, the impact of environmental conditions, the specificities of the line alignment and sensitiveness to mixed traffic and the CAPEX / OPEX projections the choice of the right technology is made easier and on solid grounds.