IXYS high power semiconductors feed London’s rail infrastructure upgrade for energy efficiency and expansion

BIEL, SWITZERLAND: IXYS Corp. announced that its wholly owned UK subsidiary, Westcode Semiconductors Ltd, has received follow on orders for power semiconductor assemblies for the planned expansion of the London Underground, Sub-surface Railway (SSR) and Network Rail’s South East Infrastructure development.

Both London Underground and UK’s Network Rail anticipate that the number of passengers using the SSR and South East Rail network will rise considerably over the next few years including the extra loading created by the London Olympics in 2012.

In order to manage this anticipated increase in traffic and enhancement of train services, the capability of the power infrastructure must be improved and Westcode’s power semiconductor assemblies will be implemented on the land side power supply substation providing megawatts of increased power.

IXYS confirms that its high power solutions facilitate the enhancement of multiple key rail lines in London as well as the Network Rail’s project to extend platforms at stations in the South of England, to accommodate new 12-car passenger trains carrying extra commuters into London.

“Our power semiconductor system technologies have been successful in providing solutions to numerous rail infrastructure projects including major rollouts in USA, Japan, China and Europe as well as to other high power system users,” commented Bradley Green, VP of International Sales for IXYS.

“These proven successes indicate the importance of our high power semiconductors in enabling modern and energy efficient mass transit systems. This is part of IXYS’ global power technology strategy to enable electrical energy efficient transportation that is environmentally friendly.”

IXYS and its power systems teams in the UK, USA and Germany provides value to its customers in leveraging over 30 years of experience in design for power efficient solutions that include power semiconductors, controllers, heat-sink cooling systems, power interconnection and protection systems and I/O interfaces.