The article describes the main methods of reactive power compensation used in 27.5 kV AC traction power supply systems on the railways of the Russian Federation. The cases of installation of the longitudinal and transverse capacitive compensation devices at traction substation and sectiolizing post are considered in this paper. Based on experimental data their effectiveness has been analysed by comparing the main parameters of the traction power supply system before and after the installation of the compensating devices. The main effect in terms of power consumption reduction is achieved through application of reactive power cross-compensation devices. The results of the analysis show that the total electricity consumption in the researched area decreased by 23 % and the proportion of higher harmonic elements of voltage decreased by 15 %.