A control apparatus for an electric railcar includes an inverter that exchanges power with an AC rotating machine, a filter capacitor connected in parallel to a DC side of the inverter, a filter reactor provided between the filter capacitor and an overhead line, an overhead line voltage measuring instrument that measures a voltage value of the overhead line, a voltage increase detection unit that senses an amount of voltage increase occurring when, with an overhead line voltage being supplied, the overhead line voltage goes beyond a reference voltage value and rises at a rate equal to or higher than that by a predetermined time constant. A correction torque command value calculation unit calculates a correction torque command value that is corrected so that a torque command value to be received from an external unit becomes smaller for a predetermined time elapsing after the voltage increase detection unit has sensed, during regeneration operation of the inverter, an amount of voltage increase more than a predetermined range. A vector control unit controls the inverter so that the AC rotating machine develops torque coincident with the correction torque command value.