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Weather Effects

Third-rail systems can be affected by snow and ice buildup but are not susceptible to strong winds or overhead wire issues like overhead systems. Gaps in third rails can strand trains if all contact shoes are in the gaps without power, requiring another train or cables to re-energize it.

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28 views1 page

Weather Effects

Third-rail systems can be affected by snow and ice buildup but are not susceptible to strong winds or overhead wire issues like overhead systems. Gaps in third rails can strand trains if all contact shoes are in the gaps without power, requiring another train or cables to re-energize it.

Uploaded by

naeem.soomro13
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Weather effects

[edit]
Third-rail systems using top contact are prone to accumulations of snow, or ice formed from
refrozen snow, and this can interrupt operations. Some systems operate dedicated de-icing trains
to deposit an oily fluid or antifreeze (such as propylene glycol) on the conductor rail to prevent
the frozen build-up. The third rail can also be heated to alleviate the problem of ice.
Unlike overhead line equipment, third-rail systems are not susceptible to strong winds
or freezing rain, which can bring down overhead wires and hence disable all
trains. Thunderstorms can also disable the power with lightning strikes on systems with overhead
wires, disabling trains if there is a power surge or a break in the wires.
Gaps
[edit]
Depending on train and track geometry, gaps in the conductor rail (e.g., at level crossings and
junctions) could allow a train to stop in a position where all of its power pickup shoes are in
gaps, so that no traction power is available. The train is then said to be "gapped". Another train
must then be brought up behind the stranded train to push it on to the conductor rail, or a jumper
cable may be used to supply enough power to the train to get one of its contact shoes back on the
live rail. Avoiding this problem requires a minimum length of trains that can be run on a line.
Locomotives have either had the backup of an on-board diesel engine system (e.g., British Rail
Class 73), or have been connected to shoes on the rolling stock (e.g. Metropolitan Railway).

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