How do you know which is the third rail?

Watch the third rail. The city's subway tracks are lined with a lethal third rail, which powers subway cars with enough electricity to kill a person in an instant. The third rail can be on either side of the main running rails, and can be identified by a gray cover guard.



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Third-rail supply is employed only by urban rapid-transit railroads operating on low-voltage direct current. … transmute the overhead wire or third-rail current to a supply of variable voltage and frequency suitable for feeding to three-phase alternating-current motors.

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Third rail systems are also less vulnerable to weather-related disruptions that affect overhead wires. As the third rail is on the ground it is unaffected by strong winds and less exposed to heavy snowfall.

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Train campaign. The third rail is probably one of the most difficult dangers to see. It looks just like an ordinary rail, but it carries 750 volts – easily enough to kill you. The DC current that flows through is three times as powerful as your home electricity.

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Compared to other popular forms of travel, such as cars, ships, buses, and planes, trains are one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States.

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Truck crashes tend to be local and less dramatic than a pile of derailed train cars on fire, even if they're deadlier. In fact, federal data shows that rail has had far fewer incidents, deaths and damage when moving hazardous materials in the U.S. than trucks.

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The United States possesses the largest railway network in the world, in terms of total operating length. China and India trail behind as the second and third largest railway networks respectively.

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All London Underground Lines (including the W & C) operate at 630 volts DC using third (positive) and fourth (negative) current rails. The current rails are positioned so that the contact surface is higher than the running rails.

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DC motors are used on trains is because of their high torque and good speed control. Compared to AC motors, DC motors can provide industry applications with a fine balance of strong starting torque and controllable speed for seamless yet precise performance.

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fourth rail (plural fourth rails) (rail transport) An extra rail in addition to the third rail (live rail) which is used for current return purposes, mainly by London Underground, because of problems caused by using the running rails for current return underground.

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