Traction current

[1018509]

Is the traction current turned off at night after the last train? Hehehe! it would hardly be turned off before would it?

I know this happens on the London Underground and wondered whether the national railway has a similar policy.

 

[swt_passenger]

No. It stays on 24/7 365 days a year, unless it needs to be switched off for maintenance.

 

[Jones]

Does it go off on the tube?

 

[1018509]

Does it go off on the tube?

It certainly did during my time (1970 - 2011) but I don't know about now with the advent of 24 hour running.

 

[SS4]

Does it go off on the tube?

I imagine so. They mentioned it on the recent BBC show about the tube (and the older Sky one where station supervisor Brian Valentine at London Bridge explains using the escalators as an example). Something to do with essential track work and because the clearance is poor

 

[Bushy]

LU traction power is currently (or should that be currentlessly) switched off during engineering hours. A schedule is available for those needing access and a daily notice is issued indicating variations.

This will change when LU start running night trains.

Regards

Bushy

 

[Foxcote]

During my time on Merseyrail, the traction power at night was off only for engineering possessions, including the nightly underground maintenance possession, track & melamine panel cleaning and other operating requirements.
Because of the location of electric sub-stations, the nightly isolations covering the underground also affected some overground locations.
During Winter, De-icing trains ran as required and 507/508 units not inside sheds were left switched in. In extreme cold they were sometimes moved few feet to ensure they would be serviceable in the morning. The 503 units were better protected from frost and started without difficulty at below 20F.
One advantage of the traction current being on at night, is that when circuit breakers operate for whatever reason, staff are quickly made aware and can respond.

 

[broadgage]

As others post, on the national network the traction current is on 24/7 unless there is some good reason to turn it off.
Apart from other considerations, theft of the traction current cables would be a greater problem if they were regularly known to be dead.
Theft of live equipment is enough of a problem, without making it easier for the thieves.

 

[dysonsphere]

As others post, on the national network the traction current is on 24/7 unless there is some good reason to turn it off.
Apart from other considerations, theft of the traction current cables would be a greater problem if they were regularly known to be dead.
Theft of live equipment is enough of a problem, without making it easier for the thieves.

Well think of it as evolution in action you remove youre self from the gene pool its just a shame for the ppl who have to clear the mess up.

 

[Clip]

I imagine so. They mentioned it on the recent BBC show about the tube (and the older Sky one where station supervisor Brian Valentine at London Bridge explains using the escalators as an example). Something to do with essential track work and because the clearance is poor

I was watching this last night on London Live and they seemed to have to bell up to get the power turned off at their location rather than it all seemingly going down at once as the bloke who controlled it was noting both on his desk and on the PC he was crossing off the locations where it was to be turned off.

 

[Bushy]

I was watching this last night on London Live and they seemed to have to bell up to get the power turned off at their location rather than it all seemingly going down at once as the bloke who controlled it was noting both on his desk and on the PC he was crossing off the locations where it was to be turned off.

Although traction power is switched off, access to the track still has to be recorded to ensure that:

• power does not get reinstated until the workers are clear,
• confirmation is received that all obstructions have been cleared from the track before trains are run
• workers do not access the track when traction power is left on during engineering hours for operation of engineering trains/track plant

Regards

Bushy

 

[Journeyman]

Does it go off on the tube?

Yeah, at least at the moment it does, as mentioned by others. It's scheduled to get switched off in blocks after the passage of the final trains each night, so the schedule is quite closely monitored - any delays, even of just a few minutes, can have an adverse effect on getting scheduled maintenance done.

The line controllers all report last train delays to the Network Operations Centre each night so appropriate heads can roll if anything holds it up for too long.

Of course, some parts of the Tube network are on Network Rail infrastructure (top end of Bakerloo, parts of the District) and on those sections, NR rules apply and the lines are usually live at all times.