Third rail

A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost fully segregated from the outside environment. Third rail systems are always supplied from direct current electricity.

The third-rail system of electrification is unrelated to the third rail used in dual gauge railways.

Third-rail systems are a means of providing electric traction power to trains, and they use an additional rail (called a "conductor rail") for the purpose. On most systems, the conductor rail is placed on the sleeper ends outside the running rails, but in some systems a central conductor rail is used. The conductor rail is supported on ceramic insulators (known as "pots") or insulated brackets, typically at intervals of around 10 feet (3 metres).

The trains have metal contact blocks called shoes (or contact shoes or pickup shoes) which make contact with the conductor rail. The traction current is returned to the generating station through the running rails. The conductor rail is usually made of high conductivity steel, and the running rails are electrically connected using wire bonds or other devices, to minimize resistance in the electric circuit. Contact shoes can be positioned below, above, or beside the third rail, depending on the type of third rail used; these third rails are referred to as bottom-contact, top-contact, or side-contact, respectively.

The conductor rails have to be interrupted at level crossings, crossovers, and substation gaps. Tapered rails are provided at the ends of each section, to allow a smooth engagement of the train's contact shoes.

The position of contact between the train and the rail varies: some of the earliest systems used top contact, but later developments use side or bottom contact, which enabled the conductor rail to be covered, protecting track workers from accidental contact and protecting the conductor rail from snow and leaf fall.

Because third rail systems present electric shock hazards close to the ground, high voltages (above 1500 V) are not considered safe. A very high current must therefore be used to transfer adequate power, resulting in high resistive losses, and requiring relatively closely spaced feed points (electrical substations).

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