The third rail

[Job Joad]

A popular method for CTB in big cities, is making contact with the highly electrically powered third rail which is used on certain subway systems. Is it always powered or is it only powered when a train is approaching? A drunk guy fell down on it in my city a few months ago and was instantly killed. How is dying by electrocution? Would that be like setting yourself on fire? Any info appreciated.

 

[MyStateKilledMe]

Third rails generally carry 600 volts or 750 volts, although each city's system is different, and the voltage may vary. They're powered at all times, since they span the entire rail system that always has trains on it.

These voltages aren't generally strong enough to kill, just severely injure. To kill, you need at least 1000 volts. The guy you were talking about probably wasn't killed by the third rail alone. He may had a concussion and/or damaged his spine from the fall, while also getting electrocuted.

Also, the third rail is much deadlier on grade-level lines than on elevated lines. Reason being that on elevated lines, you have to touch the third rail and the main two rails for it to shock you; it'll do nothing otherwise, like birds sitting on power lines. While on grade-level lines, if you touch the third rail and literally anything else, you'll get shocked very hard, just usually not enough to kill. Subways are the same as grade level, as the conductive concrete the tracks are laid on touches the Earth's soil.

"How do you know this?", someone might ask. I'm a railfan. I like trains, their history, and learning how they work.

 

[Job Joad]

Third rails generally carry 600 volts or 750 volts, although each city's system is different, and the voltage may vary. They're powered at all times, since they span the entire rail system that always has trains on it.

These voltages aren't generally strong enough to kill, just severely injure. To kill, you need at least 1000 volts. The guy you were talking about probably wasn't killed by the third rail alone. He may had a concussion and/or damaged his spine from the fall, while also getting electrocuted.

Also, the third rail is much deadlier on grade-level lines than on elevated lines. Reason being that on elevated lines, you have to touch the third rail and the main two rails for it to shock you; it'll do nothing otherwise, like birds sitting on power lines. While on grade-level lines, if you touch the third rail and literally anything else, you'll get shocked very hard, just usually not enough to kill. Subways are the same as grade level, as the conductive concrete the tracks are laid on touches the Earth's soil.

"How do you know this?", someone might ask. I'm a railfan. I like trains, their history, and learning how they work.

I knew it was more complicated than just touch the third rail and it will kill you. That was very helpful information. Thank You

 

[Euthanza]

Third rails generally carry 600 volts or 750 volts, although each city's system is different, and the voltage may vary. They're powered at all times, since they span the entire rail system that always has trains on it.

These voltages aren't generally strong enough to kill, just severely injure. To kill, you need at least 1000 volts. The guy you were talking about probably wasn't killed by the third rail alone. He may had a concussion and/or damaged his spine from the fall, while also getting electrocuted.

Also, the third rail is much deadlier on grade-level lines than on elevated lines. Reason being that on elevated lines, you have to touch the third rail and the main two rails for it to shock you; it'll do nothing otherwise, like birds sitting on power lines. While on grade-level lines, if you touch the third rail and literally anything else, you'll get shocked very hard, just usually not enough to kill. Subways are the same as grade level, as the conductive concrete the tracks are laid on touches the Earth's soil.

"How do you know this?", someone might ask. I'm a railfan. I like trains, their history, and learning how they work.

Is grade level the same with ground level?

 

[MyStateKilledMe]

Is grade level the same with ground level?

Yes. "Grade-level" is me using railroad terminology. "Street-level" is also a common synonym.

 

[veryhappyhuman]

These voltages aren't generally strong enough to kill, just severely injure. To kill, you need at least 1000 volts. The guy you were talking about probably wasn't killed by the third rail alone. He may had a concussion and/or damaged his spine from the fall, while also getting electrocuted.

Hmm, so how do people die at homes where the voltage is < 250V in most countries I know of? In my own it's around 230V and people die from electrocution at home all the time. Maybe the death is just a lot quicker with 1000+ V?

 

[LifeHasNoOptIn]

Hmm, so how do people die at homes where the voltage is < 250V in most countries I know of? In my own it's around 230V and people die from electrocution at home all the time. Maybe the death is just a lot quicker with 1000+ V?

I'm no electrician, but a friend who is has often made the comment "it's not the voltage that kills, but the amps" so I have always taken that to mean various voltage levels can be deadly depending on the amperage they are carrying.

Either way, it seems like a poor CTB option as it has been documented that people who have faced the electric chair, a device literally intended to cause death, have suffered intense pain before finally dying.

 

[MyStateKilledMe]

I'm no electrician, but a friend who is has often made the comment "it's not the voltage that kills, but the amps" so I have always taken that to mean various voltage levels can be deadly depending on the amperage they are carrying.

I remember a lot from high school physics. Volts are joules (unit of energy) per coulomb (unit of charge). Amps are coulombs per second. A one-time heavy discharge does literally nothing. Thing about rubbing your feet against the carpet, then touching your sibling or your pet on the ear to shock them with static electricity, for a cheap thrill. Well, guess what? That discharge carries as much as 10,000 volts! Except it lasts less than 1 second.

Now think of the train method. Volts are the equivalent of the train's mass. Amps are the equivalent of the train's speed. A fast-moving train is more important than a heavy train. Which is why it's important to use the train method away from stations, where it's moving faster, if it's a light passenger train you're using. And even a slow-moving fully-loaded freight train is relatively unreliable too, if it's not fast enough.

If you're feeling bold, you can email your city's transit agency, say you're a college student writing a paper, and ask for specifications on your city's rail lines. (You don't need to use a .edu email address, although that helps a little; perhaps you can use your alma mater's email address.) Namely, things like the lines' voltage, amperage, trains' speed, etc. Hey, sometimes you gotta fight dirty.