650 Volts

While catching a 3 am subway from Manhattan to Flushing today, I got caught up in a technical discussion with one of the railway workers about how the trains actually work. We talked for about an hour before the A train came (which connects to the 7 train to Flushing.)

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The takeaway:

  • There are three rails.
  • The two uncovered rails are ground.
  • The rail with the wooden cover is high voltage: 650 volts. It’s called the Third Rail.
  • The train uses an electrical contact called the Shoe to connect to the Third Rail.
  • Trains wear the rails and produce rail dust, which can easily create a path to ground from nearly any object. So don’t even get near the Third Rail.