A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway 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. In most cases, third rail systems supply direct current electricity.
The third-rail system of electrification is unrelated to the third rail used in dual-gauge railways.
Read more about Third Rail: Description, Benefits and Disadvantages, History, Running Rails For Power Supply, Technical Aspects, Compromise Systems, Conversions, Highest Voltages, Simultaneous Use With Overhead Wire, In Model Trains
Famous quotes containing the word rail:
“Old man, it’s four flights up and for what?
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Puffing as you climb, you are a brown woodcut
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—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)