Southern Railway prepares for Winter
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andrewr
Posts: 296
Joined: May 2006
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18-11-2011 03:27 PM
Looks like it is not just Lewisham that has improved their preparations for winter. The latest stakeholder brief from our rail company, Southern, suggests that they have done a lot of work since last winter to keep trains running if it snows. Details here. Only time will tell whether their preparations really make a difference but it's encouraging news. Certainly the new de-icing trains are likely to be more useful than the more widely reported space blankets and glow sticks!
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Tinkerbell
Posts: 361
Joined: Dec 2007
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20-11-2011 11:05 AM
Good news indeed, hope they'll be able to keep the service up and running most days this winter! When I saw the heading, I thought they were simply dusting off the "no trains today due to sun/rain/fog/leaves/snow/wind/bad PMS" signs.
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Sherwood
Posts: 1,414
Joined: Mar 2005
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21-11-2011 09:53 AM
I believe the DLR keeps running because its live rail has a different design.
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andrewr
Posts: 296
Joined: May 2006
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21-11-2011 11:59 AM
Different conductor rail on DLR certainly helps because the train picks up from underneath the rail so the contact doesn't get iced over. Overhead power is also better - at least until the power wires get so loaded with ice they collapse under the weight. That's probably not a problem if the line is in use because the power wire will stay warm. Unfortunately, it would be rather expensive to convert the whole third rail network to a different type of conductor now so heating it, sweeping it and applying de-icing fluids are probably the most practical solutions.
Interesting to see that Southern have also given some attention to the problems of staff actually getting into their depots too - although I guess that if the roads are closed there will still be problems with staff getting to work...
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