And this is why I don't like third-rail electricity...

[danlansdowne]

Woman tells of rail attack ordeal

A woman waiting for her train at a station in England complained to a couple of male passengers who were smoking on the platform (which is illegal). They started harassing her, and when that wasn't enough, pushed her onto the tracks. She landed within inches of the 750-volt third rail running alongside the line, narrowly avoiding death. Fortunately staff shut off the current and pulled her to safety before a train had time to come along.

Had the power been from overhead catenary, her life wouldn't have been in quite so much danger. Of course, her life wouldn't had been in any danger at all had a couple of immature bastards not tried to push her on the railway tracks.

Comments

[lowen-kind.livejournal.com]

3rd rail is perfectly safe if you follow the rules. But, as you say, " ... her life wouldn't had been in any danger at all had a couple of immature bastards not tried to push her on the railway tracks."

Even with catenary people find ways to get hurt or killed. With the high prices being paid for scrap copper people see the overhead on an abandoned line and think, "They don't run trains down this track. I'll take that wire and make a ton of money!" When they go to cut the overhead they have a rather shocking lesson, as the power was never turned off.

True, you can't get killed while walking the tracks by touching the overhead, but then again you shouldn't be on the tracks in the first place.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

What were they smoking, anyway? Sounds like it wasn't tobacco.