Paramedics suffer electric shocks treating a one-under

[jd]

Link to BBC article here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4637811.stm

Probe over medics' Tube injuries
Four paramedics suffered electric shocks as they treated a man under a Piccadilly line Tube train.
One paramedic burnt her arm and the others were treated for shock after working on the tracks at King's Cross station, north London, on Wednesday.

 

[Gareth Hale]

Why did they not turn off the electrics :roll: :roll:

 

[jd]

Well the TC should have been off, and there are tests that are run before anyone is allowed trackside. One possible explaination is that a train passed the gap and entered the current section which was turned off, bridging the gap and thus powering up that section. There are warning lights that come on when the section ahead is off, called Rail Gap Indicators, but I hear these are often hard to see or covered in dust these days.

 

[Met Driver]

The reason for the juice coming back on was that the relay controlling the traction current section switched on the juice by mistake.

It makes me wonder whether or not they placed shorting bars over the conductor rails!

 

[jd]

Oh right, but why did the relay power up again?

 

[Met Driver]

It could be for any number of reasons TBH. It's hard to find any information.

 

[jd]

I'm sure there will be more info when the report comes out. I'll keep my eyes open for that as and when.