edwin_m
Veteran Member
No, because the train may have to coast through a dead section. I know that they'll do this if there's an OHLE fault, so I'm guessing they might also do it when there's a third-rail fault.
Edit: Had a look at the rule book and there's no mention of coasting DC trains past a dead section, so I guess they would just coast to a convenient place to stop.
Not on the Met, but where there are transitions between the "true" LU fourth rail system and the Network Rail version (fourth rail bonded to the running rails), there must be a long enough dead section so that pickups that are electrically connected to each other can't be in contact with the two systems simultaneously. This is because the voltages of the live rails of the two systems (measured relative to the running rails) are a couple of hundred volts different.