Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain began in the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails. The two most common systems are 25 kV AC using overhead lines, and the 750 V DC third rail system used in Southeast England and on Merseyrail. As of October 2023, 6,065 kilometres (3,769 mi) (38%) of the British rail network was electrified.
Overhead line electrification at Great Bentley
Third rail electrification in Kent. Trains use a contact shoe system to collect electricity from the 750 V DC third rail.
A bogie of a British Rail Class 483 electric multiple unit. The black object hanging from the piece of wood (shoe beam) just above it is the contact shoe for the third rail system.
A Class 86 hauled electric express on the West Coast Main Line in the 1970s
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or 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. Third-rail systems are usually supplied from direct current electricity.
A British Rail Class 442 third-rail electric multiple unit in Battersea.
The contact shoe of a New York City Subway car making contact with the third rail. In the foreground is the third rail for the adjacent track.
Third rail (top) at Bloor-Yonge station (Line 1) on the Toronto subway. Energized at 600 volts DC, the third rail provides electrical power to the power-train, and ancillaries of the subway cars.
Paris Métro. The guiding rails of the rubber-tyred lines also function as current conductors. The horizontal contact shoe is between the pair of rubber wheels.
