Current rails

on most lines trains are reversed regularly, Jub and Vic excepted.

I was told it was to reduce the risk or arcs between the rails

My understanding is that the rail is, if possible on the side away from the platform edge. When the platforms are in the island configuration this will mean that they will be on the left. Of course, at places with a centre platform, like White City, the  rails will have to be close to one platform edge.

I believe they are on the right hand side in the direction of travel at Stratford, as this is the side away from the original platform. This platform is also narrower and busier so the more likely for someone to fall from, meaning that it is probably safest (as well as cheapest) to leave it where it is.

At Loughton the conductor rail is on the platform 3 (eastbound island) side, which is on the left for an eastbound train. The way this platform is currently used for reversing trains means that platform 3 is used almost exclusively for alighting.

At White City the rail is adjacent to platform 2 (westbound island), on the right for a westbound train. I'm much less familiar with how White City operates, but if it is used like Loughton then again this will primarily be the side used by alighting passengers.

At Arnos Grove, which similarly has a central track with platforms either side, I have a photograph that suggests the current rail is on the platform 2 side (north/eastbound island) and on the left for a north/eastbound train. If this platform is also mainly used for reversing trains, then the current rail will be on the alighting side also.

Taken together these suggest that having the rail adjacent to the alighting platform is seen as preferable.

At Morden, there are two tracks with platforms either side (1 and 2, 3 and 4). On the latter track, the conductor rail seems to be on the platform 4 side (I have two photos showing it isn't on the platform 3 side), which is on the right for an arriving train. I have no photos showing the position of the conductor rail on the other track.

At Cockfosters and Uxbridge there are also tracks with platforms on both sides, however I don't have any photos to that show which side the rail is on.

The issue here is not necessarily whether the train is arriving or departing, but the danger of falling on the live rail when the platform is unoccupied by a train.

Many thanks, Chris M

Whoops, yes indeed. A simple case of my getting my east and westbound mixed up (probably as it's been a very long time since I've caught a westbound Central line train from Stratford but get an eastbound at least once a month, so am more used to trains arriving from that direction!)

Probably about five minutes after the first time someone fell on a platform side live rail.

Almost impossible to believe, today, with the never ending ascension of the Safety Elf, that there was a time when danger to human life could be ignored in such a cavalier manner.

How very fortunate for the passengers of the time that there were pecuniary disadvantages that aligned with their own interests in continued mortal existence.

The Telegraph had an article about this in January.
"In 2003, TfL said, 56 PTI falls [people falling at the platform-train interface] were recorded. In 2014, it was 298, which is an increase of 432%."
" In 2002/3 a total of 942 million passenger journeys were made. The 56 PTI falls in that year made up 0.00005% of all journeys, or 1 in 17 million journeys.
In 2013/14, there were 1.26 billion passenger journeys on the Tube and 298 PTI falls. These 298 falls made up 0.00236% of all journeys that year, or 1 in 4.2 million journeys. "

Just another thought the signal current (5-10vac) would enter the right hand running rail to the signal relay and return to the left hand running rail back to the supply. Early engineers thought it best to keep the 630 dc traction current supply as far away as possible wherever possible.

It can be anything from 5-30v and open circuit voltage can be upto 100v.

Do you think this increase is likely due to the increased value of personal items such as mobiles and ipods?

Platform 2 at HSK can take a D stock

Most Underground stock is "handed". In order to avoid duplication of electrical, air, etc connections, most Underground stock is "handed". Compare these two "standard stock" cars




noting in particular the positions of the three boxes covering sockets low on the cab front.

Tubeprune explains the problem in detail

Thus the two ends of each car (in car stock - up to Q and "standard") or unit (R and 1938 onwards) are different, (known as A and D) and each end can only be coupled to the opposite type of another car, which must therefore be the same way round. (Anyone who is familiar with a Brio train sets, with their magnetic couplings, will be familiar with the problem!)

To ensure any car/unit can couple to any other it is necessary to keep them all facing the same way. This is not difficult on end-to-end shuttles like the Bakerloo or Victoria (or the Piccadilly until 1986), but if a unit does get reversed it will be unable to couple to any other. Note that Piccadilly trains are made up of two units, which occasionally swap partners. Each train has to include one unit of each type*. If one train gets reversed, it will be incompatible with the rest of the fleet.

( *There are some double ended 1973 stock units, one end of which can couple to an "A" unit and the other to a "D" unit - although not, at least in practice, at the same time!)

Some lines with terminal loops , such as the Central when White City was the terminus, and the Hampstead Tube (Embankment, and later Kennington) had to cope with the problem of trains being opposite ways round on a routine basis, but at least in this case there were likely to be roughly equal numbers of units / cars facing each way so a match would not be difficult to find - albeit trains would be constantly switching from one subfleet to another every time they went round the loop. In the days of "car" stock both lines had turntables to alleviate this problem, but turning an entire unit is a rather different proposition. It was presumably because of the Kennington Loop that some of the trains loaned by the Piccadilly to the Northern were returned facing back to front.

Until the arrival of 1992 stock trains did not run all the way round the Hainault Loop. Care was taken that the few trains which ran from Central London to Hainault via Woodford (or to Woodford via Hainault) were returned back the way they had come, even if they had spent the night in Hainault depot facing the "wrong way".

More recently, stock has been built which can couple either way round - examples include 1972 stock, 1992 stock, A stock and C stock,. Note that the lines on which they were/are used all have loops or triangles (Kennington, Hainault, Watford, and Aldgate/Kensington respectively - the latter being used to turn trains from time to time to even out wheel wear). But D stock, 1967, 1973 and 1983 stock were built for lines without terminal loops, and were "handed" (In 1973, London's future airport expansion was expected to be at Maplin, not a fourth terminal at Heathrow!) 2009 and S stock are, I believe, indivisble seven or eight car units and so are not expected to swap partners routinely, so it doesn't mater which way round they are.