FTA safety advisory issued to collect data on third-rail traction power systems

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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FTA

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a Safety Advisory to request information from State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) regarding the condition and safety performance of third-rail traction power electrification (TPE) systems at the Rail Fixed Guideway Public Transportation Systems (RFGPTS) in their jurisdictions.

 

Safety Advisory 16-2 applies only to SSOAs with RFGPTS using contact rail power distribution systems.

Nationwide, 13 RFGPTS operate and maintain contact rail TPE systems to power trains that move millions of daily passengers in some of the nation’s largest cities. The safety performance of contact rail TPE systems can deteriorate with age, inattention and exposure to environmental conditions, such as water/moisture with contaminating materials.

In recent months, FTA has investigated several safety events related to failures of contact rail TPE systems, including: smoke events caused by arcing insulators and traction power cable fires; an explosion caused by a flashover on porcelain insulators; a high-intensity fire caused by an electrical short circuit that resulted in the total loss of a traction power substation and major service disruptions; damage to electrical propulsion equipment on dozens of railcars caused by spiking voltage that significantly impacted passenger service and poor track conditions exacerbated by electrolysis and corrosion from stray current, which degraded anchor bolts and fasteners to the point of failure in a tunnel.

The FTA asks that each SSOA with an RFGPTS operating and maintaining a third-rail TPE system examine potential hazards associated with these systems through its hazard management program specified. FTA seeks this information in accordance with its authority to periodically request program information of the SSOAs. The FTA asks that SSOAs overseeing RFGPTS with third-rail TPE systems to provide the following information:

• A brief description of the RFGPTS third-rail TPE system and components.
• A brief description regarding any major changes or upgrades to the third-rail TPE system made over the past 10 years and whether the traction power cables were also upgraded.

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