In article , Richard J.
wrote:
Michael Bell wrote:
It has always seemed to me that the 750 volt 3rd rail is a bad idea.
snip
So I have been thinking of the possibilities of shielding the
3rd rail. snip

Other people have designed such systems too. There is one already in
operation in London - the DLR.

To complete this would obviously be a 10 or 20 year project,
(even longer to replace some of the longer-lived stock with higher
voltage stock) but some of the benefits, such as no icing in winter,
would come immediately.

Your design includes a plastic cover over the top of the rail. Doesn't this
prevent existing stock from using rails fitted with your plastic covers? I
don't understand how you intend to operate during the 10-20 year conversion
period.


Obviously the fleet has to be modified first. That's the smallest part
of the job!

Also, have you done any sort of cost-benefit analysis for this project?

No, I have done no cost-benefit analyis. But if DLR (which I should
have thought of) have done it, and foreign systems have done it, then
they must have made some sort of calculation.

--

Michael