Quote:
Originally Posted by paul miller
Sorry to ask a dim question, but what voltage goes through these cables.
You would hope it was about 4 million and then the problem would be solved in a flash. (No pun intended).
Paul.
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It's a fair question. Given that they want to get the copper, the thickest cables will be the ones carrying traction current. If they were to cut though the 3rd rail supply cables they'd be looking at a nominal 750 volts DC. If they went for the OHLE cables or Substation Feeders they could be looking at 25 kV or more. The fact that these people aren't being fried means that either they know what they're doing (and I'm NOT going to post on here how it's done), or they're going after the lower voltage cables such as Signals & Telecoms - though these can still bite !
It's interesting that John_142 made a comment about inside jobs. You must remember that NR has sub-contracted work, and these sub-contractors sometimes sub-contract further. I doubt seriously that any permanent NR staff would be involved, but alot of people now work on the Railway on an almost casual basis for a pittance, so it's not beyoynd the realm of possibilty that some occasional worker who possesses a Hi-Vi, hat, & most importantly a bit of knowledge has 'cased the joint' and fancies a bit of extra-curricular income. Just a thought.
Foggy