TMC: Metro needs to fix "stray current" problem
Despite Metro's best (and continuous) efforts to downplay whatever-in-the-heck is going on underneath the Danger Train, the issue of "stray current" will not go away:
Electrical current escaping from the Metropolitan Transit Authority's light rail tracks is "very much a concern" for the Texas Medical Center, and Metro should fix it promptly, the head of the sprawling complex said this week.
"You need to know that the Texas Medical Center is uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable, and a number of our institutions are uncomfortable," said Dr. Richard Wainerdi, TMC president and chief executive officer.
Metro responded in a statement, "During the past 10 months we have worked with various institutions at the TMC. We have no evidence of a problem, but if they do have any such evidence, bring it forward."
Metro, whose line runs along Fannin past several hospitals and doctors' buildings, has acknowledged since May that so-called "stray current" is escaping into the ground at several points on the tracks instead of returning to a power station by rail as intended.
Agency officials said in December that the problem had been corrected at two locations, the bridges over Brays and Buffalo bayous, but leakage persisted at several switches along the 7 1/2 -mile route.
If rails, bridges or switches are not well-insulated, electricity can escape and damage metal objects, such as pipes and structural steel nearby. Such damage is generally quite slow, but it often goes undetected.
"You can't tell if a pipe that's buried 20 feet under ground is corroded or not. How quick the corrosion is depends on a number of factors, but it ain't good, and it's irreversible," Wainerdi said. "It is not a small problem. It is a big problem," he said. "Get them to fix it. It's been going on three years."
[snip]
Steve Swinson, president of Thermal Energy Cooperative, which generates power for TMC, said the company's measurements show ground current increasing when MetroRail is operating. He said the agency has shared the information with Metro.
By all means, Metro should build more light rail!
PREVIOUSLY: MetroRail's "stray current" problem, TMC officials concerned about "stray current" damage
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/02/06 03:50 PM | Print |
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