3rd Rail Current Collector
Third rail shoegears are used for the power supply of underground and urban railways. The raising to the respective conductor rail is carried out according to the customer specification via simple gravity systems to remotely controlled systems with impulse or continuous air.
The maximum vehicle speed with third rail shoegears is approx. 120 km/h. Application and lowering takes place manually or remotely controlled, i.e. by means of mechanical or pneumatic systems.
Contact to the conductor rail is implemented via the following technologies:
Pneumatic systems are powered by compressed air. The deployment and retraction to the conductor rail and attachment of the current collector is controlled or initiated centrally from the driver’s cabin.
Inductive or mechanical proximity switches are used for detecting the shoe position. Pneumatic systems can also be actuated with insulated hand levers using the emergency function.
Mechanical systems are operated manually. The deployment and retraction of the current collector to the rail conductor is done individually – with the help of an insulated hand lever.
