Metra workers are lighting up heaters designed to prevent train equipment from malfunctioning, making the tracks look ablaze with fire.
In a spectacular but functional annual ritual, Chicago transit workers are lighting small fires along the city’s train tracks to “help fuel gas-powered heaters at different points along the tracks, especially near switches.”
The heaters melt ice on the tracks which could impede the functionality of switches and other equipment. “That ice can not only cause wheel slippage on rails, but can also cause switches to operate more slowly or to even stop working altogether, causing extensive delays for trains that are awaiting switch clearance to get routed onto their proper tracks.”
FULL STORY: Here's why Metra workers light fires on tracks during cold weather
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research