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JDikseun · December 1st 03, 04:45 AM posted to uk.transport.london

(Smokeyone) wrote in message . com...
First of all, I may be mistaken but I am reasonably sure that at one
station I saw a section of track with four of the spring clips missing
in a row from the shoes on the rail. I think shoes is the correct
name. Is this now the norm on the Underground...........

Smokeyone

Four missing keys in a row is not unsafe, and there's no danger of
derailment. Track has plenty of designed-in and built-in redundancy
for obvious safety reasons. That's why a few missing keys is no cause
for alarm. The same for coach screws (which hold the chairs fixed on
the sleepers), which is the one that gets ES reporters hysterical.
There's very high dynamic loading on rails, and keys continually get
dislodged or broken.
The tracks are patrolled every 48 hours, the patrolman will replace
them on his next round. Patrolmen replace keys routinely, sometimes
none, sometimes 20 or 30 in one shift, usually 5-10.
If there's more than 5 in a row missing, we'd be very grateful if
you'd inform the station staff, because then it could become
unsafe.......
So to answer your question: Yes, it's within the norms of Underground
standards, it's quite safe, but it is unusual.
John