It's that "divided by a common language" business again.
Posted on 12/19/2009 3:00:11 PM PST by Perdogg
Drivers have been urged to avoid part of the M20 in Kent after the closure of the Channel Tunnel caused tailbacks.
Four Eurostar trains broke down in the tunnel due to the extreme cold, leaving more than 2,000 people trapped and two trains without heating and lighting.
Kent Police urged drivers to avoid the Folkestone and Dover areas of the M20.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Damn global warming.
Just a return to the climate of a century ago.
Quick, everyone breathe real fast and warm them up...
GLOBAL WARMING NRRDED NOW!
CO2 DONATION CENTERS OPENING NATIONALLY.
DONATE NOW!
YOUR TREE WILL THANK YOU.
It's that "divided by a common language" business again.
NBC: ‘Immediate Action’ Needed to Stop 1,000 Yrs of Global Warming Effects & Drought
How does this happen? My daughter rode the train from London to France and said that they run on magnets?
But regardless, from what I've seen on FR it appears the trains' control systems failed from condensation (caused by warm, moist air in the tunnel contacting sub-freezing control electronics exposed to outside air conditions) on the control electronics. That can cause electrical leakage between circuits.
As one electronics engineer noted, when you have electronics that are likely to encounter situations like this there is a preventative measure you take -- you put a special coating on the boards ("conformal coating" it's called) to prevent situations like this.
It appears the Euros didn't do this.
And to that end it would not have mattered if the trains were maglev or steel rail.
The tunnel is now closed indefinitely.
I wonder if there is a threat of terrorism?
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