Re: What happens when lightning strikes a railroad track?

There is no doubt that being near a railway track when it is struck by
lightning is dangerous.  You are correct, the track will act as a
conductor.  However I have been unable to determine how far the surge will
travel.  The problem here is that the railway tracks are designed with
lightning strikes in mind, mainly because of the signaling equipment that
is attached to the tracks.  So the tracks have lightning arrestors attached
to the lines.  These drain surges away into the ground.

If the tracks was just a big piece of connected metal the surge would
travel at lethal levels for large distances.  Certainly more than 2 miles.
 However the track sits on the earth, into which surges can jump, also the
tracks are fitted with devices to drain lightning surges away.  So the
distance that a lightning surge will travel depends on any grounding the
track may have and any lightning protection the track may have.

Below are some links to sites that discuss surge protection of railway lines
 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BFW/is_2_96/ai_60008641/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1 http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5001587/description.html http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V30-4FSNXR0-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=44c6be2fd76cde600efffff2e15022d5


The various safety authorities all advise staying away from railway tracks
during a thunderstorm, but do not mention distances.
 http://www.sercc.com/education_files/aer_winter_98.html