A man was killed by the electrical shock from the third rail, after falling into the subway tracks at the Spring Street station last night. The Times and Post report that the victim was ain toxicated 41 year-old man who witnesses say touched the third rail. The Post also notes that the man had been urinating at the end of the platform before falling into the tracks. Eek. The third rail, long a mythic piece of the NYC subways, can be found either between or beside the running rails. Which probably doesn't help if you're drunk. While news of this death is sad, Gothamist has to admit we're relieved it's not another subway shooting; apparently shootings were saved for the outside this past weekend.
NYCsubway.org tells us that the third rail provides 625 volts of electricity to trains. And check out cool transit blog The Third Rail.
