Unnamed Administration sources reported that Chris Kilbourn said:
In the past few years on NANOG, I've noticed a strong correlation between train derailments and network outages. (Not to discount the backhoe correlation in any way of course...)
The question I have is this:
If fiber runs are trenched into the railbed, and we know that trains go off of the tracks every now and then, what, if anything, is being done to harden the conduit?
Conduit? What's THAT ;-? Only exposed (bridge crossing, etc) parts are in conduit.
Would trenching it deeper help? Has encasing the conduit in a steel-reinforced channel been examined? Or is there something about laying conduit next to track and the accident modalities that I am just missing here?
A) There's limited right-of-way. Who are you already next to? ATT? MCI? Sprint? B) There's limited ACCESS to A). You either must shutdown the rail line or follow a rigorous safety program to ensure you don't have a piece of whatever sticking out across the track when that train goes by. C) How deep do you want it? ATT put their #5 TCC cable down 4'; no easy task. {But then, we paid for it...}. Will that help when a locomotive lands on it? If it doesn't... it's much harder to fix. D) There's limited money. -- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433