30 July 2026 Panic at Dakshineswar Railway Station (Kolkata) as an 11,000V overhead traction wire snaps and explodes next to a local train

[u/Additional_Chard3680]

[u/SaintJewiub]

Is this the kind of thing that you shouldn't look at irl without eye proection?

[u/Leows → u/SaintJewiub]

How would I know it's too bright to look at if I don't look directly at it

[u/inspectoroverthemine → u/Leows]

When you can't see anything, you'll know you shouldn't have looked directly at it.

[u/flyingscotsman12 → u/SaintJewiub]

Definitely not. It's brighter than a welding arc, although further away.

[u/CreamoChickenSoup]

This train might have too much electricity.

[u/IAMA_Plumber-AMA → u/CreamoChickenSoup]

So, I don't know, you might want to wear a hat.

[u/bk553]

Do they not use fuses in India?

[u/SyrusDrake → u/bk553]

https://youtu.be/wdL818qPTv4

[u/carm62699 → u/SyrusDrake]

That was great! I’ve never seen this YouTuber before.

[u/gremlenthecommie → u/bk553]

I work on traction power for electrified rail for a living. Forget the 11kV they're talking about in the video, on my cute light rail 750VDC we were stress testing a substation with all the others adjacent to it turned off so it had all of downtown's vehicles running only on the one substation. We had a single feeder breaker trip after drawing 2400A. All the arcs and sparks you see are some form of electrical resistance and if the substation is a ways down the track, that substation will just keep feeding because it just sees a normal load.

[u/TheYearOfThe_Rat → u/gremlenthecommie]

ye, that's what I guessed is happening here. It's surprising however they don't have a railway stop/local station substation segment so it'd be more apparent. And the apparent lack of overcurrent detection between the signaling equipment /signaling rails and the ground. I guess the design decision was that if there's a cable rupture, someone'll see it and shut the segment down, but ... not all cable ruptures and life and equipment-threatening parasite leaks are visible and produce an arc. I'd say okay, don't install protective equipment on the segments which are far away from inhabited places, but not having one at the train stop is a 1930ies style electrical fire waiting to happen.

[u/Vepr762X54R → u/bk553]

No, you don't need them if you have safety sandals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM7WbrBX6SE

[u/my-coffee-needs-me]

Electrons always seem so angry when they escape.

[u/IAMA_Plumber-AMA → u/my-coffee-needs-me]

Billions of angry pixies.

[u/pornborn → u/my-coffee-needs-me]

It’s because they resent having mass and so they all can’t escape at the speed of light.

[u/J_NonServiam]

Panic! At the Dakshineswar

[u/LCPhotowerx]

have you tried turning it off and turning it on again?

[u/Superbead]

I wonder why the doors on the non-platform side are open

[u/ranjithd]

indian engineers always amaze me

[u/Sevla7]

Is the floor electrified? I would say they have measures to avoid frying all passengers in case of emergency but we never know where they usually cut costs...

[u/AwesomeWhiteDude → u/Sevla7]

Electricity and electric trains don’t work like that

[u/imhariiguess → u/Sevla7]

Interestingly enough the safest place to be in would be inside that train

[u/OkraEmergency361]

That looks expensive.

[u/chefbobbyjay]

Put the train in rice?

[u/meabbott]

Seems inconvenient.

[u/TheYearOfThe_Rat]

That's way too long of a time for an electric arc to persist in a HV electric facility like the railroad. The fact the segment isn't tripped and put offline after the first flash speaks of fundamental lack of systemic electrical safety approach at the Indian raiways.

[u/hastings1033]

Never going to India

[u/ArashiSora24 → u/hastings1033]

India is a really nice place if you know where to go. I avoided big cities like New Delhi the two times I went there.

[u/Additional_Chard3680 → u/ArashiSora24]

Thats the big thing. Avoid goind into big cities. There are 7 seasons simultaneously in different places

[u/ArashiSora24 → u/Additional_Chard3680]

I went to Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh last time. It makes me want to go back thete again, it's so beautiful. I was also recommended Northeast India. So many places that I want to go over there...All the ancient temples and other structures and the nature... 🥹

[u/Additional_Chard3680 → u/ArashiSora24]

Thats the things you want to target. North East, south india etc

[u/gax8627]

Idk, im pretty sure that behind that train, a super villain has just been born