Why do the lights sometimes go out on the london underground?

Question

The lights on the tube sometime flicker on and off, sometimes they even go out for a period of around 10 seconds. Any ideas why this might happen, and why the tube people haven't been able to fix it yet?

Thanks

Matt

Answer 1

b/c u stink

Answer 2

Same reason they go out on any subway...  the car your in loses contact temporarily with the track b/c of garbage or some c**p.. they dont fix it b/c there are much bigger issues they do fix.

Answer 3

Because the train loses power briefly - either as it crosses a junction or a neutral section. It usually has momentum to take it over the dead section and back on to the power. Also usually the length of the train means that at least one coach is on a power rail, but as the trains are split into sections (eg the Central line trains are 4x2-car units) power can't be fed to the whole train and the lights may flicker