A secondary braking system used primarily on light rail vehicles and high-speed passenger trains. Instead of applying friction to the wheels, large electromagnets are lowered directly onto the steel rails. When energized, they clamp onto the railhead with massive magnetic force, creating intense friction to stop the train rapidly without risking wheel slip.
Heard on the job
The rail was slick with leaves, so the engineer had to dump the air and drop the track brakes to stop short of the crossing.
Also heard as
- magnetic track brake