In recent years, many new direct current powered transit systems have been constructed in the USA and other countries. Traditional tests to ascertain the effectiveness of stray current control systems, though extremely accurate are usually time consuming and expensive, and largely must be conducted during train down time in the predawn hours. These tests are of critical value to both the transit company and adjacent utility operators. Out of necessity, it has been prudent to seek new, faster, and cheaper methods of testing while still obtaining the same reliable results and indications of pending stray current problems. The overall objective is to warn of these problems before transit and utility structures are impacted by stray current corrosion failures. This paper discusses traditional and newer indirect and auxiliary methods of obtaining indicative stray current data to ascertain if follow-up and detailed traditional tests are required. Analogies will be made with similarities on diagnosing problems with galvanic corrosion and cathodic protection systems. Some practical examples will be presented that have provided reliable results on actual operating systems. These methods and other future developments will continue to increase in popularity and practicality as revenue downtimes grow shorter and shorter, and other maintenance functions receive higher priority than corrosion control tests so train operations, the ultimate priority, can continue unabated.
Keywords: stray current, dc transit, corrosion control maintenance tests, rail-to-ground tests