‘I see it all the time’: Eastbourne resident says railway tracks ‘explosion’ is everyday phenomenon

An Eastbourne resident says the railway line ‘explosion’ video which has shocked scores of people today happens on a regular basis.
There was an 'explosion' on the tracks this morning...still from video by Jon AthertonThere was an 'explosion' on the tracks this morning...still from video by Jon Atherton
There was an 'explosion' on the tracks this morning...still from video by Jon Atherton

The Herald shared footage of a sudden reaction as a loud bang and sparks flew from the tracks early this morning (June 10).

The video, taken by Jon Atherton, has been viewed thousands of times. It came as Southern Rail reported major disruption on the lines between Eastbourne, Lewes, and Hastings following an ‘electricity supply failure’ at Eastbourne station.

There was an 'explosion' on the tracks this morning...still from video by Jon AthertonThere was an 'explosion' on the tracks this morning...still from video by Jon Atherton
There was an 'explosion' on the tracks this morning...still from video by Jon Atherton
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But Liseth Ferreira, who lives in St Leonard’s Road, says she sees these type of small ‘explosions’ all the time from her top floor flat window.

She said, “In the last two years I have seen it almost every day. But not as big as the video. To me it sounds like a metal crash. But I thought it was normal.”

She told the Herald she had grown used to the noise, which she says happens at random times.

Network Rail said earlier today, “We are dealing with an incident in Eastbourne where a failure of the electricity supply is currently delaying trains.

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“The railway here is powered by the third rail, an electrified rail on the ground, which is supported by ceramic insulators known as pots. In this case, the insulation failed so the ceramic pots cracked which explains the loud bang in the video footage.

“Fortunately there is only superficial damage, so our engineers are on site now and should be able to fix everything very soon. We are sorry for the disruption, and are still able to operate trains using two of the three platforms at Eastbourne.”