The Slipup is in the scean where Neo is fighting Agent Smith in the subway. They wrestle onto the track as you hear a train coming. Electric trains, like the one thundering toward them, are supposed to have a third middle rail that supplies electricity for the train. The track they are shown fighing on has no middle rail whatsoever.
Very often the "third rail" is not a middle rail. Instead it is a special covered rail (to prevent people turning into toast if they fall on it) that is off to the side of the tracks.
Actually, here in england (and I think everywhere else, power is gleaned off the third rail which runs parallel to the two running rails. Power is gleaned by a "pickup shoe" which is a piece of metal constantly in contact with the third rail. They all lived happily ever after. The End.
In agreeance with FMC, none of the trains in Australia have a middle rail at all, but rather an overhead cable or wire. Someone pays a little bit TOO much attention to railway tracks.
In Canada [no, i don't live in a damn igloo!], the electric rail is to one side, and looks almost like part of the wall. It is just a long metal rod half sunk into the wall, and the subway (i guess) just has something that brushes against it. Point being, I have never heard of an electric rail the other two.
If there was an overhead cable, then why didn't Agent Smith and Neo hit it when they flew up in the air? It wasn't even in the shot! I'm pretty sure this was just another set constructed just for this shot, so they didn't need to power the train properly, or by some train law or something!
The third rail is a very rarely used method of powering electric trains. The simple reason is that it cannot handle the amount of power required for a large number of trains - it is very expensive. It is also dangerous.
In Australia, the only method of power used for electric traction is overhead wiring - in Sydney's case, 1500 volt DC wiring (primitive by todays standards). The crew have changed the scene slightly to get rid of the overhead wires.
Since I am a science nut, I read in a book that after the third rail became archaic they resorted to using the two that were there. They are powered by electromagnets that repel the wheels of the train that force it forward or back. Just something that I read.
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