HAVE you ever been on a train and wondered why there appears to be little archways next to the tracks?
Well, it turns out you're not alone as many people have pondered on their commute to work what on earth they are there for.
Taking to the forum website Quora, one person asked: "Outside of London, there are tons of small, arch shaped inlets in the walls along the train tracks. Why?"
The small arches appear on the side of rail tracks near stations, but for many it is unclear what they are there for.
Some suggested that the arches were merely there to support the structure and stop it from collapsing.
One wrote: " It wouldn’t surprise me to discover that the shape of the curve is the some mathematically accurate parabola.
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"The aim would therefore be to support the earth behind the brickwork and minimise the risk of the cutaway that the trains travels through from collapsing."
But it turns out the arches have a much more practical use – refuge for railway workers.
It turns out that the arches have been places strategically to keep workers safe when trains are passing while they inspect or work on the line.
One person wrote: "They’re safe standing areas (also known as refuges) for track maintenance workers, so they can stand clear of passing trains when doing repairs or inspections on the line when it’s still open."
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Another commented: "They were (and still are on occasion), refuge arches for men working on the lines to take cover in if they can’t get off the railway before a train passes.
"Trains leaving a station don’t have a great drag effect so they are quite safe in them for a short time, until the train passes."
The information has clearly left many people shocked.
One commuter told Fabulous: "I travel into London everyday and always wonder what they are for – I was convinced it was for coal storage from when all the trains were steam.
"I never knew they were little safe spaces for rail workers.
"Mind blown!"
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