Stenciling says “6 & 7TH / PDE & 3RD” It’s the only pink tie on this track.
Just a stab in the dark but they may occur at regular intervals, and similar notation may be on the poles and other infrastructure. In the event of a rail emergency you give the operator that info and they will halt all trains that could be affected by the emergency
I was gonna guess a memorial like a union member passed or something, because it seemed odd it’d be pink and not orange or red like the little wireflags I usually see. Is there a pink infrastructure marker?
Pink is for surveyors.
To promote awareness and inclusiveness.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
possibly a change of measurement system? Look at the mileposts each side to see if there is a discontinuity in the numbers (although those would be painted yellow here in the UK - maybe search “golden tie”)
It’s marking the joint between two track segments. Look just above it. On both tracks there’s a series of bolts indicating that two track segments have been bolted together.
Not sure why the other joints aren’t marked.
if that was an insulated joint for track circuit separation there would be cables attached at each side and the two bolted plates would be aligned?
You can see 3-4 wires connected on either side of the plates.
I’m not sure if those particular plates are insulating connections though. Doesn’t really look like it, but I’m no expert on rail connections.
