It’s so cold in US that railway tracks are ‘set on fire’ to enable train service!

Chicago, Jan 31: The Midwest region of the US is gripped by such severe cold that human life is struggling to survive. And even though emergency services like postal delivery has been paralysed because of the polar vortex, railway authorities have kept the train service functional by setting the railway tracks on fire!

Yes, this may sound bizarre that this practice is an old one which keeps the switches that direct the train cars between the tracks that get frozen.

To keep the switches functioning, the fire is set which heats up the metal neat the tracks so that they do not shrink causing the rails to "literally pull apart from each other," Metra transit which operates on Chicago metropolitan area posted to Instagram.

'Not the tracks are on fire', explains Chicago's Metra transit

"Despite popular belief, the tracks themselves are not on fire," the release states. "Instead, the flames come from a gas-fed system that runs adjacent to the rail, generating heat on the critical areas where the switches are supposed to make contact."

Chicago recorded minus 22 degree temperature on Wednesday, January 30, ABC7 reported.