ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

2.9 SIGNALLING

Railway signalling is a complex and fascinating subject. This site has a number
of pages explaining the signalling and train control systems in use around the world
ranging from old semaphore signals still used in the UK and elsewhere to modern
electronic high capacity systems used by metros. We also provide links to other railway
signalling sites around the world that describe local system.

Signalling is one of the most important components of the many which make up
a railway system. Train movement safety depends on it and the control and
management of trains depends on them. Over the years many signalling and train
control systems have been evolved so that today a highly technical and complex
industry has developed. Here is an attempt to explain, in simple terms, how railway
signalling developed and how it really works, based on the UK standards.

Pioneer Signalling

Back in the 1830s and 40s (in the very early days of railways) there was no fixed
signalling - no system for informing the driver of the state of the line ahead. Trains
were driven "on sight". Drivers had to keep their eyes open for any sign of a train in
front so they could stop before hitting it. Very soon though, practical experience proved
that this didn’t work and there needed to be a way of preventing trains running into each
other. Several unpleasant accidents had shown that there was much difficulty in
stopping a train within the driver's sighting distance. The problems were, partly,
inexperience and poor brakes but the real problem was (and still is) the rather tenuous
contact which exists on the railway between steel wheel and steel rail for traction and
braking. The adhesion levels are much lower and vehicle weights much higher on
railways than on roads and therefore trains need a much greater distance in which to
stop than, say, an automobile travelling at the same speed. Even under the best
conditions, it was (and is even more so nowadays with high speeds) often impossible to
stop a train within the sighting distance of its driver.

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The Time Interval System

In the early days of railways, it was thought that the easiest way to increase the
train driver's stopping distance was to impose time intervals between trains. Most
railways chose something like 10 minutes as a time interval. They only allowed a train
to run at full speed 10 minutes after the previous one had left. They ran their trains at a
10 minute "headway" as it is called.

Red, yellow and green flags were used by "policemen" to show drivers how to
proceed. A red flag was shown for the first five minutes after a train had departed. If a
train arrived after 5 minutes, a yellow caution signal was shown to the driver. The full-
speed green signal was only shown after the full 10 minutes had elapsed.

The "time interval system", in trying to use a headway to protect trains, actually
created some serious problems of its own. The most serious was that it was still
inherently dangerous. Trains in those days were considerably less reliable than they are
today and often broke down between stations. It also could not be guaranteed that the
speed of the first train would be sufficient to prevent the second catching it up. The
result was a series of nasty rear-end collisions caused, in each case, because the driver
believed he had a 10 minute gap ahead of him and had little or no warning if there was
an erosion of that 10 minutes. Even if the time was reduced so much that he could see
the train in front, he often did not have enough braking capacity to avoid a collision.

Line Capacity

Another serious problem, from the railways' point of view, was line capacity.
Even if they could rely on their trains not to make unscheduled stops and all to travel at
the same speed, the 10 minute time interval restricted the number of trains which could
run per hour (in this case 6) over a given line. As they found they needed to run more
trains, they gradually began to reduce the time between trains. As they reduced the
time, or "headway", the number of trains per hour increased. At the same time too, the
number of accidents increased. Eventually, they realised they had to do something. The
answer was fixed signalling.

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Fixed Signalling

Even with the old time interval system, the basic rule was to divide the track into
sections and ensure that only one train was allowed in one section at one time. This rule
is still good today. Each section (or block as it is often called) is protected by a fixed
signal placed at its entrance for display to the driver of an approaching train. If the
section is clear, e.g. there is no train in it, the signal will show a "Proceed" indication.
For many years in Britain it was usually a raised or lowered semaphore arm. There are a
few of these left around the country but nowadays it is usually a green light or "aspect",
as the railways call it. If, however, the section is occupied by a train, the signal will
show a "Stop" indication, usually a red aspect. The next train will be made to wait until
the train in front has cleared the section. This is the basis upon which all signalling
systems are designed and operated.

Mechanical signals first appeared in the UK in 1841 and a signal box with levers
controlling remote signals and points in 1860. Originally, the passage of each train
through a section was tracked visually by the signalman. When the train had cleared his
section, the signalman told the signal box on the approach side that his section was now
clear and that he could, if required, "accept" another train. The messages between
signal boxes were transmitted by a system of bell codes using the electric telegraph.

Compulsory use of the electric "block telegraph" to pass messages, and signal
interlocking, where points and signals were mechanically prevented from allowing
conflicting movements to be set up, were introduced in the UK following the
Regulation of Railways Act of 1889.

Distant Signals

The basic stop/go signal used to protect each section of the line was OK as long
as the driver of an approaching train was able to see the signal in time to stop. This was
rarely the case, so a system of "distant" signals was provided in many locations.

Distant signals were placed in such a position that the driver could stop in time if
the next stop signal was at danger. Positioning depended on the visibility, curvature,
maximum permitted line speed and a calculation of the train's ability to stop. In the UK,

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freight trains with reduced braking capacity (unfitted or partially fitted freights) were
only allowed to run at restricted top speeds to allow for signal braking distances.

Originally, distant signals were semaphores, like the stop signals mentioned
above. They showed a green light at night if their related stop signal was also green (or
clear) and yellow if the stop signal was at red. The red-yellow-green pattern was
adopted for colour light signals and eventually used to provide a more spohisticated
form of train control.

Interlocking

Another safety feature introduced in the mid-19th Century was mechanical

interlocking of points and signals. The purpose was to prevent the route for a train being
set up and its protecting signal cleared if there was already another, conflicting route set
up and the protecting signal for that route cleared. The interlocking was performed by a
series of mechanically interacting rods connected to the signal operating levers in the
signal box. The arrangement of the rods physically prevented conflicting moves being
set up. As the systems developed, some larger signal cabins at complex junctions had
huge frames of interlocking levers, which gave the name "lever frame" to the row of
operating levers in a signal box.

Eventually, by the time signal levers were being replaced by small (miniature)
levers or push buttons, mechanical interlocking frames were superseded by relay
interlockings. Electro-magnetic relays were used in series to ensure the safety of route
setting at junctions. Complex "control tables" were drawn up to design the way in
which these relays would interact and to ensure safety and integrity. Now, most of this
is computerised.

Blocks

Railways are provided with signalling primarily to ensure that there is always
enough space between trains to allow a following train to stop before it hits the one in
front. This is achieved by dividing each track into sections or "blocks". Each block is
protected by a signal placed at its entrance. If the block is occupied by a train, the signal

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will display a red "aspect" as we call it, to tell the train to stop. If the section is clear,
the signal can show a green or "proceed" aspect.

The simplified diagram shows the basic principle of the block. The block
occupied by Train 1 is protected by the red signal behind it at the entrance to the block.
The block behind (“in rear”, as it is known) is clear of trains and a green signal will
allow Train 2 to enter this block. This enforces the basic rule or railway signalling that
says only one train is allowed onto one block at any one time.

The Track Circuit

Nowadays for signalling purposes, trains are monitored automatically by means

of "track circuits". Track circuits were first tried in the US in the 1890s and soon
afterwards appeared in Britain. London Underground was the first large-scale user of
them when they introduced them in 1904-6 as part of their electrification programme.

Low voltage currents applied to the rails cause the signal, via a series of relays
(originally) or electronics (more recently) to show a "proceed" aspect. The current flow
will be interrupted by the presence of the wheels of a train. Such interruption will cause
the signal protecting that section to show a "stop" command. Any other cause of current
interruption will also cause a "stop" signal to show. Such a system means that a failure
gives a red aspect - a stop signal. The system is sometimes referred to as "fail safe" or
"vital". A "proceed" signal will only be displayed if the current does flow. Most
European main lines with moderate or heavy traffic flows are equipped with colour
light signals operated automatically or semi-automatically using track circuit train
detection.

A Safe Braking Distance

The foregoing description of signalling has so far only looked at the concept of
warning or enforcement of restrictive signal indications. It has not yet taken into
account braking distance or headway. First, there is the problem of braking distances.
As we have already seen, a train cannot stop dead. An Inter City train travelling at 100
mph (160 km/hr) will take more than a mile to stop. Even for a signalling system with
enforcement (ATP) like the London Underground, as described so far there is a risk that

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a train could pass a stop signal, then be stopped by the ATP enforcement system and
still hit the train in front. This situation could occur if the train in front was standing
just ahead of the signal protecting it. The problem has long been recognised and can be
overcome by the provision of a space for the train to stop in, an "overlap".

The Overlap

In its simplest form, the overlap is a distance allowed for the train to stop in
should it pass a signal showing a stop aspect. It is provided by positioning the signal
some way before the entrance to the section it is protecting.

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