Driver's reminder appliance

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The DRA is the bright red button at top left of the driver's desk. Drivers Reminder Appliance.jpg
The DRA is the bright red button at top left of the driver's desk.

A driver's reminder appliance (DRA) is a manual switch in the driving cab of a passenger train. When operated it glows bright red and prevents the driver from being able to apply power. [1] It was introduced in the design and operation of United Kingdom passenger trains in the 1990s [2] in response to a series of railway accidents where train drivers had passed a signal at danger when starting away from a station, [3] a so-called "Start Against Signal". [4]

Contents

Operation

Use of the DRA is mandatory [5] for drivers of British passenger trains and they are required by the Drivers' Rule Book to set it:

The DRA must only be reset:

Advantages

DRA reminder sign on a station platform DRA car stop sign.jpg
DRA reminder sign on a station platform

A passenger train driver can easily become distracted by station duties and forget that the next signal is at danger. This signal might be hidden from view until the train is close to it and there is insufficient braking distance. The DRA helps prevent this problem because resetting the DRA is the last action the driver will take before powering away from the station. [6]

References

  1. ↑ functional requirements Archived 6 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine at rgsonline.co.uk
  2. ↑ original requirements for DRA Archived 6 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine at rgsonline.co.uk
  3. ↑ http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_pdf/2001/crr01334.pdf Archived 6 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine accident investigations including evaluation of DRA
  4. ↑ https://www.rssb.co.uk/about-rssb/key-industry-topics/spad-good-practice-guide/train-dispatch-and-preventing-start-against-signal-spads [ bare URL ]
  5. 1 2 Driver's Rulebook: Module TW1 - Section 10.1 Archived 25 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine at Rail Safety and Standards Board
  6. ↑ "Rulebook Master: Module TW1. Section 10.1 "Reset the DRA only when you have authority to start the train"" (PDF). Network Rail. Archived from the original (pdf) on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
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