The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for 399 miles (642 km) and was opened from 1837 to 1869. With additional lines deviating to Northampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, this totals a route mileage of 700 miles (1,127 km). The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line connects the WCML to Edinburgh, however the main London–Edinburgh route is the East Coast Main Line. Several sections of the WCML form part of the suburban railway systems in London, Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, with many more smaller commuter stations, as well as providing links to more rural towns.
Railway signalling (BE), also spelled railway signaling (AE), is a system used to direct railway traffic and keep trains clear of each other at all times. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight and inertia of a train, which makes it difficult to quickly stop when encountering an obstacle. In the UK, the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 introduced a series of requirements on matters such as the implementation of interlocked block signalling and other safety measures as a direct result of the Armagh rail disaster in that year.
The Tren Urbano is a 10.7-mile (17.2 km) fully-automated rapid transit system that serves the municipalities of San Juan, Guaynabo, and Bayamón, in Puerto Rico. The Tren Urbano consists of 16 stations operating on 10.7 miles (17.2 km) of track along a single line. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 1,649,500, or about 8,200 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2021.
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a 393-mile long (632 km) electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broadly parallel to the A1 road.
In railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a train driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track. The token is clearly endorsed with the names of the section it belongs to. A token system is more commonly used for single lines because of the greater risk of collision in the event of a mistake being made by a signaller or traincrew, than on double lines.
A balise is an electronic beacon or transponder placed between the rails of a railway as part of an automatic train protection (ATP) system. The French word balise is used to distinguish these beacons from other kinds of beacons.
Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an easy to read display to the train driver or engine driver.
Automatic train operation (ATO) is an operational safety enhancement device used to help automate the operation of trains. The degree of automation is indicated by the Grade of Automation (GoA), up to GoA level 4. ATO is primarily used on automated guideway transit and rapid transit systems where it is easier to ensure the safety of people. On most systems, there is a driver present to mitigate risks associated with failures or emergencies.
The European Train Control System (ETCS) is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It is a replacement for legacy train protection systems and designed to replace the many incompatible safety systems currently used by European railways. The standard was also adopted outside Europe and is an option for worldwide application. In technical terms it is a type of positive train control (PTC).
The Guadalajara light rail system, which is operated by SITEUR, is an urban rail transit system serving the Guadalajara metropolitan area, in the municipalities of Guadalajara, Zapopan and Tlaquepaque, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It is owned by the state of Jalisco, and operator SITEUR is a state authority. Opened in 1989, the system consists of three lines: Line 1, running from north to south with 20 stations; Line 2, running from the city center to the east with 10 stations; and Line 3, running from the north-west to south-east with 18 stations.
Linienzugbeeinflussung is a cab signalling and train protection system used on selected German and Austrian railway lines as well as on the AVE and some commuter rail lines in Spain. The system was mandatory where trains were allowed to exceed speeds of 160 km/h (99 mph) in Germany and 220 km/h (140 mph) in Spain. It is also used on some slower railway and urban rapid transit lines to increase capacity. The German Linienzugbeeinflussung translates to continuous train control, literally: linear train influencing. It is also called linienförmige Zugbeeinflussung.
Most trains on the New York City Subway are manually operated. As of 2022, the system currently uses Automatic Block Signaling, with fixed wayside signals and automatic train stops. Many portions of the signaling system were installed between the 1930s and 1960s. Because of the age of the subway system, many replacement parts are unavailable from signaling suppliers and must be custom built for the New York City Transit Authority, which operates the subway. Additionally, some subway lines have reached their train capacity limits and cannot operate extra trains in the current system.
Signalling block systems enable the safe and efficient operation of railways by preventing collisions between trains. The basic principle is that a track is broken up into a series of sections or "blocks". Only one train may occupy a block at a time, and the blocks are sized to allow a train to stop within them. That ensures that a train always has time to stop before getting dangerously close to another train on the same line. The block system is referred to in the UK as the method of working, in the US as the method of operation, and in Australia as safeworking.
SelTrac is a digital railway signalling technology used to automatically control the movements of rail vehicles. It was the first fully automatic moving-block signalling system to be commercially implemented.
A Eurobalise is a specific variant of a balise being a transponder placed between the rails of a railway. These balises constitute an integral part of the European Train Control System, where they serve as "beacons" giving the exact location of a train as well as transmitting signalling information in a digital telegram to the train.
The Renfe Class 102 or S-102 is a high-speed train used for the AVE service and operated in Spain by the state-run railway company Renfe, and based on Bombardier Transportation's power car technology. Outside AVE service, Talgo markets this train as the Talgo 350.
Communications-based train control (CBTC) is a railway signaling system that uses telecommunications between the train and track equipment for traffic management and infrastructure control. CBTC allows a train's position to be known more accurately than with traditional signaling systems. This makes railway traffic management safer and more efficient. Metros are able to reduce headways while maintaining or even improving safety.
The Santa Fe Urban Train was 3.7 km (2.3 mi) commuter rail serving the metropolitan area of Santa Fe city in Argentina. It had 8 stops, extending from El Molino to Don Bosco stations, running on the Belgrano Railway Ramal F tracks at a speed of 40 km/h (25 mph).
The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is an initiative backed by the European Union to enhance cross-border interoperability and the procurement of signalling equipment by creating a single Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems.
A rail operating centre (ROC) is a building that houses all signallers, signalling equipment, ancillaries and operators for a specific region or route on the United Kingdom's main rail network. The ROC supplants the work of several other signal boxes which have thus become redundant.
