How realistic is it for drivers to be told of amented TTs?

I believe that getting updated platform information would be a valid communication related to the train movement.

There are some very set in stone times when the driver is required by the rules to advise another member of train crew of the aspect of signals passed, along with a requirement to commentary drive under cautionary aspects, i.e saying aloud to yourself "two yellows at signal y the red is at location x"

Again, not making evaluations but airline pilots and engineers in the US hear constant radio chatter. Drivers in the UK have a silent cab and have to perform a manual activity to speak so there is a much bigger situation change.

Nothing to do with the Taunton original post, but similar theme.

Whilst at Taunton it doesn't appear to make any difference, as the driver who posted that from either platform you can escape at the other end.

But visiting New Street a few months ago, there didn't seem to be any platform indication to the driver (aware of course I cannot see as far ahead as a driver), and there could be a problem if the wrong platform is selected (and having played the sim it is easy done, aware I am by no means a professional). An 8 car Voyager into 4C does not seem to end terribly well for all concerned. Not only the length of the platform for disembarking, but surely a slower speed is required to not hit the buffers? Also, if you just receive a proceed aspect you could end up in the wrong half of the station quite easily. Is there someway of telling which platform you are aiming for? There seems a lot of scope for human error.

Sub question: route indicators are of course common, but for example at a high speed junction, is there such a thing as a route indicator repeater? I'm sure that seeing the 'feather' at 125mph and then realising you should not be getting a 'feather' might result in an overshoot to the wrong direction.

Sorry for the probably obvious questions

Sub question: route indicators are of course common, but for example at a high speed junction, is there such a thing as a route indicator repeater? I'm sure that seeing the 'feather' at 125mph and then realising you should not be getting a 'feather' might result in an overshoot to the wrong direction.

But visiting New Street a few months ago, there didn't seem to be any platform indication to the driver (aware of course I cannot see as far ahead as a driver), and there could be a problem if the wrong platform is selected (and having played the sim it is easy done, aware I am by no means a professional). An 8 car Voyager into 4C does not seem to end terribly well for all concerned. Not only the length of the platform for disembarking, but surely a slower speed is required to not hit the buffers?

If neither of these apply, ie you have a junction that's 125mph straight and 125mph diverging (±5mph I believe), previously there was no warning of route given, but now non-safety-critical "Preliminary route indicators" are being installed in such situations where a wrong route would cause operational difficulties. These take the form of LED dot-matrix boards (in a similar style to alphanumeric route indicators but bigger, I believe) which display an arrow at braking distance to the divergence.

However all that can be undermined by the British railway system failing to address the "riding the yellows" problem where trains run at high speed under both double and single yellow aspects and rely on drivers to spot signals at danger in time to stop short of them. Requiring some sort of minimal train control like a brake application or speed restriction to ~45mph would make driver attention less critical and would work with the existing AWS technology.

I don't think it's installed at ALL controlled signals, is it? I thought only ones that protect against things other than a rear-end collision.

" said:

There are some very set in stone times when the driver is required by the rules to advise another member of train crew of the aspect of signals passed, along with a requirement to commentary drive under cautionary aspects, i.e saying aloud to yourself "two yellows at signal y the red is at location x"

I take back part of my previous post in that case, hadn't heard of any of that. When would a driver need to inform other members of train crew? Is the 'commentary driving' a TOC-specific thing?

Having said that, at Cogload Junction on the up, there is no preliminary route indicator for signal 193, and it's round a left-hand curve with a linespeed of 100 (although if you are expecting to go onto the Up Athelney line you're slowing down to 90). If you come off that curve and see the wrong route, you have no chance of stopping - you're going to go past the signal and take the wrong route. You'd have to get permission to set back and try again.

" said:

Having said that, at Cogload Junction on the up, there is no preliminary route indicator for signal 193, and it's round a left-hand curve with a linespeed of 100 (although if you are expecting to go onto the Up Athelney line you're slowing down to 90). If you come off that curve and see the wrong route, you have no chance of stopping - you're going to go past the signal and take the wrong route. You'd have to get permission to set back and try again.

If the train was booked non-stop to Reading via Castle Cary would it always be required to set back and take the booked route or could it be allowed to continue via Bristol?

If the train was booked non-stop to Reading via Castle Cary would it always be required to set back and take the booked route or could it be allowed to continue via Bristol?

But yeah, since it's relatively uncommon to get a diverging route with a close enough speed to the straight route to have free greens (ie green aspects on approach for both routes), flashing yellows are the most common means of providing early route indication at high speed junctions.

However all that can be undermined by the British railway system failing to address the "riding the yellows" problem where trains run at high speed under both double and single yellow aspects and rely on drivers to spot signals at danger in time to stop short of them.

Requiring some sort of minimal train control like a brake application or speed restriction to ~45mph would make driver attention less critical and would work with the existing AWS technology.

However all that can be undermined by the British railway system failing to address the "riding the yellows" problem where trains run at high speed under both double and single yellow aspects and rely on drivers to spot signals at danger in time to stop short of them. Requiring some sort of minimal train control like a brake application or speed restriction to ~45mph would make driver attention less critical and would work with the existing AWS technology.

for the non-stop journeys TAU to RDG, our diagrams actually show that we are booked to go via Westbury. Therefore that is the way I expect to go. I would not be popular if I simply accepted the wrong route at Cogload and kept going.

" said:

for the non-stop journeys TAU to RDG, our diagrams actually show that we are booked to go via Westbury. Therefore that is the way I expect to go. I would not be popular if I simply accepted the wrong route at Cogload and kept going.

I was not asking if you should accept the incorret route (which as you say you should not) but actually if you would you always be required to set back and go via Castle Cary after stopping and querying it route or could you be told to continue via Bristol.