Fog and Stuck Home Signal at Barauli
At 05:45 on a foggy winter morning, visibility at Barauli station is 80 m. The home signal for the up direction is stuck at danger because of a track-circuit failure. The station master reports that the block instrument is healthy and the section to the next station is clear. Train 12871 (passenger) is standing at the home signal with 900 passengers. Train 12872 (goods) is following 12 minutes behind. The starter signal is also not clearing, although the points are set and locked for the main line. The station has no intermediate block hut. The station master asks whether to issue authority to pass the home signal at danger, and whether the following goods can be admitted. You are the section controller. A manned road level crossing is 600 m ahead of the home signal, and fog signalmen are available.
1. Can the passenger be authorized to pass the home signal at danger? Set out the conditions you would insist on before granting authority.
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It can be authorized, but only as a signal-failure movement, not as a routine line clear. Before granting authority I would require the station master to prove the block section is clear, the points are set and locked for the main line, no obstruction or engineering work is on the line, and the level-crossing gate is closed and protected. The station master must issue the prescribed written authority to pass the home signal at danger (T/369(3b) or the local equivalent), and a separate authority or instruction must cover the starter if it also remains at danger. The driver must be informed personally, speed must be restricted, and a fog signalman must be posted at the level crossing with detonators and hand signals. I would record the authority number, time, names, and the fact that the block instrument was healthy but the signal circuit had failed. Authority must not be issued merely because the block instrument is clear.
2. What should you do about the following goods train while the passenger is still in the section?
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The goods train must not be admitted while 12871 is still in the block section. The signal failure has already forced manual working; allowing 12872 to follow would remove the safety interval and risk a rear-end collision in fog. Keep 12872 at the home signal or hold it at the rear station, and tell its crew the reason. Once 12871 has arrived complete at Barauli, the station master must confirm arrival and the section must be proven clear before line clear is given to 12872. If the goods is then admitted, it needs its own authority for the home signal and starter, its own caution order, and the same level-crossing protection. Do not let 12872 use 12871's authority or assume that the passenger's passage has cleared the section.
3. What precautions are needed at the level crossing, and what records should be kept?
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Post a fog signalman at the level crossing before any train is authorized past the home signal. The signalman must display a red hand signal and keep detonators on the rail so that a train can be stopped if the gate is not closed or an obstruction appears. Confirm the gate is closed and locked, and advise the driver of the crossing and the restricted visibility. Record the time the signalman was posted, the gate position, the authority numbers issued to each train, the speed restriction, and the arrival-complete time of 12871. Also log the track-circuit failure report, the station master's assurance that the section was clear, and the control advice. If the starter remains at danger, record separately how each train was authorized past it.