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Terminology of Danish signalling

Most of this terminology is something I haven't been able to find in my dictionaries. In these cases I've just picked a possible English term that seemed suitable. Of course, if anyone would point out to me what the proper English equivalent would be I'd be thankful.

Trains and shunting movements

Generally anything that moves on Danish rails is classified as either a train or a shunting movement.

Trains are something that go from one station to another, whether scheduled or ad-hoc, and whether revenue or not. They are trains all the way from their departure platform, though any intermediate stations, to the arrival platform on its ultimate station.

Vehicles that move around inside a station's track area are shunting movements. They may be actual remarshalling operations, or it may e.g. be something that just before was a train when it arrived at a platform but now is heading for a holding track.

Trains and shunting movements obey different sets of signals. Main signals are only valid for trains. shunting signals are theoretically valid for trains but a Go aspect from a main signal practically guarantees that they will show Passing allowed.

Stations and platform points

A station is an area of tracks and switches delimited by primary station entry signals. It may or may not coincide with the platforms and other passenger facilities commonly known as a railway station. This concept is equivalent to what in North America is called a controlled location, control point, or O/S section (as far as I'm told).

The pieces of track on a station where trains regularly stop, depart, or arrive, will be known as platform points in this text. Again, there may or may not be a physical platform next to the track, but the concept is important in signalling, since this is where train routes begin or end.

Routes

A route is the predetermined path through the switches on a station that a train or shunting movement follows.

Entry routes go from outside the station to a platform point. Exit routes go out of the station from a platform point. Certain combinations of entry and exit routes combine to through routes where a train may go through the station without stopping. Entry, exit, and through routes is collectively known as train routes and are signalled with main signals.

Shunting routes go from somewhere in the station to somewhere else. They are signalled with shunting signals. Most marshalling take place without routes in which case the shunting signals are cancelled.


This page was last updated: August 7th 1996.
Henning Makholm <henning@makholm.net>