Photograph 2002, by Ian Martin
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THE SIGNAL BOX |
OVERSEAS |
Ian Martin sent two pictures which he took whilst in Italy in 2002. They give a flavour of present-day signalling on the Italian Railways.
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Photograph 2002, by Ian Martin |
This view shows the colour-light starting signals at Aulla, a station
located around 100 kilometers from Pisa. Notice that the signals are of the
searchlight type.
The signal indications are similar to British practice, using red for stop, yellow for caution and green for clear. A preliminary caution indication is given by flashing yellow.
Signals on the left-hand side of the running line have a circular backing plate, whilst those on the right-hand side feature a square plate.
The white triangle below the right-hand signal indicates that a speed restriction applies. A default speed restriction of 30 km/h applies if no figure is shown on the triangle. If a 60 km/h speed restriction applies, the figure 60 will be shown on the triangular plate.
Colour-light signalling in Italy becomes more complicated at junctions,
where two aspects are displayed in combination. This is a subject that may be
covered in the future.
 Photograph 2002, by Ian Martin |
This picture shows the control panel at Lucca station. The huge array of
switches and buttons suggests that this is an OCS panel.
Additional notes by Jean Thouvenin
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Comments about this article should be addressed to John Hinson |