TYPES OF RAIL SIGNS IN RAILWAYS (THE INDICATORS)

Indian Railways which was considered the busiest transport services in India and for smooth trafficking and functioning of this service, it makes use of various signs and signals which holds a special meaning for the driver and designate them to perform their duties with the signs and signals. This blog will cover the various sign boards used in Indian Railways along with their meanings and respective uses in brief:

1.LV SIGN BOARD

All of you have once seen the circle board written as LV in bold letters at the back or end of each train whether it is passengers train or freight train. Here, the ‘LV’ denotes the ‘Last Vehicle’ which means that the train is moving with its whole compartments and coaches and none of the coaches or wagons are missing from train. They are generally used for railway staff to confirm that the train is moving with its whole unit and none of the coaches are missing. If they do not find LV board at last of train, they can take emergency action.

LV SIGN AT BOTTOM RIGHT

2. CAUTION INDICATOR BOARD

This sign board is in shape of arrow which points either towards left or right and are fixed at the side of the tracks. The board is painted with reflective yellow colour and black triangles which indicates some caution and restrictions on the track with the arrow pointing the track on which it is applied. It is generally fixed around 700m to 800m from some speed limit board or actually site of working. This caution the driver to slow down the train for some problems on track or speed limit.  

3. SPEED LIMIT BOARD

The speed limit board is generally triangular in shape with some numbers written in black colours indicating the speed in ‘km/hr’ or ‘km/h’ with which the driver has to move the train. The restrictions are usually applied before some crossings, stations, remote areas, large turns or at signals. 

The speed limit board is generally mounted at a distance of 500 metres from the region of limiting speed stretch.

 Sometimes it is blue in colour with white numbers or on the yellow boards, ‘FOR RAJDHANIS’ are written below speed number. They generally indicate the speed limit for RAJDHANIS and SHATABDIS trains only.

 4. TERMINATION INDICATOR BOARD

The termination indicator board are circular in shape painted with reflective yellow colour and ‘T’ is written over it on black colours. They represent the termination of speed limits for the driver and driver can take the train to its maximum speed.

Sometimes one can also find that ‘T/G’ or ‘T/P’ is also written with black colours over the yellow circular board. They represent the ‘termination of speed for goods train’ and ‘termination of speed for passenger’s train’. The ‘T/G’ board is usually mounted after one or 2 kilometres away from the ‘T/P’ board owing to large length of goods train.

One can also find the ‘T/EMU’ or ‘T/EMU-9’ etc. at the urban areas. These represent the ‘termination of speed limits for the EMU trains’. Similarly, other signs were also used for different type of terminations of speed of train as ‘T/GP’ means termination of speed for both goods and passengers trains. Earlier, ‘T/Raj’ were used for termination of speed for Rajdhani’s only which were now abandoned from use.

5. VULNERABLE POINT INDICATORS

A ‘P’ written on triangular or square board painted with reflective yellow colour indicates the driver to be careful and cautioned of the tracks because of the possible landslides, floods etc. These signs warn the driver about some track problems due to various natural calamities. The ‘E’ written on board on other side indicates the termination of track problems afterwards.

6. STOP INDICATOR BOARD

This board is rectangular in shape with red colours and white bands marked over it. This board is also painted from reflective colours for indicating the driver to stop the locomotive from further proceeding before the sign. The board is usually placed just before some work or end of track and the driver has to take permissions for further proceeding. It is also used at the station to position the train correctly on the platform.

7. CAUTION INDICATORS BOARD FOR TUNNEL

The caution tunnel indicators are usually placed just before any tunnel, around 100 to 200 metres away to indicate and caution the driver of tunnel approaching and to reduce its speed to speed limits. It also warns for constant honking and eye inspection on tracks on tunnel. They are mostly circular in shape having reflective yellow background and ‘C/T’ written over it with black colour.

8. WHISTLE INDCATORS BOARD

This board is an important board for safety point of view. The whistle board are generally square in shape with reflective yellow colour painted over it and ‘W’ is written with black colour indicates the driver to blow horn for a specified purpose.

The whistle indicator board are generally written with black ‘W/L’ or ‘W/B’ or in Hindi, it is written as ‘see/phaa’. This indicates and warns the driver to blow the horn for the ‘level crossing’ and for the ‘crossing the bridge’ respectively. In Hindi, the board actually means ‘seete bajao phatak’. The ‘W/L’ board are usually mounted 800 metres before any level crossing and the ‘W/B’ are mounted at a distance of 1000 metres from any long bridge. The driver has to honk the locomotive till it crosses the whole bridge or level crossing. 

9. SIGHTING BOARDS

The sighting board are rectangular in shape with black background and having two yellow lines and one yellow circle marked over it. This boards are one of the most common boards being used in the Indian Railways. The board indicate the driver of the upcoming signal and caution them to stay alert for the signal. The good drivers easily watches the signal before the sign but amateur drivers can get warning. they are usually placed 1000 metres before any signal and warns the driver for the coming signal and manages them to control the speed of locomotive.

REFERENCE:
CONTENT: WIKIPEDIA, RALOPEDIA
IMAGES: GOOGLE IMAGES