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Turnouts facing and trailing. Note that this diagram is for left-hand traffic; for right-hand traffic, "F" and "T" would be swapped. Facing or trailing are railway turnouts (or 'points' in the UK) in respect to whether they are divergent or convergent. When a train traverses a turnout in a facing direction, it may diverge onto either of the two ...
A right-hand railroad switch with point indicator pointing to right Animated diagram of a right-hand railroad switch. Rail track A divides into two: track B (the straight track) and track C (the diverging track); note that the green line represents direction of travel only, the black lines represent fixed portions of track, and the red lines depict the moving components.
Double junction, or level junction (left hand running). A double junction is a railway junction where a double-track railway splits into two double track lines. Usually, one line is the main line and carries traffic through the junction at normal speed, while the other track is a branch line that carries traffic through the junction at reduced speed.
Double trap points are a full turnout, leading to two tongues. Usually the tongue nearer the main line is longer than the other. Trap points with a crossing are double trap points where the tongues of rail are longer, so that the trap point rail nearest the main line continues over the siding rail with a common crossing or frog.
In any given country, rail traffic generally runs to one side of a double-track line, not always the same side as road traffic. Thus in Belgium, China, France (apart from the classic lines of the former German Alsace and Lorraine), Sweden (apart from Malmö and further south), Switzerland, Italy and Portugal for example, the railways use left-hand running, while the roads use right-hand running.
Consider a railway with two block sections as in the diagram. Section 1 has frequency A injected at the left-hand end and received at the right-hand end. Section 2 continues from the right hand end of section 1 where frequency B is injected and then received at the right-hand end of section 2. Track circuited railway with two block sections
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to carry railway vehicles with wheels matched to two different gauges.
Some form of ATS or ATC is required on all U.S. rail lines that operate at 80 mph (130 km/h) or more. In the 1990s, communication-based train control (CBTC) systems started to be used in rail transit systems. These systems utilize radio communications between train and wayside equipment to perform the functions of the signaling system.