It's been said at some point that a failure would in most cases mean waiting for being towed into a depot, which might be the case for train failures however when it comes to track failures, there is almost always a way to keep driving and that's what I want to talk about in this post (and hopefully raise some awareness). Note that the information is valid for Czech railways and relay-based interlocking, which is what I'm somewhat familiar with so rules in other countries can vary. Burned Signal Light Bulbs (reduced aspect) Basically when a light bulb burns up, the signal automatically switches to the next valid aspect. For example if the green light doesn't work, the signal will automatically switch to yellow and then if the yellow light doesn't work, it goes to a red. Not sure how it goes for pre-signals but I guess the aspect involving the green light gets replaced with a lower aspect that can be displayed with a yellow. For example "expect 80 km/h" (slow flashing green) gets replaced with "expect 60 km/h" (fast flashing yellow) even though there is an 80 km/h speed limit on the next signal. Reduced aspect from green to yellow generally isn't considered a serious issue and doesn't need to be solved very quickly. Burned Signal Light Bulbs (dark signal) Any signal that doesn't have a working red light (in other words it's completely dark) should be obeyed as if it was red. As simple as that. Also any dedicated pre-signal that doesn't have any light lit up should be obeyed as if it was showing a yellow. Burned red light also doesn't allow for setting any other aspects except for "drive according to visibility" (slow flashing white) so a train has to come to a full stop and then proceed at 40 km/h until the next signal once it receives permission. Permissive Red If a block signal malfunctions and the driver is aware that the next track section is clear, he can once again pass it by driving according to visibility however this time, he doesn't need to follow the 40 km/h speed limit. Driving according to visibility at higher speed is especially valid in these long, straight mainline sections where you can see several kilometers ahead and just know that there is no train in front of you. Occupied track sections Some time it happens that a track section malfunctions and shows as occupied for no reason. This prevents the dispatcher from setting a path and also the signal from turning green. If that happens, the train once again has to come to a full stop in front of the red signal and get a permission to pass in form of the "drive according to visibility" aspect. Then proceed at 40 km/h until the next main signal. Flashing Track Sections Similar to the previous case, track circuits can sometimes "flash" or show as occupied momentarily, which can cancel a path with no warning and set all related signals to red. If this happens while a train is driving onto the path, the driver has to immediately apply brakes and try to stop in front of the red light. Then wait for the dispatcher to either re-apply the path (and drive normally) or set the "drive according to visibility" aspect and proceed at 40 km/h until next main signal. In the name of fairness, I think the aspect drop in-game should be scripted to only happen when the player has enough time to stop in front of the red light from this current speed (to not get a service failure). Plus some reaction time. Locked Switches Last but not least. If a switch cannot be set into it's desired position, it can be flipped manually, visually checked and then secured with a lock. Switches that are secured this way can only be passed at 30 km/h, which should be mentioned to the driver. Of course the train in that case has to once again drive according to visibility as mentioned many times above. I hope I got most things right as it's a lot to cover in one go. Not to mention speaking about technical subjects in a non-native language.
Very informative suggestion, I like the idea(s) and hopefully this will get added at some point because it will add that immersion to the game, even if (insert DTG/third-party developer here) used it in a scenario on a route, but I do have a question though: Would it work for other countries i.e. the UK or the USA? Other than that, an unusual but really detailed suggestion
For aignal lamp failures, I believe that (based on Simsig) the driver will contact the signal, they say "Driver [headcode] waiting at unlit [signal]" Qnd then the signaller makes the choice of proceeding at reduced or normal speed.
At least in Czech railway rules, the 40 km/h speed limit is part of the signal aspect so there isn't really any permission to go faster. As for getting a verbal permission, I'm not a dispatcher so I don't know this bit. I don't know as each country has a different set of railway rules, which define the exact procedures that the driver is supposed to follow in these situations. So yeah, the rules would be different but they will achieve the same thing.
Oh fair enough, if any of your ideas could be adapted to meet the specific countries' standard, then it would be added in game
