A NEW type of railway safety system could give train drivers a better way to
warn other drivers that the track is blocked, according to a British patent.
At present, drivers have to lay a small explosive charge on the rails, which
is detonated when another train passes over it. In his patent (GB 2347251),
Stevan Cambridge of Darlington calls this practice “unreliable” and a “health
hazard”. One alternative is to place metal clips on the rails to create a short
circuit that makes signals change. But this forces the driver to leave the train
unattended, and dirt on the…
