Re: What happened?

["M.B. and C.M.McDonald" <michael.and.colleen.mcdonald@xtra.co.nz>]

I agree with you Les.

I'm behind in my reading, and surprised to find no-one else has commented.
The sooner railways move to in-cab signalling (combined with automatic
braking if the speeds are exceeded) the better.

Les Brown wrote in message <36a8186d.28445755@news.ocean.com.au>...

>Why can't we do away with the need for external signals, as far as a
>suburban train service is concerned, anyway?
>
>What I would like to see is not an actual signal in the cab, just a
>display advising of the correct speed to proceed at.
>
>The technology exists for a train to be sent an advisory speed
>display, or even for the train to be fed this speed and have it
>automatically set in. Should the advised speed be exceeded then
>automatic braking can be applied. We have already had advisory speeds
>for driving on highways so why not for rail? I think that drivers will
>still be needed for a variety of reasons.
>
>I think that external signals are of limited use and prone to failure,
>and must surely give way to in-cab speed-advisory system which is
>essential for a fast service. The only future use I can think of for
>external signalling is as a backup for the in-cab system.
>
>Les Brown