How do you know if a train is coming?

Look both ways down the track to see if a train is coming is one obvious solution. A train will sound it horn on the approach to any unmarked crossing, so listing for the train horn sounding is another way too. Why do fast train lines have platforms despite the trains on these lines never stop?



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“People assume that trains are loud, but that assumption is based on the fact that when a train's gone past them in a station it's noisy. That's because the noise a train makes is mainly projected to either side. When trains are moving directly towards you they are barely audible–until it's too late.”

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That's because the noise a train makes is mainly projected to either side. When trains are moving directly towards you they are barely audible–until it's too late.” He adds: “It's surprisingly easy to overload the brain to the point where it can't triangulate where sound is coming from.”

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By the time a train operator sees you, it is too late to stop the train in time. An oncoming train is moving faster and is closer to you than it appears. Similar to an airplane traveling at 150 mph that appears to float onto the runway, it's hard to determine a train's speed and distance from you.

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With a quiet background (countryside night time) 6–8 miles. Suburban, 2–3 miles. Loud city, 1 mile if you're listening for it.

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Today, the only whistle signals you're likely to hear regularly are the grade-crossing warning (which is also often used to warn employees or others on the tracks); two (or three) shorts to indicate the engineer has received a signal to start the train forward (or backward); and one long blast when a train is ...

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Railfans get used to the usual patterns of trains in their area, and use scanners to listen in on railroad dispatch frequencies. But it takes knowledge and practice to decipher what you hear on the scanner.

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View live train status and departure information boards for all UK train stations with Trainline. Check live times and platform information before boarding.

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Anyway, don't blame the engineer: They're required to blow that horn. The regulation in question is called the Final Rule on the Use of Locomotive Horns—a name that strongly implies they've had just about enough of your bitching—and it requires four blasts 15 to 20 seconds before every crossing.

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While securing all your belongings with these techniques might give you peace of mind… never have peace of mind. Always be alert. Sleeping is fine (it is a night train after all) but don't ever inhibit yourself further by dosing up on sleeping pills or drinking excessively on the train.

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Walking on or beside railroad tracks is illegal. The only safe place to cross tracks is at designated public crossings with a crossbuck, flashing red lights or a gate.

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Pulling the alarm chain on a British train will pull a lever connected to the brake pipe flaps. Pulling the alarm activates a piston, causing the flaps to be opened and all the air pushed out the air tube, forcing the brakes on.

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Is it illegal to turn around at a train stop? If there's a raised or painted divider, the answer is no, Pennings explained. However, if the traffic is separated by a solid yellow line or a broken yellow line, then yes, if it's safe, you can make a U-turn and go the other direction.

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The intensity of sound will vary at night, sometimes louder and sometimes softer. It has to do with the height and strength of a temperature inversion just above the ground. On clear, calm nights, it is cooler at the ground than higher up.

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At night, the air near the ground can have a different temperature than air only a few hundred feet above1. This affects the transmission of sound waves. There is usually less ambient noise after dark, so the distant train sounds louder. As pointed out elsewhere, maybe the trains don't use the horn in daytime.

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