Block Working
(Extract from IR General Rules : Chapter 14)
A. General Provisions
14.01 Means of granting or obtaining Line Clear
The running of every train shall, in its progress from one
block station to another, be regulated by means of any one of
or a combination of the following -
(a) electrical block instruments of token or tokenless type,
(b) track circuits,
(c) axle counters, or
(d) electrical communication instruments.
14.02 Provision of instruments
(1) Electrical communication instruments shall be provided at
every station, except at class 'D' stations where they may be
provided under special instructions.
(2) (a) The electrical block instruments, where provided, and
electrical communication instruments at any station shall be of
a type approved by the Commissioner of Railway Safety and shall
not be brought into use in the first instance unless they have
been passed by him.
(b) The person in charge of the maintenance of electrical block
instruments or electrical communication instruments shall not
without the approval of the Commissioner of Railway Safety,
permit the substitution, for the instruments and installation
brought into use in the first instance, of any instruments or
installation which do or does not satisfy the conditions
prescribed in clause (a).
14.03 Consent required before interfering with Block working equipment
No railway servant shall interfere with the block working
equipment, or their fittings for the purpose of effecting
repairs, or for any other purpose, except with the previous
consent of the Station Master.
B. Block Stations at which Electrical Block Instruments, Track Circuits or
Axle Counters are provided
14.04 Certificate of competency
(1) No person shall operate the electrical block instruments
until he has passed a test in the operation of block
instruments and unless he holds a certificate of competency
granted by a railway servant appointed in this behalf by the
Railway Administration.
(2) The certificate of competency referred to in sub-rule (1)
shall only be valid for a period of three years or such longer
period as may be laid down by special instructions.
14.05 Bell code
For the signalling of trains, the prescribed code of bell
signals [...] shall be used, and a copy thereof
shall be exhibited in each block station near the place of
operation of the block working equipment
14.06 Acknowledgement of signals
(1) Each signal received shall be acknowledged by sending
its authorised acknowledgement.
(2) No signal shall be acknowledged until it is clearly
understood.
(3) A signal shall not be deemed to be complete until it is
acknowledged.
(4) If the station to which a signal is sent does not
reply, the signal shall be repeated at intervals of not
less than 20 seconds until reply is received.
14.07 Train Signal Register
(1) A Train Signal Register shall be kept by the Station Master
or under his orders.
(2) All signals received or sent on the electrical block
instruments and the timings of receipt and despatch shall be
entered therein, immediately after acknowledgement, by the
person operating the block instrument.
(3) The timings entered in the register shall be the actual
timings, except that any fraction of a minute shall be counted
as one.
(4) All entries in the register shall be made in ink.
(5) No erasure shall be made in the register, but if any entry
is found to be incorrect, a line shall be drawn through it, so
that it may be read at any time and the correct entry shall be
made above it.
(6) The person who keeps the register for the time being shall
be responsible for all entries made therein and for correctly
filling in each column thereof.
14.08 Authority to proceed
The Driver shall not take his train from a block station unless
he has been given an authority to proceed -
(a) on the double line, by the taking 'off' of the last Stop
signal, and
(b) on the single line, either
(i) by a token for the block section, taken from an
electrical block instruments, or
(ii) by a Line Clear Ticket duly signed by the Station
Master, or
(iii) by any document prescribed in this behalf by
special instructions, or
(iv) by the taking 'off' of the last Stop signal in lieu
of tangible authority as mentioned in sub-clauses (I) to
(iii) on sections provided with electrical block
instruments of tokenless type or track circuits or axle
counters.
14.09 Driver to examine authority to proceed
(1) The Driver shall ensure that the authority to proceed given
to him is the proper authority under the system of
working and refers to the block section he is about to
enter, and if the said authority is in writing that it is
complete and duly signed in full and in ink.
(2) If the conditions mentioned in sub-rule (1) are not
complied with, the Driver shall not take his train past or
start from the station until the mistake or the omission is
rectified.
14.10 Conditions for closing the block section -
(1) When the block section has been cleared by the arrival of
the train or by the removal of the cause of blocking, the block
section shall be closed by the block station in advance by
giving the prescribed bell code signal.
(2) Before such signal is given, the Station Master shall
satisfy himself
(a) that the train has arrived complete, or the cause of
blocking the section has been removed, and
(b) that the conditions under which Line Clear can be
given, are complied with.
(3) The provision of clause (b) of sub-rule (2) may be relaxed
at class 'A' single line crossing stations. In such cases, the
Station Master shall satisfy himself that the train is standing
at its Starter clear of the line on which the second train is
to run.
14.11 Responsibility of Station Master as to authority to proceed -
(1) An authority to proceed shall not be given to the Driver
until the procedure prescribed for the purpose, so far as it is
applicable in the particular case, has been followed.
(2) An authority to proceed shall not be given to the Driver
except by the Station Master or by some railway servant
appointed in this behalf by special instructions.
(3) The Station Master shall see that the authority to proceed
given to a Driver is accurate and that, when it is in writing,
it is complete and is signed in full and in ink.
(4) If the train stops at the station and is waiting to cross
another train, the authority to proceed shall not be given to
the Driver until the whole of the latter train has arrived and
is clear of the running line for the former train.
(5) If two engines are coupled together or if one engine is in
front and another in rear of the train, the authority to
proceed shall be given to the Driver of the leading engine.
14.12 Special responsibility as to electrical token instruments and
to the token
(1) The Station Master shall be responsible to ensure that
(a) no one but himself operates the electrical block
instruments,
(b) the procedure regarding bell signals and, in addition
any communication made by electrical communication
instruments including the use of a private number, as
laid down under special instructions, is correctly
carried out,
(c) in the case of stopping trains, the incoming token is
surrendered by the Driver before an outgoing token is
delivered to him,
(d) when he receives the token of an incoming train, it
is put in the electrical block instrument immediately,
and
(e) no one except the person authorised by special
instructions opens the electrical block instruments.
(2) (a) A token shall not be taken out of an electrical block
instrument earlier than necessary and when taken out, its
number shall be recorded in the Train Signal Register,
and it shall be kept in the personal custody of the
Station Master till issued to a Driver or returned to the
instrument.
(b) On arrival of the train at the block station in advance,
the Driver shall give up the token in accordance with special
instructions, and this token shall then be placed in the
electrical block instrument at the station.
(c) If the train has to return to the block station from which
it started, the token shall, on such return, be replaced in the
electrical block instrument from which is was extracted.
14.13 Failure of electrical block instruments or track circuits or
axle counter
(1) If the electrical block instruments, track circuits or axle
counters or their electric connections fail, Line Clear shall
be obtained through the electrical communication instruments.
(2) When Line Clear has been so obtained, an entry to that
effect shall be made in the Train Signal Register, and the
train may be allowed to proceed on the issue of a written
authority to proceed, which shall also bear a remark to that
effect.
14.14 Closing of Intermediate Block Post
If the electrical block instruments provided at the stations on
either side of an Intermediate Block Post or the track
circuiting provided beyond the last Stop signal, or the axle
counters provided at either end of block section, fail, the
Intermediate Block Stop signal shall be treated as defective
and the Intermediate Block Post shall be deemed to be closed
and the section between the stations on either side of the
Intermediate Block Post shall be treated as one block section.
C. Block Stations at which Electrical Block Instruments are not provided
14.15 Transmission of signals
For the working of trains at such stations where electrical
block instruments are not provided, signals as prescribed under
special instructions shall be transmitted, as occasion may
require, on the electrical communication instruments.
14.16 Train Signal Register
The Train Signal Register referred to in Rule 14.07 shall also
be maintained at block stations where block instruments are not
provided.
14.17 Forms for messages and written authority to proceed
(1) All messages despatched in connection with the working of
trains, and all written authorities to proceed, shall be
written on forms specially provided for the purpose by the
Railway Administration.
(2) Such forms shall be bound up in books and kept at each
block station by the Station Master, or by some railway servant
appointed in this behalf by special instructions.
14.18 Distinction of messages
(1) Every message despatched in connection with the working of
a train shall distinctly describe the train to which it
relates.
(2) For every train a separate inquiry and reply shall be sent.
14.19 Writing and signing of messages and written authorities to proceed
(1) All messages despatched in connection with the working of
trains, and all written authorities to proceed, shall be
written up in ink and signed by the person authorised to
despatch or issue the same.
(2) No message or written authority to proceed shall be written
out, either in full or in part, or signed, until necessary.
14.20 Completion of messages
No part of any message shall be despatched or acted upon until
the whole message has been written out except with a view to
the prevention of an accident, or in some other case of
emergency.
14.21 Preservation of messages and written authorities to proceed
Messages and written authorities to proceed shall be destroyed
at such time after issue as may be prescribed by special
instructions:
Provided that no message or written authority to proceed
shall be destroyed before one month after issue.
14.22 Cancellation of Line Clear
On a single line when a Line Clear has been cancelled, no train
shall be allowed to leave in the opposite direction until a
message has been received acknowledging such cancellation and
stating that the train for which the Line Clear has been given
is and shall be detained.
14.23 Driver to have authority to proceed
The Driver shall not take his train from a station unless he
has in his possession, as his authority to proceed, a Line
Clear Ticket duly signed by the Station Master.
14.24 Authority to proceed : when to be given to Driver
An authority to proceed shall not be given to the Driver
until the procedure prescribed for the purpose, so far as
it is applicable in the particular case, has been followed.
D. Line Clear Tickets
14.25 Line Clear Tickets
(1) When owing to failure or non-provision of electrical block
instruments the authority to proceed is a Line Clear Ticket, it
shall, except under special instructions, be in the following
form -
Pro.No.....................................................Railway
LINE CLEAR TICKET
Up (or Down)
No. of train......................................................
Date .............................................................
Time ...................... Hours...............Minutes...........
From
Station Master....................................................
To
Driver of No.............................Up (or Down)
The line is clear and you are hereby authorised to proceed to ....
..........................................................station.
Private No.............................................................
Station Master................
(2) Each such ticket shall bear a serial number which shall be
recorded in the Train Signal Register, the numbers for the Down
direction being clearly distinguished from those for the Up
direction.
(3) The ticket referred to in sub-rules (1) and (2) shall be
coloured as follows
(a) Line Clear Ticket for Down main line on white paper,
plain.
(b) Line Clear Ticket for Up main line on distinctively
coloured paper other than white with vertical red bands on
both faces.
(c) Line Clear Ticket for Down branch and loop lines on white
paper with three black corners on both faces and
superscription in the fourth corner distinguishing between
"branch" and "loop".
(d) Line Clear Ticket for Up branch and loop lines on a
distinctively coloured paper other than white with vertical
red bands on both faces, and three black corners on both
faces and superscription in the fourth corner distinguishing
between "branch" and "loop".
(e) If two branch or loop lines leave from the same end of a
station, Line Clear Tickets for one branch or loop line will
have the three corners blocked in on both faces as in clause
(c) or (d), the blocks being in the form of black
triangles. Line Clear Tickets for other branch or loop line
will have black circles in the three corresponding corners on
both faces. If there are more than two branch or loop lines,
Line Clear Tickets of the remaining branches or loops shall
be distinguished by a large initial letter in a thick circle
in corresponding corners on both faces.
E. Use and Operation of Block Working Equipment
14.26 Use and operation of block working equipment
The use and operation of electrical block instruments shall be
governed by special instructions to be issued with the prior
approval of the Railway Board.
