[PA1930]

roeter, on 11 December 2013 - 10:09 AM, said:

One realistic way to implement signal failures is this : when an activity is started, a notice will appear : "your train is cancelled due to a signal failure" - and the program terminates. I doubt that such an implementation would be appreciated, though.

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

If that was like that in real life, many railways, on bad weather days specially, wouldn't have any trains running. :lol:

Also, if a signal is failed, due to whatever circumstances, it can also be a "surprise" for the train driver, and one happens to then call to the CTC reporting the problem for the following train drivers to then be informed about it previously. And also in some countries, some signals also show an "extra light" when they are failed... (and I doubt that light is failed as well ;) talk about bad luck... ^_^ ).

[Dove93]

roeter, on 11 December 2013 - 10:09 AM, said:

So, for starters, it will have to be decided what type of signal failure we should implement, what the state of the signal is to be, how the driver is to be informed etc.

Or at some point it could be an option selected either by the player at the start, or included in a file specific to that route. This way if you're running a train in Europe, it would be dealt with in the same manner as it would be in the real world there.

Or if running in the United States or Canada:
GCOR 5.15: Improperly Displayed Signals
If a signal is improperly displayed, or a signal, flag, or sign is absent from the place it is usually shown,
regard the signal as displaying the most restrictive indication it can give. However, if a semaphore arm is
visible, it will govern.
Promptly report improperly displayed signals or absent fixed signals, flags, or signs to the train dispatcher.

CSX, NS, NORAC and Canadian Rail operating rules are similar, and all state that improperly displayed signals are to be considered as displaying the most restrictive indication that signal can display.

[roeter]

PA1930, on 11 December 2013 - 01:35 PM, said:

If that was like that in real life, many railways, on bad weather days specially, wouldn't have any trains running. :lol:

And what do you think happened here last week when North-West Europe was hit by a severe storm?
No trains in : Scotland (full day), Northern and Eastern England (from about midday), Netherlands (northern part, for about 5 to 10 hours), Northern Germany (most afternoon, some routes into the next day), Denmark (most afternoon and evening).
Severe thunderstorms in summer affecting signalling will at least cause severe delays (trains running with caution), or full closure of routes where failures occur.

So - at least in this part of the world - that is exactly what happens!

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

[PA1930]

roeter, on 11 December 2013 - 03:35 PM, said:

And what do you think happened here last week when North-West Europe was hit by a severe storm?
No trains in : Scotland (full day), Northern and Eastern England (from about midday), Netherlands (northern part, for about 5 to 10 hours), Northern Germany (most afternoon, some routes into the next day), Denmark (most afternoon and evening).
Severe thunderstorms in summer affecting signalling will at least cause severe delays (trains running with caution), or full closure of routes where failures occur.

So - at least in this part of the world - that is exactly what happens!

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

To be honest I'm amazed... At least in the Czech Republic, trains travelling to Germany for example, when earlier this year there were some water floods in north of the country, trains avoided that part of the route... Yeah, big delays but they weren't cancelled! :) Though of course, I can imagine if the weather situation is really bad they prefer to cancel trains... Though I must guess it won't be a "happy day" for passengers. :pardon: