Permissive Working on a railway in the United Kingdom allows more than one train at a time to be on the same line in a

block section Absolute block signalling is a British signalling scheme designed to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one train to occupy a defined section of track (block) at a time. This system is used on double or multiple lines where ...

, a

signal In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

section or a dead-end

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

line.

Authorisation

The areas where Permissive Working is allowed are given in Table A of the

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

Sectional Appendix In Great Britain, the Sectional Appendix is a railway document compiled by Network Rail and is the official definition of railway infrastructure, giving a detailed description of all railway lines owned by Network Rail. It has traditionally bee ...

Exceptions

Even where it is not authorised, a shunting movement can be allowed to enter a portion of line that is already occupied providing that it is for the purpose of: *attaching vehicles *detaching vehicles *removing vehicles.

Driving towards another train

When it is permitted to drive a train towards the rear of another train, such as where trains queue to enter or exit a depot, the driver must: *proceed with caution *not pass a signal which has been cleared for the train in front until it has been replaced to danger and then cleared for their movement.

References

{{Rail-stub Railway signalling block systems