A slow order is a local speed restriction on a

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

line that is set below the track's normal speed limit. Slow orders are usually imposed by railway dispatchers for sections of track that are in some way deficient or when there is a requirement to perform maintenance on a section of railway. Slow orders are employed whenever

continuous welded rail A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

has some sort of

derail A derail or derailer is a device used to prevent fouling (blocking or compromising) of a rail track (or collision with anything present on the track, such as a person, or a train) by unauthorized movements of trains or unattended rolling stock. ...

or danger condition, such as an open critical joint, joints close to a bridge or movable bridge, or issues with settling ballast. Sometimes, slow orders are imposed because of rail geometry defects or snow accumulations. When maintenance workers wish to work under

dispatcher A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical s ...

protection without a designated "window" of time where no trains are allowed to run, they typically post flags at either end of the section on which they will be working, and a slow order is posted on the track. Since slow orders tend to disrupt

timetables A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are i ...

and can affect time-sensitive shipments,

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

try to get them cleared as soon as is safely possible.

Around the world

Croatia

Croatian Railways Croatian Railways ( hr, Hrvatske željeznice; abbreviated as HŽ) is the national railway company of Croatia. Croatia is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Croatia is 78. The Croatian rail network carri ...

, slow order is signaled with the following signs: 1 - Signal "Slow" (Croatian: ''Lagano'') - round yellow board with a white border. This sign warns the train driver that he is approaching the part of the track where the slow order is installed. The board is placed at the beginning of the braking path to the point where the slow order begins. 2 - Signal "Beginning of slow order" (Croatian: ''Početak lagane vožnje'') - white alphanumeric number on a black square board - indicates the place of the start of slow order. The number on the board shows maximum permitted speed over the slow order section in kilometers per hour. 3 - Revocation signal (Croatian: ''Opozivni signal'') - round green board with a white border - indicates the place of the end of slow order. The driver may accelerate the train to regular speed only after the last axle of the last vehicle in the train composition has passed this sign.

United States

In June 2022, the Coast Line between

Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

and

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

was subject to a slow order issued by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

due to malfunctioning

grade crossing signal Level crossing signals are the electronic warning devices for road vehicles at railroad level crossings. The basic signal consists of flashing red lights, a crossbuck and a bell (either a real bell or a speaker that mimics a bell sound), attach ...

s. As such,

Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from F ...

trains experienced delays of up to 30 minutes since trains were required to slow down to 20 mph at most grade crossings.

References

Railway safety Rail transport operations {{rail-transport-stub