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From: mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate)
Newsgroups: net.railroad
Subject: Signals and Safety
Message-ID: <3236@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 17-Feb-86 16:00:26 EST
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.3236
Posted: Mon Feb 17 16:00:26 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Feb-86 01:07:34 EST
References: <6389@utzoo.UUCP>
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 21

Richard Snell asks:

>1. Does Amtrak share tracks with freights?

Outside of the NE Corridor, yes.  The electrified section of the Corridor
has parallel freight trackage.

>2. Do American freights run on schedules?

Some do and some don't.

>3. Are there shut off levers (as on many (ALL?) subway systems) which throw
>   the break on immediately if a train runs a red light?  (Otherwise, with
>   should the engineer have a heart attack, for instance, 
>   the train would just keep rolling).  The press is not yet indicating
>   whether such a system was in place on the freight, but it appears the
>   engineer was alone at the time of the accident.

Such devices exist, but I'm not sure about how widespread is their usage.

C. Wingate