X-Nico

2 unusual facts about Signal Passed At Danger


Signal passed at danger

The DRA is an inhibiting switch designed specifically to prevent 'Starting Away SPADs' by passenger trains.

Ding-ding, and away, British slang for permission to proceed wrongly being given


FS Class E.646

In Florence Firenze Castello station, on March 23, 1998, unit E.646.009 was hit by EMU ETR 480-34, that was running between Rome and Bergamo, and that passed a signal at 'danger' without stopping (SPAD); the accident caused one dead and 39 wounded.

Kharagpur railway station

Thus plans are to deploy TPWS (Train Protection and Warning System) on this section to mitigate the risk of Signal passed at danger (SPAD) by train drivers leading to accidents.

Southall rail crash

The crash occurred after the 10:32 Great Western Trains passenger train from Swansea to London Paddington, worked by power cars 43173 + 43163 and operating with a defective Automatic Warning System (AWS), passed a red (danger) signal (SPAD), preceded by two cautionary signals, and collided with a freight train entering Southall goods yard shortly before 13:20 local time.


see also