A photo of ... Karow

#115

My Dear Friend of Democracy,

Today, just this photo.

I took it last weekend in Karow, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany.

It shows so-called railway semaphore signals.

These signals show their different meanings to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'.

You don't see these mechanical signals very often in Europe anymore. They phased out in favour of colour light signals, and even these are no longer used on high-speed lines.

Today, thanks to digital technology, relevant information is often displayed on a train display for the train driver.

So, progress sometimes shows itself in things disappearing.

But wait, here comes the exciting part.

Rail transport in Europe was a national matter for almost a century. Technology and safety differed from country to country. Semaphore signals, for example, look very different outside Germany.

Then, in the mid-1980s, the search began for a common European operation system for railways. They called it ERTMS, short for European Rail Traffic Management System.

(If you want to go into details, click here, but, hey, it's a bit complicated.)

Without going into detail here and today, this system of standards for management and interoperation of railway signalling is a blessing for Europe. It enables cross-border rail traffic to improve.

And that is necessary. Because the demand for rail services in Europe is strong.

See you in Europe,

Johannes