Neale and Neale

John Neale invented block instrument; his son J E Neale came up with a token dispensing technique

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THEN AND NOW Railway officials at work in the control room of a station in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. In an earlier era, before entering a block, the engine driver would pick up a physical token. Until he deposited it, no other train could enter the

Bibek Debroy

Last Updated : Mar 23 2017 | 10:49 PM IST

Thanks to these columns, I am regarded as an expert on Indian Railways (IR), the organisation as well as the network, though I am no expert on either. Hence, someone recently asked me the following question. “When I was young, I used to see the engine driver hurl something towards the platform as the train sped past and pick up something in return. What was that?” A block is a section of the track, such as that between two stations. (I am simplifying matters a bit. If the distance between two stations is quite a bit, there may be more than

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