The Dangerous Job of Exchanging Tokens on Railways to Prevent Single-Track Train Collisions

The incredible act of a token ring exchange to prevent single-track train collisions is one of the most dangerous railway jobs. Essentially, a round ring, known as a token, is held by a railway employee who then hands it off to the engineer on the moving train for track entry. This process is very exacting and is over in a split second. Any hesitation can be disastrous.

This guy is standing right beside a moving train, handing off a metal ring to the crew on board. If he lets go even 1 second late, the outcome could be disastrous. So, why risk something this dangerous? Because that ring isn’t a prop. It’s called a token, and it was once the key to preventing head-on collisions on single track railways.

The token exchange was employed exclusively before electronic signaling came into play.

Before electronic signaling existed, each section of track had only one token. Whoever held it was the only train allowed to enter that section. No token, no entry.

Examples of Railway Token Exchange

A 1959 Film About Railway Token Exchange