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To confirm what rsd2525 has said - track maintenance crews have to post 'watchers' on the Up and Down Lines because when you hear trains passing all day, you become imune to the sound, and people have been run over simply because they didn't see or 'hear' a train approaching. Add to that the increased danger of pedestrians crossing at stations, means a quick blast is a warning, but little use if you are in the way of an express.
I thought the question was about going through stations, I can only answer for the London Underground. If the train is not stopping, then the driver will give a long blast of his whistle to warn Passengers to keep away from the edge of the platform, this would also apply to the overhead trains as well, and thats basically the only reason. Between stations, as the Permanent Way, (pee way), has been mentioned, when a driver spots some, (and as andy has said, there should be a lookout posted some way from the workers, and he carries a horn with wich he communicates to his workmates if an oncoming train is on the up or down line), he should give a long blast of his whistle, the pee way gang should move to a place of safety, then raise their left arms to signify they have heard, if they don't comply with any part of that, then the driver should stop.
Train drivers don't sound their horn as they pass through every station but only in specific situations. These include when exiting a tunnel immediately prior to a station. (This is a final warning to platform staff who may be using a 'barrow crossing' over the tracks. I say 'final' because there are usually other safety factors which operate before this, including safety lights being extinguished and/or a bell ringing).
Drivers are obliged to use the horn whenever they see a 'Whistle' board. Many of these are on the approach to stations. The horn is not sounded to warn station staff, however, but to alert people who may be using level crossings further along the track. So, the fact that the horn is sounded as the train passes through the station is incidental to the reason for it's use.
There may be other specific situations when drivers are required to sound their horn when passing through stations but it's certainly not true to say that this always happens. I can't think of any stations in East Anglia where a train will sound its horn while actually passing through the station. There is one station, Ipswich, where northbound trains use the horn on approach but this is only because the train is leaving a tunnel. There are several other stations where trains use their horns close to the station but, in every case, this is because of 'Whistle' boards which relate to level crossings further along the track and have nothing to do with passing through the station.
Chris
Drivers are obliged to use the horn whenever they see a 'Whistle' board. Many of these are on the approach to stations. The horn is not sounded to warn station staff, however, but to alert people who may be using level crossings further along the track. So, the fact that the horn is sounded as the train passes through the station is incidental to the reason for it's use.
There may be other specific situations when drivers are required to sound their horn when passing through stations but it's certainly not true to say that this always happens. I can't think of any stations in East Anglia where a train will sound its horn while actually passing through the station. There is one station, Ipswich, where northbound trains use the horn on approach but this is only because the train is leaving a tunnel. There are several other stations where trains use their horns close to the station but, in every case, this is because of 'Whistle' boards which relate to level crossings further along the track and have nothing to do with passing through the station.
Chris
I was 'beeped' once, just for being a bit near to the tracks and perhaps the drver thought i was jumper?
Me and a friend were at a largely deserted station, going in the opposite direction to each other and as we had about an hour each to wait for our trains, we sat near the edge (about 2ft back) of the track talking across to each other.
only one train passed in that time on my side and i got up and stood back well in advance of the train getting near - it still beeped me.
I expect they were worried that from a distance, the action of me crouching to stand up could have looked like me getting ready to leap
- strangely though he didn't beep until he was pretty much right in front of me, so it sort of seemed like an angry beep for frightening him and making him worry that he had to start braking but didn't have enough track space.
he didn't slow so he must have realise quite quickly i wasn't a jumper but it perhaps shook him up at bit.
i won't do that again!
As we are now talking about train whistles in general, its a language in its own right, other than the answers already given, eg, in the depot, when the train is being prepared for service, if a fault is found, four long whistles will summon a maintainer, likewise, in service, at certain stations. If there is a problem, and the train is delayed, and no other means of communication, the driver will send the guard (if there is one) forward, six long whistles will recall him, and there are many more examples this.
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