Ding-ding, and away

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Ding-ding, and away is a term that has been used for many years in the British railway industry. It used to describe an incident where a train driver is given the signal to start and subsequently forgets to check the platform starting signal. The result is a SPAD, and occasionally a serious accident.

On multiple unit trains, the guard uses a series of audible signals on a bell or buzzer. When a stop has been completed at an unstaffed station, the guard at informs the driver by sending the signal for "ready to start", which is two rings on the bell or buzzer (hence "ding-ding"). At staffed station, platform staff give the signal with a paddle or a torch (known as "dispatching"). For a long time there was a debate in British Railways as to whether guards and station staff should only give the "ready to start" signal if the platform starting signal was clear. The British Railways Board refused to change the rules, citing that the driver alone should have the responsibility to comply with signals and that nobody else should share this responsibility. Initially the Railway Inspectorate agreed with this, for example in the report on the early example at Woolwich Arsenal in 1948 [1]. However, a spate of accidents in the 1970s culminated in seven people being killed at Paisley Gilmour Street in 1979, and the rules were finally changed in 1980.

Sadly, "ding-ding, and away" accidents have not been completely eliminated, despite the rule change and the introduction of equipment such as the driver's reminder appliance. This sort of incident is also not restricted to trains with guards. On trains under driver-only operation (DOO), it has been known for the driver to close the doors and move away without checking the signal. This was the case in the Newton rail crash.

With driver-only operation now more common, the term "Starting against station signal, passed at danger" (SASSPAD) is now officially used.