Is this seen as a big thing (in the UK a SPAD - signal passed at danger - very much is) or is it just "one of those things" so you just continue with a short delay and perhaps log the incident for statistical purposes?
It depends what happened. If PZB does force you to stop, after you have come to a halt you must contact the signaller and tell him what happened to ensure you haven't overlooked anything (even if you're 100% sure you know the reason and it was human error with no danger), and if both parties are confident that a Signal requiring a stop was not passed without permission, then you may continue your journey with the signallers permission. So long as it wasn't caused by a red signal, and you haven't been collecting them all day, that's usually the end of it.
I don’t think BR111 is talking about anything as major as a SPAD - one would think this event would be frowned upon in Germany at least as much as in the UK.
I think, but I might be wrong, BR111 was thinking of mishaps in the likes of not acknowledging a PZB magnet, for example.
You are spot on - a signal passed at danger (Hp 0) is very serious and you are taken out of duty with immediate effect, with pretty much the only exception being that the signal was originally allowing you to pass, but changed back to red due to a signal fault or the signaller turned it back to red without warning as a preventative measure (i.e. another train has passed a signal at danger and it might be blocking your track)
One thing I have noticed on my travels in Germany is the number of signal boxes. All but the smallest of stations seems to have an associated box and they look well maintained and open.
Are they actively controlling signals in the vicinity or is there more centralised control as I would expect?
This varies greatly, but from the signals you are getting you can usually tell what kind of signal box is being used. Highly used main lines are usually controlled centrally, but there's still a lot of local signallers active. There's always been a bit of push and pull in terms of what Germany wants to do with its signallers in the future. It was planned that eventually everything would be controlled centrally across a few signal "boxes" across the country, but the last I've heard they're toying with the idea of just modernising everything and keeping the signallers in their respective locations. I'm not too informed on the matter, but knowing where your signallers are and what part of line they are responsible for is of course a part of route knowledge, and I have to say in my area it's very varied. On one route we still have an ancient signalbox with what would be semaphore signals in the UK, and until recently that number was 2.
With regards to the dispatch process of ICE vs Regional Express vs InterCity how do they differ in the methods from train stopping in the platform and releasing the doors to doors closing and train departing from the platform?
For ICE trains, the driver is not involved at all - they only unlock the doors, and when the on board staff have finished their platform duties, the Guard will have either given a signal which in the UK would be "right away" (Zp 9), or more commonly since about 2-3 years ago, they call the driver to inform them the doors are shut, the driver must finalise the lock and is allowed to proceed.
So: Driver opens doors, Guard and other on-board staff do their platform duties, Guard whistles, doors are closed, the other on-board staff signal the guard that their section is clear, everyone gets back in the train, when the Guard's door is shut, he calls the driver (alternatively, the Guard activates the Right Away Signal, and then gets on the train)
For InterCity trains, where a Guard is there and still has his Guard duties, he is still responsible for the closing of the doors, but the driver must co-operate and look on the platform to see what is going on. It works like this: Driver unlocks doors, on-board staff perform platform duties, Guard whistles and closes the doors (in the cab, a voice will now say "Schließvorgang eingeleitet" which means "Door closing procedure commenced", where the driver must now also lock the doors (it's a turnable switch, not buttons like in the UK, so he brings it back to 0)) and look out of the window/use mirrors or monitors to assess the Guard's commands, the other on-board staff report to the guard, the Guard thenn gives the Driver "Right away" (Zp 9), either using a platform signal, or a green light/handheld 'disk'; similar to something you see in the UK but the disc is a green ring with a white circle in the middle.
For regional trains, it depends on the door securing system used. For TB 0 (doors are either unlocked or locked; even a platform side cannot be selected. Requires a Guard, only used if SAT or TAV fail and on n-Wagen services, which are also almost extinct) and SAT (very similar to what I presume to be the UK system - a side for the doors can be selected while the other remains locked) it is essentially the same as for InterCity trains, except there is only one member of staff and they do not have the rank of guard, and so they are not allowed to give the Signal "Right Away", only signal that the doors are closed. They do this by holding up a white light or an orange dis (see
here for an example of both disks), which means the driver must also check to ensure the doors he can see are closed, which is also done by looking out or using monitors or mirrors. SAT is uncommon, but not very rare. From the trains I drive, it is the trains hauled by Br 111 (rarely Br 146) with the 'old' (built 1994 - 1997) Double decker carriages.
More modern regional trains use TAV (everything I drive excluding the '97 carriages. Our 2003 and 2010 double decker coaches have TAV, and so does the 111. EMU's and DMU's are also almost exclusively TAV, where the only exception I can think of is the DMU 612 which also operates SAT). TAV is based on the concept that the door is clever enough to know if anything is stuck in between due to the addition of a light barrier that isn't used with SAT (although the rubber on the inside of the doors has air pressure in it, and it can detect if something is trapped inside, although it would have to be a noticeable change). TAV doesn't require any checking - all that happens is that the driver takes back the door release (different to closing the doors - in TAV the doors close automatically if it doesn't detect anything in the light barrier for a few seconds) when he is confident that the passenger exchange has been completed - either by looking out or checking monitors/mirrors. When the door system says that all the doors are closed, the journey can continue. Should the driver decide to force the doors to close (objects in way of the light barrier for example), the light barrier can be temporarily disabled but if this is done, then essentially the train is dispatched identically to SAT - if there is no other member of staff on board, the driver must then check all doors (only via sight however) are really closed. If there are no/insufficient resources available to see all the doors from the cab, then the driver must leave the train and walk on the platform until he sees every door.
For finishing notes:
I did keep referring to the driver as "He". Of course it can be a female driver too!
TB 0 =
Tür
blockierung ab 0 km/h (door locking at speeds above 0 km/h)
SAT =
Selbst
abfertigung durch
Triebfahrzeugführer (quite hard to directly translate - I suppose this means Door closing system with responsibility at the driver)
TAV =
Technikbasiertes
Abfertigungs
verfahren (Tech-based door closing system)
SST =
Seiten
selektive
Türsteuerung (side selective door control - not explicitly mentioned in my explanation but it is what the IC and ICE trains use)
If the box looks well maintained and open, you can assume that someone is working in there to control train traffic.
The German railway network has
more than 3000 boxes in operation, many of which are still lever-and-wire-based!
Yep, lever-and-wire would be "Mechanischer Stellwerk" here. It's still in operation on one of my routes, but for the most part it's a modern, central signalling "box" (Elektronischer Stellwerk). A lot is still done with a "Drucktaster Stellwerk", however, and these aren't likely to go anywhere in the near, or indeed semi-distant future.