| Date |
Event |
Location / Company |
| 1834 |
First fixed signal |
Liverpool & Manchester Railway |
| 1841 |
First semaphore signal |
New Cross Gate, London & Croydon Railway |
| 1846 |
First auxiliary signals |
Hawick branch, North British Railway |
| 1872 |
First semaphore distant signals with fishtailed arms |
Norwood Junction, London, Brighton & South Coast Railway |
| 1877 |
First 'somersault' semaphore signals |
Great Northern Railway |
| 1878 |
First route indicators |
London Bridge, London, Brighton & South Coast Railway |
| 1880 |
First use of the electric token system in everyday service |
Callander & Oban Railway |
| 1892 |
Board of Trade requires that signals in new works show only red or green lights |
- |
| 1914 |
First upper quadrant three-position semaphore signal |
London Paddington, Great Western Railway |
| 1916 |
First yellow lights in distant signals |
Great Central Railway |
| c.1918 |
First yellow distant signal arms |
Great Central Railway |
| 1923 |
First three-aspect colour light signals |
London & North Eastern Railway |
| 1924 (10 Dec.) |
IRSE Three-Position Signalling Committee report submitted |
- |
| 1925 |
Ministry of Transport requires that distant signals have yellow arms and lights |
- |
| 1926 (21 Mar.) |
First four-aspect colour light signals |
Southern Railway |
| 1926 (20 Jul.) |
Railway Clearing House agrees to the use of upper quadrant two-position semaphore signals |
- |
| 1932 (17 Jul.) |
Experimental colour light speed signalling |
Mirfield, London Midland & Scottish Railway |
| 1933 |
First junction type route indicator |
Thirsk, London & North Eastern Railway |
| 1952 (23 Sep.) |
First level crossing provided with lifting barriers |
Warthill, British Railways (North Eastern Region) |
| 1955 (23 Jan.) |
A fatal derailment leads to provision of permanent speed restriction signs across network |
Sutton Coldfield, British Railways (London Midland Region) |
| 1956 |
British Railways Automatic Warning System (AWS) introduced |
British Railways |
| 1961 (5 Feb.) |
First level crossing provided with automatic half barriers |
Spath, British Railways (London Midland Region) |
| 1969 (7 May) |
A fatal derailment leads to provision of advance warning indicators for certain permanent speed restrictions |
Morpeth, British Rail (Eastern Region) |
| 1975 (28 Feb.) |
A fatal buffer stop collision leads to altered aspect sequences on approach to terminal platform lines |
Moorgate, London Underground (Northern City Line) |
| 1975 (6 Jun.) |
A fatal derailment leads to provision of AWS at temporary speed restriction warning boards |
Nuneaton, British Rail (London Midland Region) |
| 1979 (4 Mar.) |
First flashing yellow signal aspects |
Didcot East Junction, British Rail (Western Region) |
| 1984 (28 Oct.) |
First implementation of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) |
Kyle of Lochalsh line, British Rail (Scottish Region) |
| 1994 (3 Oct.) |
First SPAD indicator |
Meadowhall, Railtrack (London North Eastern Zone) |
| 1997 (11 May) |
First preliminary route indicator (PRI) |
Airport Junction, Railtrack (Great Western Zone) |
| 1999 |
Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) introduced |
Railtrack |
| 2003 |
First implementation of TVM430 cab signalling |
Channel Tunnel Rail Link |
| 2010 (24 Oct.) |
First implementation of ETCS Level 2 cab signalling |
Cambrian Coast Line, Network Rail (Western Route) |
