Close Distance

I was quite surprised when I saw these two trains moving over the bridge this close. The perspective distorts it, of course, there's the enire river Rhine between them (wide, not length), but still, it is rather close, and both are on the same track.

The train in front here, by the way, is the same as that one (it's actually two coupled 425's, that's why the numbers don't match. You can see the two pantographs and the gap in the train line if you look closely). Do not confuse the double-decker car with the one from Over the Bridge. It's a different one, it just looks exactly the same.

The signal (above from the start of the EMU and slightly to the right) indicates that the train is cleared to go (green light on the upper panel) but should expect stop at the next signal (diagonal yellow/orange lights on the lower panel). There has to be a home signal somewhere between the two trains, but I cannot find it on any of my photographs. However, the steel construction has many, many ways of hiding things from the casual observer, so I'm quite certain it is there, somewhere.

As for the signals we can see: The white light on the lower panel of the signal the class 425 is currently passing indicates that this is merely a repetition for better visibility, the train has already passed the official distant signal. You'll see another distant signal, indicating the same, in between the tracks (in germany, signals are valid for the track to the left of them). Low-mounted distant signals are quite a rarity in german railroading. The final type of signal, the one with the six sides, is a shunting signal. Two white lights diagonally indicate that the train is allowed to pass. In case of doubt, a shunting signal has precedence over a normal signal. You'll see one indicating "stop" at the right track, with the two red lines in a horizontal pattern. Just to increase the text length even more, the red lights at the end of the trains are also considered signals, Zg2 "Zugschluss" (end of train).