Railway

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Rail Transportation, Railway Station, Railways, Station, Train Station, Trains, Train Line

Category

Transportation, Transport Facilities, Transport Modes, Travel, Public Facilities, Tourism

Message / Function

To indicate transport by train or the location of trains

	Source	Description
*	ISO 7001	Perspective view of train and railway line
	Avanti PUM	Perspective view of train and railway line
	ÖBB 2007	Perspective view of train and railway line
	UIC 413	Perspective view of train and railway line
	France IISR	Perspective view of train and railway line
	SVI	Perspective view of train
	GSR Portugal	Perspective view of train and railway line at covered platform
	Slovenia 2015	Front view of train on tracks, clock
	Erco	Front view of diesel locomotive
	UIC 413 b	Front view of train on tracks
	DB 1994	Front view of diesel locomotive
	DB	Front view of electric train
	BS 8501:2002	Front view of train and railway line
	Eco-Mo Foundation	Front view of train on tracks
	AIGA	Front view of train with horns, on tracks in perspective view
	Museu Blau	Front view of train in outline, on tracks
	ATH	Front view of train with horns, on tracks in perspective view
	Aragón	Front view of train on tracks in perspective view
	PC	Front view of train on tracks in perspective view
	KSA	Front view of train on tracks in perspective view
	D'source	Front view of train on tracks in perspective view
	SADC	Front view of train on tracks in perspective view
	DER	Front view of train on tracks in perspective view
	Bolivia	Front view of train on long tracks in perspective view
	ONCE	Front view of electric train, on long tracks in perspective view, horizon indicated
*	Icograda (modified)	Front view of train on long tracks in perspective view
	UIC/Zwaga	Front view of train on tracks at covered platform with clock
	UIC/Zwaga	Front view of train on tracks at covered platform with human figure
	Argentina MSV	Front view of train on tracks at covered platform with human figure
	Ecuador	Front view of train on tracks at covered platform with human figure
	MTA	Front view of train on tracks at covered platform with human figure
	PMP RI	Front view of electric train on tracks at covered platform with human figure
	SSRS	Front view of electric train at platform
	StVO D	Front view of electric train at platform, inverted V shape above
	Baden-Baden	Front view of diesel locomotive inside building shape
	DER	Front view of train on tracks, inverted V shape above
	UIC/Zwaga	Bird’s-eye view of front of train on tracks
	NRR	Side view of front of train
	BVG	Side view of front of train
	BVG	Side view of front of train
	Zurich Airport	Side view of front of train on tracks
	CNIS	Side view of front of train on tracks
	EJP	Side view of front of train (Shinkansen 0 Series)
	EJP	Side view of front of train (Shinkansen 300 Series)
	EJP	Side view of front of train (Shinkansen 700 Series)
	Transantiago	Side view of front of electric rail car
	SN 640 827	Side view of front of electric locomotive on rail
	UIC 413 b	Side view of front of electric train at covered platform with clock
	W-RSN	Side view of front of electric train at covered platform with clock
	McLaren & Braunstein	Side view of electric rail car above filled rectangle
	ADV	Side view of rail car on rail
	IATA	Side view of two coupled railroad cars on rail
	BS 8501:2002	Side view of steam locomotive with smoke
	UN 1968	Side view of steam locomotive with smoke
	Tern	Side view of steam locomotive with smoke
*	Icograda (modified)	Side view of steam locomotive with smoke
	Icograda	Side view of steam locomotive inside circle
	Hora III:HS	Side view of steam locomotive, clock and triangular roof above

Note: Some of the examples shown above were mirrored horizontally to contrast differences.

Discussion

The collection shown above is only a small selection of the wide variety of railway pictograms used all over the world. Many show local characteristics or signs of their times, which limits their use.

As there are different fields of application for a pictogram Railway or Rail Transportation, responses elicited when testing for comprehension are very much dependent on the context provided. This is reflected in the range of responses in the ISO 1979/80 test series (Easterby & Graydon 1981) as well as the 1986 test series (Brugger, 1987). In the latter study, a Comprehension Test conducted in five countries with more than 1500 respondents, the variants marked with * proved to be equally well comprehensible.

Some aspects to regard:

The side view of the front of a train as shown in the variant from the Dutch Railways (NRR) did not perform well in a matching test (Zwaga & Boersema, 1983): there was a significant amount of confusions with Bus and Tram. The same can be expected from variants similar to the ADV pictogram and the pictogram designed by McLaren & Braunstein shown above. The latter could represent a Tram just as well.
Side views of a steam locomotive with smoke are generally well associated with all kinds of Railway related aspects (Brugger, 1987) and will not be confused with other referents like Bus or Tram, but they are not applicable if one wants to convey the message of modern rail transportation.
Showing local characteristics or using images of specific locomotive or train types, for example with pantograph, as well as variants showing a platform, limit the general applicability.
Especially for visually impaired persons some front views bear the danger of insufficient differentiation from front views of a Bus or Truck. Fiori (2008) als reported misinterpretations as subway/underground.
The first variants of the table above successfully overcome the problem of being mixed-up with other transportation related messages or designs by trying to emphasize the specific aspect of train length. The variant from ISO 7001 also sets a focus on the train specific lighting scheme used in many countries by exaggerating the size of the three headlights.

Tests of pictograms of referent Railway

Brugger, Ch. (1984): Reihungstest 1984. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute, Vienna, 1984-10-05.

Brugger, Ch. (1987): Evaluation of Public Information Symbols, ISO 1986 Test Series: Comprehension/Recognition Test. WIEN: ISO/TC 145/SC 1.

Brugger: Ch. (1995): ÖBB / ON Testserie 1995, Teil 2 Verständnisschätzungen nach ISO 9186. Report to ÖBB GD 02 (Austrian Railways) dated February 1995, Vienna.

Easterby, R.S. & Graydon, I.R. (1981): Evaluation of Public Information Symbols: ISO Test: 1979/80 Series. Part I: Appropriateness Ranking Tests. AP Report 99, Applied Psychology Department, University of Aston in Birmingham, January 1981.

Easterby, R.S. & Graydon, I.R. (1981): Evaluation of Public Information Symbols: ISO 1979/80 Test Series. Part II: Comprehension/Recognition Tests. AP Report 100, Applied Psychology Department, University of Aston in Birmingham, January 1981.

Eco-Mo Foundation (2001): Test data of public information symbols in Japan - Procedure for the testing of public information symbols by the Study Committee. ISO: ISO/TC 145/SC 1 N 329.

Fiori, S. R. (2008): Mapas para o turismo e a interatividade - proposta teórica e prática. Tese de Doutorado - Depto. de Geografia, FFLCH-USP.

Gärling, T. (1985): ISO Appropriateness Ranking Test 1985 - Redovisning av genomförande. Report to the Swedish Standards Institute dated 1985-07-24.

Zwaga, H.J. & Boersema, T. (1983): Evaluation of a set of graphic symbols. Applied Ergonomics, 14, 1, 43-54.