Headcode
Also: reporting number, train reporting number, signalling id
A train’s four-character name, like 1A23, that tells signallers what kind of train it is and where it’s going.
Example
Every train running on the network has a headcode: a digit, a letter, then two digits. It’s what signallers see on their screens, and what the railway uses when it talks about a train.
The first digit says what kind of train it is. 1 is an express passenger train and 2 is a stopping one. 5 is an empty passenger train on its way somewhere, 0 is a locomotive on its own, and 4, 6, 7 and 8 are freight trains of different speeds.
The letter usually says which area the train is heading for, and the last two digits tell trains of the same kind apart. On many main lines, A means London.
Headcodes aren’t unique: the same one can be in use in different parts of the country at once, and again the next day. Older trains showed it on a panel on the front, which is where the name comes from.
In Trainiac
The chip next to the operator on a journey, and the train card.