Abstract: A railway anticollision apparatus and method is disclosed in which machine readable trackside markers such as bar code markers are utilized along the track and are read by apparatus on board the train to provide track number identification, milepost identification and train direction. On board the train is equipment to provide train identification and train speed. This information is transmitted through transponders between trains and to a central station and is processed by apparatus on board the respective trains and the central location to provide visual and audible signals indicative of a potential train collision.