German railway signalling

Railway signals in Germany are regulated by the Eisenbahn-Signalordnung (ESO, railway signalling rules). There are several signalling systems in use:

Originally, the railway company of each German state had its own signalling system. After these companies were merged into the German Imperial Railway (Deutsche Reichsbahn), a common signalling system, the H/V system, was created based on two key types of signal. However, Bavaria was permitted to use its own designs of signal, with slightly different meanings, as part of the national scheme for many years thereafter.