A planned event where two opposing trains pass each other on a route that is primarily single track. The dispatcher routes one train into a siding to clear the main line, allowing the other to pass. Meets require precise timing to avoid delaying either train.
The dispatcher set up a meet at siding clear, so we'll be in the hole for about ten minutes waiting on the intermodal.
A "perfect meet" or "flying meet" happens when the timing is so exact that neither train has to come to a complete stop.
Related terms
Cornfield meet
A head-on collision between two trains on the same track.
Flying meet
A maneuver where two opposing trains pass each other at a siding without either having to stop.
In the hole
In the siding, waiting for another train to pass on the main line.
Hold the main
To stay on the main track during a meet while the opposing train takes the siding.
Saw-by
A meet at a siding too short for the train that has to take it, so the two trains work past each other in stages.