a railroad signaling method includes measuring a track current on a first track section , measuring a local voltage on the railroad line wires , determining whether a magnitude of the track current meets or exceeds a threshold value independent of the local voltage , and determining whether the track current and the local voltage are nominally in phase with one another in a manner that is independent of the track current measuring step . a first signal is provided only if the magnitude is determined to meet or exceed the threshold and the track current and local voltage are determined to be nominally in phase . the first signal is an indication that a train is not present in the track section , that the track section does not have a broken rail , and that the insulated joints that bound the track section do not include a fault condition . an associated relay arrangement is also provided .