1. Poly unit 4.2
Transportation Engineering
- C. Coomarasamy
Formerly Professor / Director, JRPC Trichy.
4.2 Stations and yards:
Definition of station and yard – Types of stations –
Wayside stations – Junctions and Terminal station –
Classification of yards – Passenger yard – Goods yard
– Marshalling yard – Level crossing.

2. Transportation Engineering
Unit 4.2
Stations and yards
Definition of station and yard
Types of stations
Wayside stations
Junctions and Terminal station
Classification of yards
Passenger yard
Goods yard
Marshalling yard
Level crossing.

3. 4.2 Stations and yards
A train station, also called a
railroad station or
railway station and often shortened to just
station, is defined as any
place on a railway line where traffic is booked and dealt with and
is a railway facility where trains regularly stop to
load or unload passengers or freight.
It generally consists of a platform next to the track and a
station building (depot) providing related services such as
ticket sales and waiting rooms.
If a station is on a single track main line, it usually has a
passing loop to facilitate the traffic.
The smallest stations are referred to as
'stops' or, mainly in the British Commonwealth,
'halts' (flag stops).Connections may be available to
intersecting rail lines or other transport modes such as
buses or rapid transit systems Development

4. 4.2 Stations and yards
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of
railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading,
railroad cars and/or
locomotives.
Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for
keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do
not obstruct the flow of traffic.
Railroad cars are moved around by specially designed
yard switchers, a type of locomotive.
Cars in a railroad yard may be sorted by numerous categories,
including railroad company, loaded or unloaded,
destination, car type, or whether they need repairs.
Railroad yards are normally built where there is a need to store
cars while they are not being loaded or unloaded, or
are waiting to be assembled into trains.
Large yards may have a tower to control operations.
Many railway yards are located at strategic points on a main line.
Main line yards are often composed of an Up yard and a Down
yard, linked to the associated railroad direction.
There are different types of yards, and different parts within a yard,
depending on how they are built.

5. 4.2 Stations and yards

6. 4.2 Stations and yards

7. 4.2 Stations and yards
Station facilities
• The typical non-terminus Passengers reach the island platform (on
right) by a pedestrian footbridge. Two further platforms are out of
view.
• Railway stations usually have ticket booths (British English: "ticket
office" or "booking office"), ticket machines, or both, although on
some lines tickets are sold on board the trains.
• Ticket sales may also be combined with customer service desks or
convenience stores.
• Many stations include a form of convenience store. Larger stations
usually have fast-food or restaurant facilities.
• In some countries, stations may also have a bar or pub. Other
station facilities may include: toilets, left-luggage, lost-and-found,
departures and arrivals boards, luggage carts, waiting rooms, taxi
ranks and bus bays.
• Larger or manned stations tend to have a greater range of facilities.
• A most basic station might only have platforms, though it might
still be distinguished from a halt, a stopping or halting place that
may not even have platforms.

8. 4.2 Stations and yards
Station facilities
The interior of the Chennai Central,
one of the busiest train stations in India
A small terminus station in St Ives,
Cornwall, England, United Kingdom
A remote railway halt in
Wales, United Kingdom

9. 4.2 Stations and yards
Purpose of a railway station:
• For exchange of passengers
• For exchange of goods.
• For control of train movements
• To enable the trains on a single line track
to cross from opposite directions.
• To enable the following express trains to overtake
• For taking diesel or coal and water for locomotives
• For detaching engines and running staff
• For detaching or attaching of compartments and wagons
• For sorting of bogies to form new trains,
housing of locomotive in loco sheds.
• In emergencies in ease of dislocation of track due to
rains, accidents etc...

10. 4.2 Stations and yards
Classifications of Railway stations:
Railway stations
Operational
Block
Functional
Non-Block
1.Class A
1.Class D
2.Class B
2.Flag
3.Class C
3.Spl.class
1. Wayside
2.Junction
3.Terminal

11. 4.2 Stations and yards
Block stations:
Block sections- are
compartments into which
railway lines are
divided, & are
established so as to
safety space the trains behind each other.
Block Stations –are made at the
end of block sections and are
equipped with signals which
demarcate the limits of the
block sections

12. Home signal
Starter signal
Warner signal
4.2 Stations and yards
Braaking distance
Class A: Such a station is one where the
Line Clear indication for the block may not be given
unless the line where the train is to be received is clear at least
for up to the starter signal (or, in some cases, for at least 400m
ahead of the home signal).
These are stations where many trains normally
run through without stopping at a high speed, hence the
need for the safety margin to
prevent accidents in cases of trains overrunning signals.
Class B: Such a station is one where the
Line Clear indication may be given
before the section of the line within the station has been
cleared for reception of a train.
Branch lines and routes with lower running speeds fall into
180 m
this category.
Sand hump
Sand hump
400 m

13. 4.2 Stations and yards
Class C: This is a
station (or block hut) marking an
Braking distance
Adequate distance
end of a block section, with
light traffic or
where no trains are booked to stop, such as an
intermediate block post.
(Sometimes these stations exist only in the form of
a signal cabin that controls the approach to another station.)
Permission to approach
may not be given for a train unless the
whole of the
last preceding train has passed complete at least 400m
beyond the home signal and is known to be
continuing on its journey.

14. 4.2 Stations and yards
Class D: This is a
station which
does not form the
boundary of a block section but which
does form a stopping place for trains.
Flag station:
Trains are stopped by various
ad hoc arrangements prescribed in view of the local conditions -the driver may simply know to
stop the train there, or it may be
flagged down on demand, etc. Also known as a
non-block station or
flag station.

15. 4.2 Stations and yards
Stations of
Classes A through C are known as block stations.
The Class C stations are also sometimes known as
block huts or block posts.
Class D stations are known as non-block stations - they
do not mark the ends of block sections.
(Note that there also exist Intermediate Block Posts where block
sections can be terminated without the presence of a station.)
Special Station Any station that is not classified under one of the
classes A through D is known as a Special Station and must
use specific working rules issued by the Commissioner of Rail
Safety.
Sometimes stations are classified as Class A
if there is a bridge or steep gradient just
before the station in one or both directions,
so that it is not safe for trains to stop there before
entering station limits.

16. 4.2 Stations and yards
Commercial Classification: Stations are also classified based on
their commercial importance into categories
'A', 'B', ... etc., which is rather confusing.
The particular classification scheme used has to be inferred
from the context.
In the commercial importance classification scheme,
a non-suburban station with annual passenger earnings
over Rs 60 million is a Category A station.
Category B stations- earnings between
Rs 30 million and 60 million.
Any suburban station not falling into the 'B' category is
considered to be a Category C station.

17. 4.2 Stations and yards
Non-suburban stations with earnings between
Rs 10 million and 30 million are
Category D stations while
non-suburban stations with lower earnings fall into
Category E.
Halt stations are classified as
Category F stations.
Interestingly, the commercial classification determines many of the
construction aspects of the station:
Stations of
Category A or C have
high level platforms, while those in
categories B and D have
low level platforms.
Stations of categories E and F have
only rail-level platforms.

18. 4.2 Stations and yards
The "Road" after the station indicates that it's the nearest railhead for
that particular town.
The road to that town originates at this station:
you still need to travel a while by road to get to that town.
Examples: Kodaikanal Road, Khurda Road, Mantralayam
Road, Jajhpur Kheonjar Road, Nasik Road, etc.
Jajpur Keonjhar Road is an interestingly named station as the
station serves as the railway access point for two towns, Jajpur
which is 32km south-east of the station and Keonjhar which is
127km north-west of the station.
At some such "Road" stations, e.g., Kodaikanal Road, there exists a
Railway Out Agency, which is an agency which can issue combined
road-rail tickets to passengers, and which operates the road portion
of the journey from the station to the town.
The bus connections are provided to coincide with train arrivals.
Out agencies used to be listed in the Indian Bradshaw before it
ceased publication in its detailed form.

19. 4.2 Stations and yards
A wayside Station :
on a Single line
on a Double line
On a Triple line
Simplest layoutA through line,
A loop line to enable
trains to cross
each other,
A passenger
platform
and
a station building
and
A goods loop
and
a goods platform
one or two
passenger-platforms
over bridges or
subways
a crossover
to facilitate movement
of trains
a refuge line to allow
fast moving trains to
overtake slow moving
trains in the same
direction
a goods platform
a goods shed
station building
a shunting track
a sand hump
a main line consists of
two loops on either side
i.e., all up trains on one loop
all down trains on the other
one platform
because the use of two
platforms foot-over bridge
necessary
+other facilities

20. 4.2 Stations and yards

21. 4.2 Stations and yards
A wayside station on single line

22. 4.2 Stations and yards
A junction is a train station where
two or more rail routes meet. It could be a
terminus or an en-route train station.
During a journey, the term
station stop may be used in announcements, to differentiate a
halt during which passengers may
alight from a halt for another reason, such as a
locomotive change.
A railway stop is a spot along a
railway line, usually between stations or at a seldom-used station,
where passengers can board and exit the train.
While a junction or
interlocking usually divides two or more
railway lines or routes, and thus has remotely or locally operated
signals, a station stop does not.
A station stop usually does not have any tracks other than the
main tracks, and may or may not have
switches (points, crossovers).

23. 4.2 Stations and yards
A "terminal" or "terminus" is a station at the end of a railway
line.
Trains arriving there have to end their journeys (terminate) or
reverse out of the station.
Depending on the layout of the station, this usually permits travellers
to reach all the platforms without the need to cross any tracks
– the public entrance to the station and the main reception
facilities being at the far end of the platforms.
Sometimes, however,
the railway line continues for a short distance beyond the
station, and
terminating trains continue forwards after depositing
their passengers,
before either proceeding to sidings or reversing to the station
to pick up departing passengers.

24. 4.2 Stations and yards
Terminus
.
Aerial view of the Hauptbahnhof (Main Station)
in Zurich, Switzerland;
As well as being a terminus, the station now has
underground S-Bahn platforms serving a newer
line that runs beneath the city centre.
Grand Central Terminal in New York City is the
world's largest railway station by number of platforms,
having 67 tracks on two levels.

25. 4.2 Stations and yards
Yards
.
Passenger
bogie Yards
Main function:
-to provide
facilities for the
safe movement
of passengers and
vehicles for the
use of passengers.
e.g.,
-passenger platforms
-specific importance
at terminals or
junctions where
extra bogies are
accommodated
and cleaning,
washing,
or storing is done.
Goods
Yards
Main function:
-to provide
facilities for
receiving , loading
and unloading ,
delivery of goods
and the movement
of goods-vehicles
-all stations
except
flag stations are
provided with
goods yards .e.g.,
-goods platforms
-storing goods.
-goods sidings.
Marshalling
Yards
Machine to
receive, break up
re-form, and
dispatch trains
onwards.
-provided at
important junction
stations.
-loaded and empty
goods wagons are
first received,
-then separated
sorted and
dispatched
( at wayside stations)
onwards in full
trains.
Locomotive
Yards
Locomotives are
housed, and where
all facilities for
coaling, watering,
repairing, oiling,
cleaning etc., are
provided for
servicing and
stability of
Locomotives
-installed at
Junction
Stations
-constructed on
the same side
as the
Marshalling yards.

26. 4.2 Stations and yards
.
Classification yards or
Marshalling yards or
Sorting yard
Flat-shunted yards
Gravity yard
Hump yard
A flat yard has no
hump, and relies on
locomotives for all
car movements.
-costly due to
more consumption
of Power
-justified where
limited
space availability
A gravity yard
is built on a natural
slope and relies
less on locomotives
-controlled by
manual wagon
brakes
-requires certain
slope for formation
-but topography
may not permit
-requires more area
A hump yard
has a
constructed hill,
over which freight
cars are shoved by
yard locomotives,
and then gravity
is used to propel
the cars to
Various sorting
tracks;
-requires more area

27. 4.2 Stations and yards

28. 4.2 Stations and yards
Hump yards
These are the largest and most effective classification yards with the
largest shunting capacity – often several thousand cars a day.
The heart of these yards is the hump: a lead track on a hill (hump) over which
the cars are pushed by the engine.
Single cars, or some coupled cars in a block, are uncoupled just before or at the
crest of the hump and roll by gravity into their destination tracks in the
classification bowl (the tracks where the cars are sorted).
A switch engine pushes a
car over the hump at
Kornwestheim yard
Hump yard in Vienna, Austria

29. 4.2 Stations and yards
Level crossing:
A point at which
a railway and
a road cross, especially one with barriers that close the road when
a train is scheduled to pass is called
Level crossing.
The surface of the
road is kept at rail level and
grooves are left in the road surface along the
inner edges of the rails for the
movement of wheel flanges.
These grooves are provided with
guard rails which are spiked to wooden sleepers.
Classification Factors :
1. Nature of the road
2. Nature of the traffic on the road
3. Number of trains passing over the level crossing

30. 4.2 Stations and yards
Classification of Level Crossings (1) The classification of level crossings should be settled in consultation with
the Road authorities concerned keeping in view the class of the road,
visibility conditions, the volume of the road traffic and the number of trains
passing over the level crossing.
(2) The classification of level crossings shall be as under(a) Special..............: for roads - where traffic is exceptionally heavy
(b) 'A' Class..............: for roads - grant trunk roads
(c) 'B' Class..............: for roads - metaled roads
(d) 'C Class..............: for roads – unmetaled roads
(e) 'D' Class for cattle crossings.
(3) Level crossings over colliery, factory and other similar sidings where
Railway traffic is light may however be dealt with according to local
conditions, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Railway Safety
concerned being obtained in each case to the measures adopted for the
safe working of trains over the crossing.

31. 4.2 Stations and yards
Categories of Roads - (1) For the purpose of this standard,
Roads shall be categorised as under(a) Class I roads (i) National Highways,
(ii) State Highways,
(iii) Important roads within municipal towns, and
(iv) Roads in and around towns where road and rail traffic is heavy.
(b) Class II roads (i) Major and other District roads,
(ii) Unimportant roads within municipal towns,
(iii) Roads within non-Municipal towns including those within shunting limits
of Railway stations, and
(iv) Other surfaced roads.
(c) Class III roads –
(i) Earth roads, and
(ii) Cart tracks.
(d) Class IV roads –
Cattle crossings and foot-path.

32. 4.2 Stations and yards
Grade Crossing
Surface Dimensions
Road, including a path or trail

33. 4.2 Stations and yards
(b) Sidewalk, path, or trail alongside a road

34. 4.2 Stations and yards