Railway stations serve several essential functions: handling passenger and freight traffic, receiving and departing trains, and performing technical operations like passing, overtaking, and crew changes. Stations are classified based on their technical operations and traffic volumes. Their distribution and location must consider transportation needs, topography, infrastructure connections, and accessibility. Proper station layout includes tracks, turnouts, platforms, buildings, and yards to efficiently manage passenger and freight movement.

1. DEBRE MARKOS UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF CIVIL AND WATER RESOURCE ENGINEERING
Railway Engineering
CHAPTER 4 RAILWAY STATION
Biniyam A.

2. CHAPTER 4 RAILWAY STATION
 Definition, basic tasks and classification of
railway station
 Distribution and location of stations
 Passing station 、overtaking station
、district station
 Layout of intermediate station

3. Station is a basic production unit of railway
transportation, integrating technical equipment
relating to transportation.
4.1 Definition, Basic tasks and
Classification of railway station

4. Basic tasks in Station:
Passenger traffic service and goods traffic service, such as
passengers’ boarding and alighting,
goods consignment, goods loading and unloading,
goods delivery and safekeeping, etc.
boarding and alighting goods consignment

5. Various technical operations of railway
transportation , such as
 train reception and departure,
 passing,
 overtaking,
 disassembly and marshalling,
 change of locomotive and train crew,
 train technology and freight examination
train reception
and departure
Train technology and
freight examination
disassembly and
marshalling

6. Classification Station
According to the character of technical operation
In passenger traffic line: the overtaking station, the
intermediate station, and the originating train departure-arrival
station
mixed passenger and freight railway: crossing station,
overtaking station, the intermediate station, district stationand
marshalling station
According to the passenger and freight traffic
volume
In passenger traffic line: super-large station, large station,
medium station, and small-sized station
Mixed passenger and freight railway ：super class station,
Class-I, II, III, IV and V stations

7.  Meaning of distribution and location of station
 Complying with the transportation requirement, distribution and
location of station shall be confirmed after comprehensively considering
factors including topographical and geological conditions, difficulty
degree of engineering; conditions for other tracks connecting, and
whether it is convenient for local passenger and freight transportation
4.2 Distribution and location of station

8.  Basic principle of distribution of station
To ensure an enough passing capacity, a railway line is
divided into several sections.
Combining distribution of station with route selection
Fig. diagram of section in a single-line railway section,with
home signal s as train spacing point ofsections.

9.  Steps for distribution of station
Railway line for passenger traffic
firstly distribute the large station according to the
distribution of cities along the route of line, and then
distribute medium and small station based on the plane
location
Line for Mixed passenger and freight traffic
firstly distribute district stations together with the design
of locomotive routing; then combining the paper location
of line, distribute generally intermediate station, passing
station or overtaking station to meet the required passing
capacity

10. 4.3 Rules for station distribution and Location
Method of distribution of station
District station
• District station is one kind of important technical
operation stations on mixed passenger and freight
railway
• Distribution of district station has great influence on the
strike of alignment, engineering and operation
conditions, especially the operation efficiency of the
locomotive.
Distribution of district station for mixed passenger and freight
railway

11. District station shall be located in the place in plain
Rules for distribution
MequanentMulugeta
terrain and sound geological condition, with less
farmland, convenient for treatment of “waste gas, waste
water and waste residue” and with convenient water
source and power supply.
To reduce investment in train reorganization equipment
and complete assisting vehicle equipment, it is suitable
to set up the district station at train transfer places and
assisting vehicle pick-up places.

12. Purpose of setting the stations
 To meet the desired carrying capacity of railway
 The passing station and overtaking station shall be distributed
according to the running-time standards of freight trains required
by carrying capacity
 The annual traffic capacity and number of carriage pairs shall
meet the national requirements
 The station distribution of newly-built double-track railway shall
apply different standards according to the various categories of
trains, pairs of passenger trains and running speeds

13.  Large intermediate station of special line for passenger train is usually
set in the railway junction terminal, municipality and provincial capital
city, and enjoys abundant passenger transportation business
 Large intermediate stations mainly deal with service for stopping of
most high-speed and medium-speed trains, and passing operation of
few high-speed and medium-speed trains as well as starting.
To attract passengers from large and small cities along the railway,
general intermediate station of special line for passenger train is
distributed as per the location of municipality, county town and county-
controlled city along the railway.
the distribution of High-speed passenger dedicated line shall be good
for attracting passengers from large and small cities along the railway.
Distribution of large intermediate stations
Distribution of station shall meet passenger flow, travel
convenience for urban dwellers, train operation
optimization, design capacity and maintenance.

14.  Combining the urban and rural layout and meeting the
requirement of local passenger and freight transportation
 Engineering conditions including landform, geology, relocation
and reconstruction
 Making full advantage of the existing railway facilities
 Combination of station location and urban planning
 Reasonable combination between station location selection and
section main line
Location of station
Rules
MequanentMulugeta
Location of station

15. Passing and overtaking stations
1. Passing station
 Passing stations are set on the passenger-and-freight
single-track railway
 It deals with the arrival and departure, meeting and
passing. Besides, there may be a little passenger and
freight business.
 Arrival-departure tracks shall be laid in passing stations,
and facilities for communication, signal, and passenger
alighting and boarding as well as technical offices shall
be provided

16.  Passing station layout diagram
Tandem station
Transverse station

17. 2. Overtaking Station
 Stations set on double track railways and responsible for
dealing with the surpassing of trains travelling in the same
direction are called overtaking stations.
 The main task of overtaking station is to deal with the passing-
through of the trains on the main line, entering and exiting the
arrival-departure track of waiting trains and stop-and-waiting
of trains.
 Overtaking station on passenger-and-freight railway may deal
with shunting of trains in opposite directions when necessary,
and a little passenger and freight business.
 Arrival-departure tracks shall be laid in passing stations, and
facilities for communication, signal, and passenger alighting
and boarding as well as technical offices shall be provided.

18. Overtaking station layout diagram

19. 4.4 Intermediate station Layout
MequanentMulugeta
Technical operation
 Dealing with the passing and
surpassing and departure of trains
 Attaching and detaching
 train shunting
 Taking-out and placing-in of cars
and loading-unloading operations
Commercial operation
 Ticketing
 Passenger alighting and boarding
 luggage receiving and distributing
 freight consignment storage and
handover
Single-track Intermediate
Station Diagram
Double-track Intermediate
Station Diagram

20.  Passenger trafficfacility
1. Passenger station building
2. Platform
3. Level corridor or overpass
facilities
Station Main equipment of facilities
Passenger station building shall
coordinate with urban planning
and the general layout diagram of
the station and shall be convenient
for passenger passing
The station building shall be
placed near residential area and to
the best shall be erected at the
middle part so that the passengers
alighting and boarding may be as
convenient as possible.

21. Width of platforms
 Single-track railway intermediate
platform width shall be no less
than 4m and double track railway
shall be no less than 5m. When
overpass facilities are provided the
platform shall be widened as
needed.
Relation between
platform and building
Level track
Above track
Under track
Height of platform
High platform (1100mm)
Middle platform (500mm)
Low platform (300mm)

22. Passenger traffic facility
Passenger station building
MequanentMulugeta
 Relation between platform and building
The scale of station building is subject to the largest number of
the passengers waiting for trains at one time. Intermediate station
building scales are mostly medium or small, and generally fixed
design is adopted. Common capacity of small station building
may be 50, 100, 200 and 400 persons.
Level passageway and overpass (bridge)
facilities
Level passageway
 1~2
 At the two ends or middle
overpass (bridge)
 over-bridge
 tunnel

23.  Goodsequipment
o One or two level corridors shall be provided between the main platform
and intermediate platform for passage, (no less than 2.5m wide)
o When needed, overpass and subways may be constructed in large and
medium station where the passenger is volume large.
Fright yards
Include Warehouse, freight platform, freight track,
loading and unloading facilities, freight offices
Typical layout of
freight yard
Freight platform:-
 High platform (1.1m
higher than the top of rail)

24. Plane Calculation of Intermediate Station
Purpose
 to further determine the specific dimension of devices in the
station and of their relationship.
Content
1. Number of track and turnout
2. determining of distances between station inside tracks
3. Layout in throat area of the station
4. Determining the length of station tracks
5. Determining the location of fouling post and signal
6. Calculation of coordinate

25. 1. Number of track and turnout
i. routes numbering: for single-line railway, the routes are
numbered from station building to the other side. For double
lines railway, the routes are numbered from main line to two
sides, and roman numbers are used in the main line, Arabic
numbers are used in the station track.

26. ii. Turnouts numbering: taking the station building as the
center, turnouts are numbered in sequence as even numbers
for the arrival end of down direction trains, and odd numbers
for the arrival end of up direction trains. Train routes are to
be numbered at first, and then other routes. Turnout of
crossover and its adjoining turnout should be all numbered
as serial numbers, as shown in Fig.

27. MequanentMulugeta
2. Distance between tracks or building and tracks
For example, the distance between main lines should be
2x(1 700+100)+1400=5 000 (mm) =5.0 (m)
• Where 1700 mm——half width of rolling stock clearance limit;
• 100 mm——width of train signal;
• 1400 mm—safety distance for workers operation.
• On straight line section, the distance from buildings (facilities) shall
meet the requirements of table 4.1, and distance between tracks shall
meet the requirements in table 4.2.
D between main lines=2*（1700+100）+1400=5000mm

28. No. Name of the buildings and equipment
Height above the
top of rail
Distance to the
center line of track
1
Edges of grade
separated bridge
column, over-line
bridge column, and
poles of electric
lighting and
rainproof canopy,
etc
Located on the side of the main lines(oryard
sidings)
≥1 100 ≥2 440
Located on the outer side of the outermostline
in the station and yard
≥1 100 ≥3 000
Located on the outer side of the ladder trackor
lead track in the station and yard
≥1 100 ≥3 500
2
Edges of signal or
water crane
Located on the outer side of the main linesor
station track passing freight train out-ofgoods
≥1 100 ≥2 400
Located on the outer side of station trackno
freight train out-of goodspassing
≥1 100 ≥2 150
3
•Edge of goods
Platform
normal plateform 1 100 1 750
Heigh plateform ≥4 800 1 850
4
•Edge of passenger
Platform
Heigh plateform 1 100 1 750
normal plateform 500 1 750
Located on the outer side of the main lines or
station track passing freight train out-ofgoods
300 1 750
5 Edges of car door, buildings on locomotive runningtracks ≥1 120 ≥2 000
Table 4-1 Distances from buildings (facilities) (mm)

29. No
.
Name of tracks
Standard
distance
1 Between main lines or main line and its nearby tracks 5 000
2 Between reception-departure tracks or shunting tracks 5 000
3 Other minor station tracks（apart from transshipmenttrack） 4 600
4
Where there is heigh
signal
Two nearby tracks can all pass freight train out-of gaugegoods 5 300
Only one of two nearvy tracks can pass freight train out-ofgauge
goods
5 000
5
Where there is water
crane
Two nearby tracks can all pass freight train out-of gaugegoods 5 500
Only one of two nearvy tracks can pass freight train out-of gauge
goods
5 200
Two nearby tracks can not pass freight train out-of gaugegoods 5 000
6 Passenger cars storage tracks 5 000
7
Passenger cars
servicing siding
No pole for lighting or communication 6 000
There are No pole for lighting or communication 7 000
8 Between goods transhipment tracks 3 600
9 Lead track and nearby sidings 6 500
10 Tracks in shunting yard 6 500
11 ladder tracks or ladder track and its near track 5 000
13 Between tracks where there is or leave in advance catenary column 6 500
Table 4-2 Distances between station tracks (mm)

30. – Selection of turnout number:
• The number of turnout linking tracks shall be selected
according to transportation mode design speed.
• The selection of turnout number shall meet the following
requirements:
– the straight passing speed of turnout in main line shall not be lower
than the design speed in the section.
– the number of turnout used to trains running through laterally in
speed over 80km/h should not be less than PDR 60-42
3. Layout in throat area of the station

31. Selection of turnout number
– The selection of turnout number shall meet the following requirements:
 the number of turnout used to trains running through laterally in speed
over 50km/h should not be less than No. 18.
 the number of simple turnout used to trains running through laterally in
speed of 50km/h or lower should not be less than No. 12.
 the number of simple turnout used to receive and departure trains
laterally should not be less than No.12. In particular, - symmetrical
double curve turnout of number 9 can be used for non main tracks.
 in the section with straight passing speed of 100km/h or lower, the
number of simple turnout in main line shall not be less than No.12, in
other lines, No. 9 can be used.
 slip turnout should not be used in the main line. Under difficult
condition, if necessary, the number should not be less than No. 12 and
shall meet the requirements of design speed in the section.

32. Selection of turnout number
Table 4.3 main parameters of turnout most in use
No.
Frog angle
（）
Central
radius of
lead curve
R（mm）
distance a between
beginning and
center of turnout
（mm）
Distance b from
center of
turnout to frog
heel
（mm）
Total lengthof
turnout LQ
（mm）
permissible lateral
passing speed
（km/h）
9 62025 180 000 13 839 15 009 28 848 30
12 44549 330 000 16 853 19 962 36 815 45
18 31012.5 800 000 22 667 31 333 54 000 75
PDR
60-18
31047.4 1 100 000 31 729 37 271 69 000 80
PDR
60-42
12150.13 5 000 000 60 573 96 627 157 200 160
PDR
60-62
05526.56 8 200 000 70 784 130 216 201 000 220
PDR: Passenger Dedicated Railway

33. the length of station route is expressed by three means:
the total length:- the total length is the length from the stock
rail joint of turnout in one end of the station to that of the other
end.
the length of rail-laying:- The total length minus the lengthof
all turnouts of the route gets the length of rail-laying.
the effective length.
4. Determining the length of station tracks

34. Determining the location of fouling post and signal
Fouling post and signal are not only important traffic
indication facilities to the station, but also marks to the
division of the effective length of tracks. Therefore, when
designing the station, it is necessary to determine the distance
between the fouling post/signal and the centre of turnout, and
mark out their location in the figure. They are also related to
the track circuit.
= fouling in straight and curve tracks
= consider gauge widening in curve sections
5. Determining the location of fouling post and signal

35. Non-Track circuit
No. of turnout 9 12 18
Frog Angle 62025 44549 31047
Curve Radius 200 300 400 350 400 500 600 800 1 000
Position Lj m
D
5.0 38.051 38.931 40.425 49.574 49.700 50.560 51.576 73.230 74.007
5.5 36.897 37.486 38.320 48.550 48.704 49.090 49.588 72.277 72.581
6.5 36.159 36.330 36.648 48.085 48.095 48.148 48.263 72.058 72.058
7.5 36.110 36.113 36.166 48.084 48.084 48.084 48.084 72.058 72.058
12.5 36.110 36.110 36.110 48.084 48.084 48.084 48.084 72.058 72.058
Table 4-4 position of fouling post

36. – Position of home signal
 Home signal should be set up at least 50 meters away from the actual
point of switch rail for reverse-passing the point of turnout or the
fouling post for back-passing the point of turnout, as shown in
following Fig.

37. Table 4-5 The distance between home signal (b=380mm) and the centre of turnout
Lx(m).
Frog No. 9 12 18
Frog angle 62025 44549 31047
Central radius of lead curve 200 300 400 350 400 500 600 800 1 000
Position of starting signal Lx
D
Two tracks are all
allowable to
passing freight
trains out-of-gauge
goods
5.3 64.296 68.029 72.129 81.119 82.514 85.459 88.557
115.79
6
119.81
7
7.5 47.611 47.869 48.291 63.253 63.284 63.396 63.583
94.75
6
84.754
Only one of two
adjacented tracks
willl pass freight
trains out-of-gauge
goods
5.0 62.737 66.635 70.867 78.894 80.400 83.408 86.603
112.20
7
116.36
9
6.0 46.697 47.555 48.995 61.135 61.408 62.081 63.054
90.60
5
91.337
7.5 44.901 45.062 45.369 59.739 59.746 59.794 59.901
89.52
8
89.528
Not allow to pass
freigh trains out-
of-gauge good
5.0 49.116 51.125 53.967 62.644 63.452 65.377 67.587
91.48
0
94.145
7.5 42.256 42.341 42.550 56.258 56.258 56.268 56.317
84.30
8
84.308

38. Example:
As shown in Fig., Track I and Track II are connected by No.12
Turnout, and the radius of connect curve at the rear of the turnout is
400 meters; Track II allows out gauge freight train to pass, and the
distance between centers of lines is 5 meters.
Solution:
From table 4-4 and 4-5,
the calculated position of
the fouling post Lj=49.7m
and the starting signal as
Lx=80.4m

39. 6. Calculation of coordinate
Calculation of coordinates of the major points and the effective length
of tracks in the station
 In order to determine the positions of the turnout, signal, fouling
post, water crane, platform and various buildings, it is necessary to
calculate the coordinates of these important points in the station
 take the centerline of main line as the base line(x axis), the center of
the station (usually the centerline of the station building) as the
dividing line,
 the centers of the outmost turnouts in the main lines of both ends
are regarded as the origin of coordinates.
 The direction to the station is marked as positive in x axis, and
the direction out of the station negative; only the distance
between centers of lines, the distance between the platform
edge and the center of lines and the width of various buildings
are marked in y axis.