LECTURE 21

RAILWAY STATIONSTypes of Railway StationsStation YardsPlatformsRailways Gauges in Pakistan

Lecturer: Atif Bilal AslamDepartment of City & Regional PlanningUniversity of Engineering & Technology, LahoreMay 23, 2009TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

Types of Railway StationsRailway Stations have been classified as follows:Wayside Railway StationsJunction StationsTerminal Stations

WAYSIDE RAILWAY STATIONSOn these stations, trains can move only in two directions, on upside or downside.These are situated on running lines at some suitable places.Wayside stations are of the following types:Halts,Flag Stations, and Crossing Stations

HaltsThis is a simple type of stopping place, having no building or staff.Halts have usually only one platform with a name board at either side.At halt, some trains stop to enable passengers to entrain and detrain.One of the main disadvantages of halts is that a large number of passengers entrain without tickets.

Flag StationsThese are next after Halts, having buildings and staff.The movement of trains is controlled by showing flags.Flag stations have one way siding or sidings in form of loop.These sidings are used for loading/ unloading of goods (loading ramps are provided) and attachment/ detachment of cars/ wagons.

Crossing StationsCrossing stations may have two or three lines with loops, so that when one train is standing on loop, the other train in same direction, which has not to stop at this section, can cross it.The loops may or may not have dead end sidings.Platforms are provided for upside or downside trains both either in front of each other or in staggered form.

JUNCTION STATIONSThese are stations where lines from three or more directions meet.Facilities and trains scheduling is arranged in such a away that passengers from one train may change into another with the minimum detention at the station.In the simple type of junction station, one branch line meets the main line at station.

JUNCTION STATIONSAt least three running lines with equal number of platforms are required so that all the passenger trains coming from the three directions may stop at the same time.Junction stations should have goods sidings, engine shed, turn table etc. according to the requirements.

TERMINAL STATIONSThese are stations at which incoming lines terminate in a dead end.A terminal station normally requires the facilities of watering, cleaning, coaling/ fueling, stabling, turn tables and arrangements for goods traffic.Several platforms may be provided for the stations where incoming lines are from more than one direction.

TERMINAL STATIONSThe access to different platforms may be from the concourse or from the over-bridge.

Station YardsThese are systems of tracks laid within limits of railway station for various purposes, over which movement of trains is controlled by prescribed rules, regulations and signals.Railway yards have been classified as follows:Passenger yards,Goods yards,Marshalling yards, andLocomotive yards

PASSENGER YARDThis yard provides all the facilities for the convenience of passengers.The chief requirements of a passenger yard are as follows:Booking and enquiry offices,Parking spaces for vehicles,Signals for reception and departure of trains,Facilities for passing a through train at full speed,Sufficient number of platforms and sidings,Washing lines etc.

GOODS YARDSThe chief requirements of a goods yard are as follows:Approaches with loading/ unloading ramps,Gathering or loop line with no. of parallel dead end sidings,Platforms with sufficient height (The heights for BG, MG and NG are 1 m, 0.7 m and 0.6 m respectively),Booking offices,Sufficient no. of godowns and cranes,Weighing arrangements, etc.

MARSHALLING YARDSThese are places where trains are born.All the wagons/ cars are associated with each other in the form of a train before dispatching.The main consideration is the arrangement of wagons/ cars station-wise so that there should be no difficulty in detaching them at stations.The efficiency of a marshalling yard depends in the time taken for sorting out wagons/ cars and forming it into a train.

Marshalling YardsThe layout of a marshalling yard should be such that it can fulfill all the requirements with the minimum detention of wagons/ cars and with minimum consumption of shunting engine-hours.There are three types of marshalling yards:Gravity,Hump, and Flat.

Gravity YardsThe wagons/ cars move into various dead end sidings by the force of gravity only.From the beginning of gathering lines at the time of sorting, wagons/ cars are released one by one so as to go in different sidings.

Hump YardsThe wagons/ cars are pushed up to a summit by a shunting engine from where they roll down to opposite slope, under the force of gravity, into fan-shaped sorting sidings.This type of yard is provided mostly everywhere, because the shunting operation can be done more quickly than gravity or flat yards.

Flat YardsAll the sorting work is done totally by shunting engines.At the places where space is limited and other types of sorting yards cannot be provided, flat yards are provided.

LOCOMOTIVE YARDSThe followings are the chief requirements of a locomotive yard:Should be located near passenger and goods yards,Escape line for engine,Water columns, ash pits and inspection pits,Hydraulic jacks and turn tables,Engine-sheds,Fueling arrangement equipments.

PlatformSuitable higher places meant for the entraining, detraining and movement of passengers of railway are known as platforms.The length of platform should be more than the longest train which is moving on that section.The minimum length should be 183 m, but for BG railway, it should not be less than 300 m.

PlatformUnder no circumstance, the width of a platform should be less than 4 m.The platform should be provided 1.676 m away from the centerline of the track for BG, 1.346 m for MG and 1.219 m for NG.The height of the platform above the rail surface should be as follows:For BG: 76.2 cm to 83.8 cm,For MG: 30.5 cm to 40.6 cm, and For NG: 22.9 cm to 40.6 cm

PlatformThe platforms should be provided with sheds for at least 60 m of their length, to protect the passengers from sun and rains.Platforms should be paved throughout and at both ends, ramps should be provided.

Railway Gauges, Once available in PakistanNorth Western Railway, the predecessor of todays Pakistan Railway, operated three different gauges of line.The broad gauge (5-6) was the favored gauge connecting most railway destinations,The meter gauge (3-3) that operated in parts of Thar Desert in Sindh, those were:Mirpur Khas-Jhuddo-Mirpur Khas loop, andMirpur Khas-Chor LineThe narrow gauge (2-6) that ran in parts of NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan, those were:

Railway Gauges, Once available in PakistanThe narrow gauge (2-6) that ran in parts of NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan, those were:Bannu-Mari Indus line,Tank-Mari Indus line, Kohat-Thul line,Zhob Valley Railway (ZVR) connection between Bostan and Zhob Town (320 km of length which was longest narrow gauge in the sub-continent)Nawabshah-Mirpur Khas line

Dilemma of Pakistan RailwaysOther than the upgrading to broad gauge of the Mirpur Khas-Chor line, we have not laid a single inch of new track in 62 years.In India, the NG Kalka-Simla line and Darjeeling Train (Ghoom Station on the Darjeeling Line is the highest in the sub-continent and it operates on Decauville gauge that is just 2 wide) operate to this day.

Dilemma of Pakistan RailwaysSince partition, Indian railway authorities have laid several thousand kilometers of new railway lines, while in contrast, we have closed line after line.

ReferencesRoads, Railways, Bridges and Tunnels; 1985 by Anita & DeshpandeA Line Less Traveled, Railways by Salman Rashid; The News on Sunday; May 17, 2009