Rail transport operations are the day-to-day operations of a railway. A railway has two major components: the
infrastructure (the
permanent way, tracks, stations, freight facilities, viaducts, tunnels, etc.) and the
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...
(the locomotives, passenger coaches,
freight car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
s, etc.)
Ownership and operation of these two components varies by location. In some places (notably, most of North America) private railway companies own and operate both the infrastructure and rolling stock (for example,
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
). In the United Kingdom, the infrastructure is owned and maintained by
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
while rolling stock is largely owned and operated by private railway companies. In countries with
nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...
rail systems such as
China and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, both the infrastructure and rolling stock are owned and operated directly or indirectly by the national government.
Operation
The operation of the railway is through a system of control, originally by mechanical means, but nowadays more usually electronic and computerized.
Intrinsic factors
Signalling
Signalling systems used to control the movement of traffic may be either of fixed block or moving block variety.
;Fixed block signalling
Most blocks are 'fixed' blocks, i.e. they delineate a section of track between two defined points. On timetable, train order, and token-based systems, blocks usually start and end at selected stations. On signalling-based systems, blocks usually start and end at
signals
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
. Alternatively,
cab signalling
Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an e ...
may be in use.
The lengths of blocks are designed to allow trains to operate as frequently as necessary. A lightly used branch line might have blocks many kilometres long, whilst a busy commuter railway might have blocks a few hundred metres long.
;Moving block signalling
A disadvantage of fixed blocks is that the faster trains are permitted to run, the longer the stopping distance, and therefore the longer the blocks need to be. This decreases a line's capacity.
With
moving block
In railway signalling, a moving block is a signalling block system where the blocks are defined in real time by computers as safe zones around each train. This requires both knowledge of the exact location and speed of all trains at any given ti ...
, computers are used to calculate a 'safe zone', behind each moving train, which no other train may enter. The system depends on precise knowledge of where each train is and how fast it is moving. With moving block, lineside signals are not provided, and instructions are passed direct to the trains. It has the advantage of increasing track capacity by allowing trains to run much closer together. The system is only used on very few independent networks such as underground lines.
Types of rail system
Most rail systems serve a number of functions on the same track, carrying local, long-distance and commuter passenger trains, and freight trains. The emphasis on each varies by country. Some
urban rail transit
Urban rail transit is an all-encompassing term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas. The set of urban rail systems can be roughly subdivided into the following categories ...
,
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
and
light rail systems are isolated from the national system in the cities they serve. Some freight lines serving mines are also isolated, and these are usually owned by the mine company. An
industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway (usually private) that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics, or military site. In regions of the world influenced by British ra ...
is a specialized rail system used inside factories or mines.
Steep grade railways are usually isolated, with special safety systems.
Permanent way and railroad construction
The permanent way trails through the physical geography. The tracks' geometry is limited by the physical geography.
Types of vehicle
![British Rail Class 143 trains](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/British_Rail_Class_143_trains.jpg)
Trains are
pushed/pulled by one or more
locomotive units. Two or more locomotives
coupled
''Coupled'' is an American dating game show that aired on Fox from May 17 to August 2, 2016. It was hosted by television personality, Terrence J and created by Mark Burnett, of '' Survivor'', ''The Apprentice'', '' Are You Smarter Than a 5th G ...
in multiple traction are frequently used in freight trains. Railroad cars or
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...
consist of
passenger cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
,
freight car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
s,
maintenance cars and in
America caboose
A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in railway switch, switching and Shunting (rail), shunting, keeping a l ...
s. Modern passenger trains sometimes are pushed/pulled by a tail and head unit (see
top and tail
A top-and-tail railway train has locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction, especially where the terminal station has no run-round loop. This is a British term. It is normal for only the leading locomotive to power the train when i ...
), of which not both need to be motorised or running. Many passenger trains consist of
multiple units with motors mounted beneath the passenger cars.
Passenger operations
![Secunderabad Junction railway station in 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Secunderabad_Junction_railway_station_in_2007.jpg)
Most
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
passenger operations happen in the
train station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing s ...
and in the
passenger car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
. The passenger buys a
ticket
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery ticket
* Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...
, either in the station, or on the train (sometimes at a higher
fare
A fare is the fee paid by a passenger for use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used. Fare structure is the system set up to determine how much is to be paid by various pa ...
).
There are generally speaking two ways of validating a ticket:
* the passengers validate the tickets themselves (by perforating it, for instance) which is randomly checked by a
ticket controller
Proof-of-payment (POP) or proof-of-fare (POF) is an honor-based fare collection system used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, passengers are required to carry a ticket, p ...
. This method is sometimes referred to as
Proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment (POP) or proof-of-fare (POF) is an honor-based fare collection system used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, passengers are required to carry a ticket, p ...
and is used extensively on
one-man operated rail and bus lines, and may be controlled through the use of ticket barriers at entrances, especially in larger stations, or
* a
conductor checks all persons on the train for valid tickets and devaluate them, so they cannot be used again.
Some passenger cars, especially in long-distance high-speed trains, have a restaurant or bar. These need to be catered. In recent times, train catering has been diminished somewhat by
vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The ...
s in the train station or on the train.
When not in use, passenger cars are stored, maintained and repaired in
coach yards.
Freight operations
Freight
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...
or cargo trains are loaded and unloaded in
intermodal terminals (also called container freight stations or freight terminals), and at customer locations (e.g.
mines,
grain elevators,
factories
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
). Intermodal freight transport uses standardized
containers
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
, which are handled by
cranes. Along their routes, freight trains are routed through
rail yard
A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
s to sort cars and assemble trains for their final destinations, as well as for equipment maintenance, refueling, and crew changes. Within a freight yard, trains are composed in a
classification yard
A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard ( British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...
.
Switcher or shunter locomotives help the composing.
A
unit train
A unit train, also called a block train or a trainload service, is a train in which all cars (wagons) carry the same commodity and are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route.
They are dist ...
(also called a block train), which carries a block of cars all of the same origin and destination, does not get sorted in a classification yard, but may stop in a freight yard for inspection, engine servicing and/or crew changes.
Combining freight and passenger operations on a single track with
passing loop
A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
s poses operational problems, because of the different demands of freight operators and public transport. In many smaller countries passenger operations are done during the day, while freight trains operate mostly during the night. Dedicated tracks have been assigned to some operations.
Locomotive operations
Inactive locomotives may be housed in a locomotive depot (UK term) or engine house, also known as an engine shed or roundhouse (US). In
engine facilities, or a
traction maintenance depot
The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine shed ...
, locomotives are cleaned, inspected for wear, repaired, updated, or otherwise improved. Decommissioned locomotives with steam generation capacities were sometimes positioned in semi-permanent locations and their boiler capacity was used to provide steam to heat facilities, power machinery, warm passenger cars, or snow and ice clearing activities such as defrosting
railroad switch
A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off.
The most common t ...
es in cold weather conditions.
Railroad equipment that is considered obsolete by being outdated or inefficient when compared to newer equipment, or by being worn to a point that is un-repairable, may be taken out of railroad service. These pieces of equipment may have usable parts removed by the railroad company for reuse on other machines, or may be sold as complete units for reconditioning and reuse by another user. If the equipment is considered completely un-serviceable, and it is financially unwise to attempt to make it so, the entire machine may be declared
scrap and is usually sold to be taken away and dismantled for recycling of the raw materials. If the process of salvage or scrapping is financially unrecoverable, the equipment may be left in place until it becomes possible to do so. In some cases a significant or desirable piece of equipment will be purchased for preservation. There units may be placed in
railway museum
A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives ( steam, diesel, and electric), railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment. They may also operate historic ...
s or may be purchased by
railway preservation
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
groups or private collectors.
Steam locomotives were frequently housed in a circular train depot, known as a
roundhouse that surrounded a
turntable
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
.
Maintenance of way operations
The presence of a work train on a given section of track will temporarily decrease the capacity of the route. The normal method in such operations is to cease other traffic altogether during the track 'occupation'. Services may be diverted by an alternative route, if available; alternatively, passenger services may be maintained using a
replacement bus service. It is therefore more economically viable to plan such track occupations for periods of reduced usage (e.g. 'off-peak', overnight or holiday times) to minimise the impact on normal services and revenue.
Background factors (feasibility)
![Wagons 550](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Wagons_550.jpg)
Each transport system represents a contribution to a country's
infrastructure, and as such must make
economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
sense or eventually close. From this, each has a particular role or roles. These may change with time but they affect the specifications of each particular system.
Extrinsic factors
Rail transport systems are built into the
landscape, including both the
physical geography
Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, ...
(hills, valleys, etc.) and the
human geography
Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography that studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment. It analyzes spatial interdependencies between social i ...
(location of settlements). The rail transport system may in turn feedback into the human geography.
Physical geography
The
permanent way of a system must pass through the geography and
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...
of its region. This may be flat or mountainous, may include obstacles such as water and mountains. These determine, in part, the intrinsic nature of the system. The slope at which trains run must also be calculated correctly. In this stage, it is decided where
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
s pass.
Human geography
Rail transport systems affect the human geography. Large cities (such as
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
) may be founded by a railroad passing through. Historically, when a station has been built outside the town or city it is intended to serve, that town has expanded to include the station, or buildings (especially
Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
s) sprung up near the station. The existence of a station may increase the number of
commuters
Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regu ...
who live in a town or village and so cause it to become a
dormitory town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
. The
transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
was a large factor in American
colonization of the
Western frontier
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
.
China's railroad expansion into
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
may have similar consequences.
Historical factors
Rail transport systems are often used for purposes they were not designed for, but have evolved into due to changes in human geography.
Politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
can play a large part in decisions about railways, such as the
Beeching Axe. In the
UK, building or rebuilding a railway usually requires an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
. In many countries,
rail subsidies
Many countries offer subsidies to their railways because of the social and economic benefits that it brings. The economic benefits can greatly assist in funding the rail network. Those countries usually also fund or subsidize road construction, an ...
allow unprofitable, but socially desirable, railways to continue to operate.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rail Transport Operations