The railways in Germany use several abbreviations to differentiate between various types of stations, stops, railway facilities and other places of rail service.
Places with a set of points
* – ' (
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
), defined as a place where trains may start, terminate, stop, overtake, meet or change directions, and that has at least one set of
point
Point or points may refer to:
Places
* Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States
* Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
* Point ...
s. It can be additionally named after its purpose:
** – ', the main or
central station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
of a town or city. Also the only abbreviation commonly found on station timetables and signs.
** – ' (passenger station), usually used to differentiate in places that have several types of stations, but only one passenger station.
** – ' (
long distance station)
** – ' (
freight station
A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...
)
** – ', a station only for operational tasks like train overtakes.
** – ' (
marshalling yard)
** – ' (
transshipment
Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination.
One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...
station)
** – ', a station serving a power plant.
** – ' (
mail station)
* – ' (part of a station), used when a station consists of distinct facilities, for example a and a .
* – ' (a
junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
without platforms)
* – ' (
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
)
* – ' (
industrial siding outside station limits), trains using the ' must not be passed by trains running on the main line.
* – ' (
refuge siding A refuge siding is a single-ended, or dead-end, siding off a running line, which may be used to temporarily accommodate a train so that another one can pass it. For example, a refuge siding might be used by a slow goods train to allow a fast pass ...
), an industrial siding outside station limits where trains can run on the main line while another train is shunting at the ', in contrast to an '.
* – ', the term for a ' (see below) at the same location as an ', ' or '/'.
* – ', a simplified freight station used to transship goods, nowadays mostly part of a station or categorized as '.
Places without a set of points
* – ' (
halt), a passenger stop that does not fit the requirements to be a '. Defined as a place where trains can stop, start or terminate, but which has no sets of points in the vicinity.
* – ' (
block post
A block post in railway signalling is the signal box at one end of a block section.
German practice
In Germany, block posts are known as ''Blockstellen'' (abbreviation: ''Bk'') and are defined as railway facilities on the open line that mark the ...
), a signal box outside station limits, where there is a long distance between stations and/or junctions/crossovers, with just one signal in each direction, to allow more trains following each other (only called ' if it is staffed, otherwise it is called ' – ' (automatic block post)).
* – ', a signal box outside station limits which protects rail operation at danger spots like
moveable bridges
A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical ...
with its signals.
Other railway facilities
* – ' (bus stop)
* – ' (office of the staff,
locomotive 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 ...
; old/colloquial abbreviation: ' for ')
* – ' (head office of
computer-based interlocking Computer-based interlocking is railway signal interlocking implemented with computers, rather than using older technologies such as relays or mechanics.
General
CBIs are mostly implemented in two parts; a section that implements the safety and ...
)
* – ', border to another
railway infrastructure manager A railway infrastructure manager is "any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure. This may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems. The functions ...
(domestic and foreign).
* – ', border between
German federated states.
* – ', neutral section in an
overhead line
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipmen ...
to separate two electrical supplies.
* – ' (ship dock)
* – ', change of
VzG line.
* – ' (filling stations)
* – ' (
traction substation
A traction substation, traction current converter plant, rectifier station or traction power substation (TPSS) is an electrical substation that converts electric power from the form provided by the electrical power industry for public utility ...
)
* – ' (repair shop; old/colloquial abbreviation: ' or ' for ')
Classification of railway facilities
Railway facilities in Germany are divided into three categories:
[Eisenbahn-Bau- und Betriebsordnung: ''Bahnanlagen § 4 Begriffserklärungen'']
* (railway facilities of the stations): e.g.
station buildings,
platforms,
loading docks,
signal boxes
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetab ...
,
goods sheds
* (railway facilities outside station limits): , , , , , , ,
* (other railway facilities): e.g. electrical substations, depots, repair shops
See also
*
List of Deutsche Bahn station codes
Deutsche Bahn and its predecessors Deutsche Bundesbahn, Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft use a system of letters to denote a station on their network. The station code used today is colloquially called the DS 100 code, name ...
*
German railway station categories
The approximately 5,400 railway stations in Germany that are owned and operated by the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Station&Service are divided into seven categories, denoting the service level available at the station.
This categorisation influe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Railway Station Types Of Germany
Railway depots in Germany