Railroad maneuvers: find out what they are and how they are done

Railroad maneuvers: find out what they are and how they are done travel throughout the Brazilian network..

In addition to the strategic locations, the maneuvering yards must comply with competences in the scope of planning, as each type of yard is designed for a transport demand, in addition to safety, as they are the work area of operators, maneuvers and maintenance workers.

Therefore, in this article we will talk about how railroad maneuvers are carried out, planning to carry out a maneuver, what are maneuvering yards and the necessary safety measures.

How are railroad maneuvers performed

Maneuvers are like the steps that precede the departure of a freight train. It is by them that the order of the wagons is defined, along with loading and maintenance. Therefore, what defines a maneuver is the displacement of a train from its original line to another. 

From maneuvers a wagon or block of wagons is handled to the yard. Its parts are disconnected and sorted until a shunting locomotive can physically separate it into different bundles.

The bundles, in turn, are short sections that cut a line so that the train can be separated. In this way, the locomotive performs the separation of the block so that it can be regrouped according to transport needs.

The grouping takes place sequentially, at a junction point known as a courtyard. There are the sub-yards, which facilitate the classification of some stages that involve rail transport. An example is the progressive patio, which will be deepened ahead, divided into reception, classification and train formation.

At the end of each maneuvering yard there must be a train in formation, ready to follow its destination, with the complete set and planned according to the decoupling in another yard. 

Planning to perform a maneuver

Before determining how wagons will be distributed in a yard, a calculation is made based on essential factors such as: transport demand, maneuvers, trains, traffic intensity, machinery and the classification rules of the products that flow from that yard terminal.

The main objective within a switching yard is to simplify the process of assembling a train. Therefore, the fewer maneuvers necessary for the set to come out assembled and fully loaded, the better. This is due to the calculation made by the railroad companies on the average time taken to perform the maneuvers and stay in the yards. 

Remembering that the permanence time of wagons in the yard can be classified into active stay and passive stay. The first concerns the time the wagons are subjected to operations, and the second the time the wagons wait. 

The difference between the types of yards lies in the physical separation of the activities of classification and train formation, in which more complex yards have larger teams, more sections and allow loading, maintenance and assembly independently. While the simpler yards, less sectioned, have a modeling of the wagons together. This last alternative may require less maneuvers, although it does not assemble and classify wagons simultaneously.

For this demand, simulation software was invented, which anticipate the ideal distribution of wagons according to the specifics of the yard in question

Maneuvering Yards

The yards are essential for all types of railroad lines, since stops for cargo supply, separation, grouping of cars and maintenance only happen in the shortest time possible, if done in isolation. A set that has a defect in only one car must dispense with it and continue its journey without the need to wait for maintenance.

Thus, there are yards with varying numbers of sections and complexity, which influence the reception and classification time, but which are directly linked to the transport demand of your line. 

The most commonly used division is that of combined yards and progressive yards. More common to the Brazilian rail network,the combined yards have fewer divisions and their lines operate with the same functions. While the progressive yards are more complex, with more defined sections and subdivisions to serve several trains at the same time.

For this second patio model, there is a classification in three areas: reception, classification and formation. 

The reception is responsible for dividing the locomotive from the cars. In this yard, the maintenance of the brake system, coupling, wheels, axles and other parts that help in moving the front takes place. At this moment, the cars are waiting to be sent to the next division.

In the classification yard, the destination functions are verified, according to their load and urgency. One of the methods for separating the cars is the flat division, which requires railroad maneuvers by valets and special locomotives for this task. The Hump Yard system, on the other hand, automates this task by dividing the wagons by gravity as they go down a descent ramp.

Finally, the formation is the part of a railroad maneuvering yard that groups the wagons with their locomotives, according to the order of the stations where the deliveries will take place. After inspections of all systems and the release of documents that regulate transport, the trains are ready to depart. 

Security measures

Automated wagon division systems are not present in all yards, since most of the Brazilian yards depend on manual service for railroad maneuvers. 

Thus, human work is needed to change the connections between the cars and switch the circulation from one line to another, through the so-called AMVs, the lane change devices. 

The first safety initiative is the adequacy of employees, through training and protective equipment. Operators must learn everything about the work tools and the parts that influence railroad maneuvers, protection measures and corrective actions in urgent cases, conservation of collective and individual protection equipment (EPC & EPI), understand the signs of the space where they work and actively participate in the workplace safety culture.

The operator, who is directly responsible for the coupling, disengagement and maneuvering functions, needs to check the condition of the wagons before carrying out interventions, such as: analyzing the number of ideal maneuvers, checking if there are people circulating near the wagons, checking if the manual brakes are activated, maintain the correct distance between wagons and obstructions, do not advance with the composition while unloading into the hopper, among several other precautions.

Such care also applies to the intervention on the AMV, which requires: checking the existence of foreign bodies between the needles, checking the pressure of the AMV "Monkey", checking that the lever movement corresponds to the needle, alternating the direction of the needles with circulation in the same line, among other things.

The posture of a professional operator must be safe and attentive to the circulation around him, always complying with the requirements for a train to be uncoupled, with the brakes activated, maneuvers already defined and tracks free of chocks or objects that fall during previous passages.

Conclusion

We can conclude that railroad maneuvers are essential for its mode of transport worldwide, as the most efficient practice to organize the set that makes up the train according to its products and carry out interventions in units, rather than interrupting the operation of the train. train as a whole.

Another benefit that this strategy allows is the simultaneity of trains in operation, being prepared to transport. In addition to the care with which maneuvers are carried out, so as not to compromise logistical and energy efficiency, which make this mode of transport so relevant.

Searchs:

http://transportes.ime.eb.br/etfc/monografias/MON025.pdf

https://www.docsity.com/pt/manobra-ferroviaria-em-operacoes-ferroviaria/5434154/

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locomotiva_manobreira

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=manobra+de+ferrovia