Rail yard: what is it and how does it work?
For the railroad model to work in the desired way, allowing the maximum of its potential, it depends on the complete assembly of a quality railroad structure. This structure is formed by a series of substructures, such as the railroad, infrastructure, superstructure, platforms, permanent ways, railroad yard, among others.
All these parts are essential for the processes planned for the railroads to be well executed, following the logistics mechanisms established by the companies involved.
The railroad superstructure, for example, refers to the formation of tracks and adjacent compositions, which allow trains to move safely. Platforms, tracks and rail yards, on the other hand, are important logistics spaces for the operation of this gear.
In this article, the main focus will be on the rail yard. Here, we will explain how it works, what its compositions are, what it is used for, types and the differences between the yards and other environments that have similar functions in the railroad transport process.
Content Index
Rail yard
To begin with, it is important to explain what a railroad yard really is and how it works. Well, the idea of a yard is a large, flat space used for infrastructure and logistics stages, which is exactly how the rail yard is established.
Although not all patios are flat, it is desirable that it be built this way, as this ends up facilitating many of the functions of this type of environment.
The composition of the rail yard is set up so that it supports all the actions necessary and designated for that space, which are essentially:
- Formation of trains;
- Charge;
- Discharge;
- Parking;
- Undercarriage workshop;
- Others.
For each of these actions, the yard must work in a specific way. In this sense, the compositions assembled in the yard depend on the functionality and idea of the companies involved in the assembly of each yard.
The main structure of a railroad yard is the AMV (Track Change Apparatus), which enables the trains to maneuver, being a set of a variety of accessories, machines and other types of components. AMV enables rolling stock to be able to move from one line to another.
Types of rail yards
As we said, a patio can be built for different functions. In this sense, there are also several types of rail yards and it is important that we talk about what these types are and how they work effectively.
In this way, the types of rail yards can be classified as follows:
- Maneuver Yard (most common);
- Maintenance Yard;
- Interaction Yard;
- Screening Yard;
- Rail Terminals.
The maneuvering, maintenance and railroad terminals yard are the most common and most used by the national railroad networks.
The turning yard, as its name implies, is the railroad yard destined for trains to make the necessary maneuvers to follow their journeys in a safe and efficient manner.
In this way, there are different possibilities assembled by the rails and the railroad superstructure, allowing the trains to maneuver to change direction or continue following the same way, according to the need of the track.
Trains and railroads are a very robust structure and, as they are always in constant motion, wear occurs on both structures. to ensure the trains run at their maximum quality and safety, for example, the maintenance yard exists to carry out the necessary maintenance on the train during its journey.
In relation to the railroad terminals, we will see below how it works and why they differ.
Differences between railroad and terminal
Although the railroad terminal falls under the category of railroad yard, there are differences between them that deserve to be highlighted.
First, it is important to understand that both spaces have some features that are similar, such as the possibility of loading and unloading loads.
However, the main difference is in the location where both are mounted. As yards can be used for changing train routes and directions, this being the most common type of yard, they can be set up in the middle of a railroad track.
Differently from that, the railroad terminals are used and it is even preferable that they be set up at the destinations of the lines, either at the beginning of the journey or mainly at the end.
As the main objective of a terminal is precisely to “finish” the route, it is essential to explore this preference. In this way, when the train makes its journey, there is a terminal positioned so that the trains can be unloaded and the cargoes travel on trucks or waterway vessels.
Differences between rail yard and stations
The difference between railroad yards and railroad stations is even more accentuated than in the previous case. On a daily basis, you probably have contact with train stations if you live in big cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In these cities, stations are the places where trains park to pick up people and take them to other stations within an established line.
When we transport this thought to the freight railroad sector , the idea is the same. The railroad station is the space built for stops, whether in municipalities, rural areas, integration and the final station.
The stations, when we talk about the railroad sector, can be categorized as follows: shelter (countryside), stop, standard station, specific station for passengers or cargo, integration station or central station (terminal).
In this way, the idea of the station is different from that of the railroad yard, as they are well-defined destinations set up at strategic points along the path of vehicles, serving for supply, breaks, integration or completion of the transport of loads on the tracks.
Conclusion
As we have seen, the railroad yard is an important space for the functioning of the railroads. However, it is important to highlight that there are differences between it and the stations and terminals, even with many similarities between them. Loading, unloading, stops, supply, among others, are important points in the functioning of these spaces.
Searchs:
https://www.ufjf.br/engenhariadeproducao/files/2014/09/2007_3_Luciana.pdf
