Last reviewed 30 Sept 2026 · 8 min read
Stations and their functions
A railway station is a place where trains stop for passengers and goods, cross or overtake each other, and where crews and locomotives change. It has tracks and platforms, buildings, signals and interlocking, and approach roads. The station yard is the group of tracks, points and crossings, and the associated buildings and structures that form the station.
Stations are classified by:
| Basis | Types |
|---|---|
| Function | Passenger station, goods (freight) station, junction, terminal, halt, crossing station (where trains cross or overtake), block station |
| Traffic and importance | Terminal and important junctions, major stations, small stations and halts |
| Layout | Through station, terminal (dead-end) station, junction station, island or side platforms |
| Position | Station on the main line, on a branch, or at a loop |
Types of yards
- Passenger yard — receives, sorts and stores passenger coaches; platform lines, stabling lines, washing and inspection pits, coach-cleaning facilities and servicing.
- Goods (freight) yard — loading and unloading of wagons; goods shed, platform, cranes and roads.
- Marshalling yard — where goods trains are broken up, sorted and remade according to their destinations. Two types: flat-shunting and gravity (hump) yards, in which wagons are pushed over a hump and roll by gravity into the correct sorting siding, controlled by retarders. Receiving, sorting (classification) and departure yards are arranged in sequence.
- Locomotive yard (shed) — for servicing, fuelling, maintenance and stabling of locomotives, with pits, turntables and workshops.
- Sick lines and wagon workshops for repairs.
Layout terms
- Platform line — the track alongside a platform for passenger trains.
- Loop line — an additional track connected to the main line at both ends, allowing trains to stop, cross or be overtaken without blocking the main line. Non-stop trains use the through (main) line.
- Siding — a track branching off the main line and connected at one end only (a dead-end siding), used to stable wagons, load/unload, or store vehicles.
- Run-round loop — allows a locomotive to be uncoupled from a train, run past it and coupled to the other end.
- Catch siding / slip siding / trap — protect the main line from runaway vehicles.
- Crossover — a pair of turnouts connecting two parallel tracks.
- Shunting neck — a track for shunting movements without fouling the main line.
- Standing (usable) length of a loop or siding — the length that can hold a train of a given size, excluding the fouling marks and the overlap.
Principles of yard layout
FormulaKey principles
- Safety first — arrangements that avoid conflicting movements: a through line kept clear for non-stop trains; isolation of lines with a trap point or a derailing switch; sufficient fouling clearances and overlap beyond signals.
- Simple, flexible movement — each train should be able to enter and leave by more than one route, without blocking the other movements; crossovers located so that shunting does not use the main line.
- Flat gradients — a level or nearly level yard (about 1 in 400 or flatter) so that vehicles do not roll away; the yard should lie on a straight as far as possible, with curves only of a large radius (points on curves are avoided).
- Adequate length — the loop lines and platforms are long enough for the longest train planned for the section (with a margin) and for future extension.
- Room for expansion — plan the land, the approach and the track layout so that the station can be extended (more lines, longer platforms) without rebuilding.
- Economy — minimum number of turnouts and crossings consistent with operation; turnouts of the same number (1 in 8½ or 1 in 12) standardise the standard plans and spares.
- Passenger convenience — platforms with covered footbridges, subways and lifts, direct access, and level or gently sloped platforms; height and width of platforms per the Schedule of Dimensions.
- Signalling and interlocking — the track layout is drawn together with the signalling plan so that signals, points, track circuits and overlaps fit the layout.