Lec. - Railway Engineering Assist. Lec.

Zaid Abdul Zahra Mahdi

Gauging the gauge should be checked and an attempt should be made to provide a uniform gauge
within permissible tolerance limits.
b- Packing of sleepers
The base rail is identified by the mate and the dip or low joints are lifted correctly to ensure that the
longitudinal level of the rail is perfect.
c- Systematic Overhauling
(a) Shallow screening and making up of ballast section
(b) Replacement of damaged or broken fittings
(c) All items included in through packing
(d) Making up the cess.
Railway Stations and Yards
A railway station is that place on a railway line where traffic is booked and dealt with and where trains
are given the authority to proceed forward. It is classified as a flag station or a block station.
Selection of Site for a Railway Station
The following factors are considered when selecting a site for a railway station.
1. Adequate land: There should be adequate land available for the station building, not only for the
proposed line but also for any future expansion.
2. Level area with good drainage : the maximum permissible gradient adopted is 1 in 400, but a
gradient of 1 in 1000 is desirable.
3. Alignment: The station site should preferably have a straight alignment so that the various signals
are clearly visible.
4. Easy accessibility: The station site should be easily accessible. The site should be near villages and
towns.
5. Water supply arrangement: When selecting the site, it should be verified that adequate water
supply is available for passengers and operational needs.

Classification of Railway Stations

Railway stations can broadly be sorted into various classes on the basis of two main considerations.
a- Operational considerations
b- Functional considerations
Yards
A yard is a system of tracks laid out to deal with the passenger as well as goods traffic being handled by
the railways. This includes receipt and dispatch of trains apart from stabling, sorting, marshaling, and
other such functions. Yards are normally classified into the following categories.
a- Coaching yard: The main function of a coaching yard is to deal with the reception and dispatch of
passenger trains.
b- Goods yard: A goods yard provides facilities for the reception, stabling, loading, unloading, and
dispatch of goods wagons.
Lec. - Railway Engineering Assist. Lec. Zaid Abdul Zahra Mahdi

c- Marshalling yard: A goods yard which deals with the sorting of goods wagons to form new goods
trains.
d- Locomotive yard: This is the yard which houses the locomotive. Facilities for watering, fuelling
examining locomotives, repairing, etc.
e- Sick line yard:
lines. This yard deals with such sick wagons.

Urban Transport
The different forms of urban transport in use in most cities of the world are the following.
(a) Motorbuses: This is the most convenient form of transport and is used extensively in metropolitan
cities.
(b) Trolley buses: These are buses that derive their energy through overhead electric transmission.
(c) Tramways: Tramways require a track on which the trams can run and as such require the
infrastructure of a proper railway track.
(d) Surface railways: the track is laid on a ground that has a suitable embankment or cutting, depending
upon the topography of the area
(e) Underground railways:
and diesel tractions produce smoke and lead to the pollution of the environment.
(f) Elevated railways: This type of railway is provided at an elevation above the ground level. The track
is laid on a deck, which is supported by steel or RCC columns.
(g) Monorails: The monorail is a form of elevated railway that is provided with only one rail on which
trains run.
(h) Tube railways: In this rail system, the underground railways are generally provided at a depth of
more than 25 m.

Railway Tunneling
A tunnel can be defined as an underground passage for the transport of passengers, goods, water,
sewage, oil, gas, etc.
Necessity/Advantages of a Tunnel
The necessity of constructing a tunnel may arise because of one of the following considerations.
(a) A tunnel may be required to eliminate the need for a long and circuitous route for reaching the other
side of a hill, as it would considerably reduce the length of the railway line and may also prove to be
economical.
(b) It may be economical to provide a tunnel instead of a cutting, particularly in a rocky terrain.
(c) In hills with soft rocks, a tunnel is cheaper than a cutting.
Lec. - Railway Engineering Assist. Lec. Zaid Abdul Zahra Mahdi

(d) In metropolitan towns and other large cities, tunnels are constructed to accommodate underground
railway systems in order to provide a rapid and unobstructed means of transport.
(e) A tunnel constructed under a river bed may sometimes prove to be more economical and
convenient than a bridge.
(f) In the case of aerial warfare transportation through tunnels provides better safety and security to rail
users compared to a bridge or deep cutting.
(g) The maintenance cost of a tunnel is considerably lower than that of a bridge or deep cutting.

Signalling
Signaling

Stop signal
Semaphore Signaling
The length and width of arm vary from 120-167 cm and
23-25 cm respec vely.