Air transportation in our time is gaining more and more popularity not only when moving passengers, but also when transporting various goods at any distance. But, despite this, the railway does not lose its relevance due to its cheaper cost. Here, as in road transport, emergency situations can also occur with different consequences. And then such a unit as a recovery train comes into operation. Read what it is below.
What are recovery trains?
The transport unit, called the recovery train, is a special formation, the main responsibility of which is to eliminate the consequences of emergencies that occurred on the railways. This may be cases of rolling stock derailment or a collision of locomotives.
In addition, the recovery train crew, within its technical capabilities, can provide first aid to victims of accidents or as a result of a natural disaster.
Important role
The main task facing the brigade of rolling stock is to ensure the speedy resumption of railway traffic. Involving a recovery train in operation, it is necessary to do with minimal losses of material assets. And in the presence of victims, the safety of life and health of people always comes first.
Equipment
To carry out the necessary work, the rolling stock has all the necessary equipment and tools. On board the train there is a crane and various devices for lifting bulky goods, there are hydraulic jacks. Also, the recovery unit includes tractors equipped with winches, tractors, bulldozers.
In order to supply electricity to the train, the availability of power plants is provided. If necessary, work in the dark is provided by spotlight installations.
In addition, depending on the specific situation, the recovery train may have on board various cars, equipment for welding and metal cutting. The train can also be successfully used to extinguish fires with appropriate equipment.
The entire train has several dozen cars, each of which has its own purpose. The storage car provides storage of the necessary material and tools. In addition, the composition consists of:
- a carriage with a catering unit;
- ambulance car;
- working platform.
The train must always be in good technical condition in order to immediately depart on the very first call. In order to ensure efficiency, the composition has communication facilities.
Organization of the recovery process
The volume of all restoration work and the time of their implementation depend on the number of transport units in an emergency. When a recovery train is called to the scene, they also take into account the degree of damage to the trains, whether there is cargo on board, whether the accident affected the technical condition of the railroad track and a number of other factors.
The situation can become much more complicated if the accident occurred in a tunnel or on a bridge, especially in the presence of significant damage. Danger is the case of accidents of trains that transported dangerous or flammable goods. No less dangerous is a train gathering near a settlement.
Each emergency is unique in nature, and there are, for example, completely identical cases of derailment of trains when a recovery train is called. The work in this case is carried out in accordance with the developed general tactics of the recovery process, which involves several stages:
- collection of incident information;
- delivery of a transport unit to the accident site;
- carrying out restoration work.
It is extremely important that each of the stages takes as little time as possible, especially when it comes to the victims.
Collection of information
The main task that the Russian Railways recovery train should solve is to quickly collect all the necessary information about the accident, during which it is necessary to determine the nature of the accident (collision, derailment). It is also important to find out if there are casualties, the presence of dangerous goods and the likelihood of fire. This also takes into account the terrain in which the accident occurred, the condition of the railway track and trains.
The most complete information will allow you to make the right decision on the number of recovery units that need to be sent, the availability of equipment and necessary materials. The omission of even the smallest at first glance details and procrastination threatens with great losses. And human life is priceless.
Delivery of the composition
Upon receipt of information about any incident, measures are immediately taken. Depending on the situation, recovery and fire trains may be sent or additional forces may be involved: units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Civil Defense, as well as other necessary services. Responsibility for deciding on the number of rehabilitated trains to be assigned lies with the head of the road department. If a large amount of work is foreseen, then the responsibility passes to the chief of the road.
As for the time of departure of trains, during working hours it is no more than 30 minutes, and at other times up to 40 minutes. At the same time, the movement of any recovery and fire locomotive takes precedence over all other types of railway transport.
Recovery work
After collecting all the necessary information, one repair train or several trains are sent to the scene. To correct the situation associated with the derailment of the train, the optimal solution for its rise is selected.
The descent of almost the entire composition is almost always accompanied by damage to the railway. In this regard, high demands are placed on the recovery process. Just before work, a special group of people collects materials that will help shed light on the cause of the accident.
The entire recovery procedure is performed according to the standard scheme. First of all, the damaged train is removed from the tracks and loads. In order to avoid the loss of expensive cargo, the procedure for its protection and cleaning is organized. In the future, the emergency recovery train is used when it is necessary to repair the rails. At the same time, it is not made after the complete cleaning of the train, but as the tracks are cleared from the cars.
A small digression into history
People who are following the correction of the consequences of accidents on the railway are dedicated to professional day, which is celebrated on November 11th. In history, the first appearance of a recovery train in 1936 is mentioned. All thanks to L. M. Kaganovich, who signed the order, which mentioned the reconfiguration of the operating mode of the recovery train. At that time, it was impossible to do high-quality work on auxiliary compositions. Therefore, on their basis, restoration trains of Russian Railways were created, which should ensure not only high quality work, but also maximum efficiency.
In other words, the entire structure of reconstructing structures has existed practically since the development of the railway network in Russia. The equipment was heavy at first, and had to work in the most difficult conditions. As for the uniform of the workers, it was simple and not quite convenient. Nevertheless, people coped with their task.
Currently, modern equipment is used, but, despite this, the quality of work directly depends on the qualifications of the staff. Workers regularly undergo training to constantly improve their skills.