The railway network is formed by an extensive set of technical means and structures that ensure the stable functioning of the transport system. To rationalize the technological processes of servicing, some components of the general infrastructure are allocated into independent objects with autonomous control. These elements of the railway complex include carriage facilities serving rolling stock. Of course, we are not talking about complete independence from the railway system with its other components, but to a large extent it is still an isolated group with its own specifics in management and maintenance.
Carriage infrastructure and its functions
Wagons are an obligatory component of the railway transport system, on which the quality and parameters of the transportation process depend. Thanks to wagons and containers, the movement of goods and passengers is organized. However, these components themselves are not very functional and require the organization of the maintenance infrastructure of the carriage facilities (for the most part for the purpose of technical support). The whole range of operational processes from launching to the line to preparing for transportation and conservation is provided by special facilities, control rooms and auxiliary equipment.
If earlier production processes in the railway infrastructure were carried out mainly by manual means, today the functional maintenance tasks are mainly shifted to mechanized systems. The most modern and large enterprises organize rail transportation with constant monitoring through automated systems. Digital means of communication are also being successfully implemented, which increases the efficiency of interaction between different components of the economy.
Carriage device
A wagon can be considered as an elementary component of rolling stock and the railway industry as a whole. It is a fairly simple structure formed by the body, running gear, automatic couplers, brake system and frame parts. The basis, of course, is formed by the body frame, which can be used to accommodate passengers and cargo. Metal is used as the main material for the manufacture of the frame - racks, walls, frames and fittings are made from it. In order to reduce the cost, some designs may contain boards, but this only applies to extreme cases in case of irresponsible transportation.
The supporting base is also a metal platform, but with stiffeners or other supporting inclusions. Particularly freight transportation by railway transport is demanding on the carrying capacity of cars. Therefore, in the device frames for this purpose, longitudinal thick frames based on high-strength steel alloys are used.
An equally important element of the car is the chassis, which translates the load on the rails. The standard version of this part can be called a pair of wheels with axle boxes with bearings and a spring suspension system. The multi-axle configuration of the car provides for the combination of these parts into one truck system, which ensures a smooth ride on problem sections of the road.
Types of wagons
It has already been noted that cars can be freight and passenger. This is a fundamental division, which leads to different approaches to the operation of rolling stock and its maintenance. As the name implies, freight cars provide transportation of various cargoes - building materials, raw materials, food, equipment, etc. A distinctive feature of this type of rolling stock is its increased carrying capacity, which imposes a high responsibility on the design of the car and measures for its maintenance. The typical economy contains four-, six- and eight-axle freight cars. In this case, the technical and structural design may be different depending on the specific purpose. In modern carriages, gondola cars, tanks, platforms, isothermal movable structures, etc. are used.
As for passenger cars, they can also have different purposes in their group. For example, vehicles are allocated directly to passengers, mail and baggage. There are also special purpose cars adjacent to the general passenger link. A distinctive feature of this category of rolling stock can be called increased comfort.
The composition of the economy
Conventionally, all objects of carriage infrastructure can be divided into the following types: linear structures, communication and auxiliary. The first group of units includes car preparation centers, technical and passenger service stations, washing and steaming facilities, and various workshops. As a rule, these are capital structures on which the functional basis of the carriage facilities is based, regardless of its purpose. Another thing is that in the passenger and cargo transportation infrastructure specialized objects may be present, such as regeneration workshops or storage facilities for storing perishable materials.
Communication points can also be implemented in the form of capital structures, but they are more likely determined by the equipment being operated. It can be radio communication systems, digital equipment for high-speed data transmission, telephone communications, etc. This infrastructure is not involved in the direct servicing of rolling stock, but is involved in the organization of such events.
As for auxiliary facilities, then they include cleaning stations, boiler houses, flyovers, storage facilities, domestic and technical premises. Also, the traditional composition of the carriage facilities is not complete without instruments for detecting overheat points of axleboxes. This is a kind of control nodes, which are placed in certain areas at a distance of 40-50 km from each other. If high temperatures are found in the axle boxes, they send an appropriate signal to the control rooms, thereby increasing the reliability of the operation of the rolling stock.
Linear facilities
The main group of structures directly involved in the maintenance and maintenance of wagons should be considered separately. The most significant objects of this type include:
- Car repair plant. A multifunctional complex of industrial type, which carries out repair of wagons, their modernization, production of spare parts and wheelsets. Such plants are placed in such a way that it is more convenient to carry out maintenance directly on the site of operation.
- Point of preparation of rolling stock for transportation. Technical complex, the main function of which is to minimize delays in the unhitching of cars with the condition of ensuring the safety of the transported cargo. The employees of such points perform technical and preventive operations, carrying out minor repairs, refueling and commissioning procedures.
- Wagon maintenance points. Usually they are located at passenger, precinct and marshalling yards and serve for timely detection and elimination of various types of railroad car malfunctions. The most common operation is to check the brake system by a special team.
- Control and technical items. They also perform maintenance of rolling stock with the elimination of minor breakdowns, but not on a regular basis, but specifically after passing certain technological procedures by wagons.
Each of the aforementioned wagon infrastructure facilities within its technical and economic base necessarily provides for an engineering and communications supply system. It can be connections from gas stations, ventilation channels, heat and gas supply.
What is a car depot?
The technical and communication environment for the placement and interaction of carriage service facilities forms a depot. At its base, operating, repair, refueling and other stations are located within certain boundaries. In particular, a passenger car depot may include a universal set of functional units, including transformer, boiler, generator, pump, storage and dispatch facilities.
At the same time, it is worth separating multifunctional and specialized depots. In the first case, the target site can carry out an extensive list of technical and operational operations, keeping on its base the working and repaired cars on an ongoing basis. Specialized complexes, as a rule, do not contain transport equipment, which is not currently undergoing technological operations. For example, a car repair depot can perform specific technical procedures with routine inspection, refueling, repairing faults and adjusting individual components, but this is what its tasks are limited to. There are also depot departments designed for specific work - assembly of structures, adjustment of wheelsets, installation of trolleys, etc.
Carriage Requirements
The efficiency of the production of technological procedures within the depot will depend on the configuration of the location of the service facilities and the nature of their operation. To maintain the logistics of railcar carriages at the proper level, the following rules for their organization were developed:
- The mutual arrangement of structures and buildings should provide unhindered and as short as possible the paths of movement of cars, spare parts and materials to them.
- The principle of compactness and rationalization must be respected, in which several technological departments are located in one production room. Of course, if such an approach is technically possible and does not complicate the performance of targeted operations.
- Auxiliary and storage facilities are connected to the building of office buildings.
- On the territory of the passenger car depot, the sanitary and fire safety rules must be observed in accordance with the requirements of SNiP. If possible, engineering networks are laid in niches of existing routes adjacent to the main communication mines of capital buildings.
Control system
At the head of any railway infrastructure is a management company that ensures the condition of the park, its structures, technical equipment and associated functional components. Control and regulation are carried out according to the hierarchical structure from the head to the operator of the control room. The head carries out the technical and operational management of the services of the entrusted facilities, focusing on the established rules and regulations, some of which can be developed for a specific infrastructure individually.
As for the technical implementation of carriage management, as already noted, automatic systems play a significant role in the control of technological processes. This can be control modules that record individual malfunctions by means of sensitive elements, and mechanized executive bodies that also perform the functions of lighting control, changing the operating modes of individual units, etc.
Maintenance and repair of wagons
There are rules for the technical operation of the rolling stock with standards for maintenance and repair of rolling stock. They, in particular, prescribe the timing of repairs, requirements for the maintenance of equipment and the maximum periods of use of certain work units. Next, there are several types of service activities that are necessary to maintain the safe transportation of railway transport:
- THAT. The basic maintenance format, the implementation of which is aimed at identifying and eliminating various kinds of malfunctions both in one carriage and in a whole group of rolling stock. The greatest emphasis is still placed on routine inspection of equipment, diagnostics and troubleshooting of materials.
- TR-1. Maintenance is being carried out without uncoupling of cars at stations where maintenance points are located. In this format, damage, wear and tear that arise during the movement of the train should be eliminated.
- TR-2. A kind of current repair, but already with the implementation of uncoupling from the train. In this case, a car repair depot is involved, which has wider tools for eliminating serious malfunctions.
Conclusion
The railway network and the transport equipment operated on its basis is a complex multi-level infrastructure that requires an appropriate content approach. Therefore, it is not surprising that a significant part of communications falls precisely on the production of service activities. The most demanding in this regard are railway freight for industrial purposes, which operate with increased loads of about 500-600 tons per train. It is obvious that under such an operating mode, even the wear-resistant element base will wear out as soon as possible. Actually, the technical and operational complex of the wagon infrastructure with depot and repair shops is calculated to prevent, identify and eliminate these and other problems.