We all use rail at different frequencies. However, we know almost nothing about how it functions. No, of course, many can boast of knowledge about how the locomotive is arranged and due to which it moves along the tracks. But in reality, ordinary passengers do not have an understanding of how the railway system itself works and what determines the capacity of entire destinations.
If you are interested in a voiced topic, then our article will be very useful to you. It is dedicated to intermediate stations, which in our country are in huge numbers in almost all places where rails are laid and trains run. I would like to immediately note that the importance of these points is underestimated by many. But the very existence of railways is called into question without the coordinated work of intermediate stations. Today we will give all the necessary information on a voiced topic. We will reveal the meaning of the term and talk about the appointment of a separate railway point. In addition, we list the types of intermediate stations and designate their device.
The term and its characteristic
I would like to start our article with an explanation of the term itself, which we will often use today. What is an intermediate station? If you do not go into technical specifications, then we can say that this phrase refers to a point located on the railway network, where trains are serviced, and also overtaking and passing.
In parallel, intermediate stations provide unloading and loading operations and provide passenger services. Many devices are always placed on them, and numerous technical operations of a different nature are performed.
Crossings, overtaking stations and intermediate stations: a brief description and description
Throughout the length of the railway tracks, in order to ensure their throughput, various points are located on which a number of complex operations are carried out.
Philistines often confuse intermediate stations and trips. Although in fact there is one most important difference between them, which you just need to remember. According to the technical regulations, loading and unloading operations are not carried out at siding and overtaking tracks. For them at the listed points there is no necessary equipment and the corresponding entrances are not built. Also, it is impossible to carry out passenger operations due to the lack of stations, ticket offices and other facilities provided for by the rules.
But the work of intermediate stations is organized in such a way as to simultaneously carry out technical, passenger and cargo operations. To do this, they are located on railway tracks over certain distances. These gaps are clearly regulated by the rules, which we will discuss in more detail later.
Destination of intermediate stations
In the work of railway transport, these well-equipped points play a very important role. After all, the workload and traffic of entire directions are directly dependent on the throughput of individual points along their entire length. To make them as efficient as possible, they are equipped with the number of paths and various devices necessary for work as provided for in the regulation.
The purpose of the described railway points can be reflected in the form of a long list with a large number of points. The following operations are usually performed during a workflow:
- admission of trains of all types;
- adjustment of the movement of stopping trains;
- receiving passenger traffic;
- boarding and disembarking passengers on trains;
- all manipulations regarding cargo;
- reception and baggage claim;
- work with combined trains;
- formation of shipping routes;
- weighting of freight cars;
- supply and cleaning of cars.
It should be borne in mind that commuter trains may arrive on some routes. There are more and more such universal items every year.
Types of Technical Operations
As you already understood, a lot of operations are carried out daily at intermediate stations. All of them are divided into several types, most often they are combined into three broad groups:
- Technical This includes all work on the reception and dispatch of trains, as well as all maneuvers associated with the supply and cleaning of cars. These operations are the most frequent and are performed several times a day.
- Freight (commercial). This category includes all cargo operations. This list includes loading and unloading, paperwork, making and receiving payments, storage and delivery of goods.
- Passenger. This group is the most extensive. This includes the reception of passengers, providing them with appropriate conditions, storing mail and baggage, selling tickets and other similar operations.
All of the above work is performed qualitatively in the presence of certain devices. They are also an integral part of intermediate railway stations.
Technical means: description
Intermediate railway stations are equipped according to strict regulations, otherwise they will not be able to fully carry out all the prescribed functions. If we consider the main characteristics, the stations should have a branched track development. This is necessary in order to increase throughput in a certain direction. For this purpose, not only the main paths are laid, but also dead-end branches, loading and unloading, exhaust and receiving and sending. The result is a whole complex that allows you to simultaneously carry out several types of operations.
Since intermediate stations serve the passenger contingent, they are required to have all the associated infrastructure. It includes station buildings, landing platforms, left-luggage offices, walkways, service and residential premises. Thanks to all these facilities, the stations become very convenient points for transferring to another branch or boarding your train.
To carry out cargo operations, the stations are equipped with special mechanisms and platforms where such work can be carried out without reducing the throughput of the station.
Also, each station necessarily has switch points, various communication devices, a modern water supply and lighting system.
Judging by the nuances listed above, it becomes clear that not only the work of intermediate points is clearly regulated, but their design and construction are subject to the rules prescribed in the technical documentation.
Regulation of work of intermediate points
Design of intermediate stations is carried out in accordance with technical and administrative acts and technological maps. In the future, these same documents will govern the entire work of the new paragraph.
At present, on all existing railway tracks, stations of the type we describe are located at equal intervals of twenty meters. On newly laid lines, this distance is increased. Stations are built in about sixty meters.
Some stations are located near large industrial facilities, so the work of access roads is synchronized in such a way as to receive the passenger flow and unload and load the company's products or the materials necessary for its operation.
Technical and administrative acts regulate all issues relating to the reception and maintenance of trains. Technological maps contain more detailed recommendations on the operation of the intermediate station. It often indicates the time standards allocated for a particular operation, schedules for processing cars and the intervals at which trains must be sent.
Interestingly, in these documents you can even find information on the arrangement of intermediate stations. For example, a typical station building should not be less than one hundred and fifty square meters. Moreover, its maximum size is also limited, the top bar are four hundred squares.
Here you can find out that at a regular station the number of tracks varies from two to four. Intermediate stations in Moscow and the Moscow region have a high throughput due to four receiving-departure tracks. Their number is directly dependent on the region where the point is located.
Station Types
Intermediate stations are divided into several types, based on different characteristics. For example, the typology may be affected by the number of pick-up and drop-off tracks, the placement of loading devices or the location of access roads.
However, three types of intermediate stations are most often distinguished. They are classified by location of pick-up and drop-off tracks. This is influenced by many factors. First of all, builders evaluate the terrain, the planned cargo and passenger traffic in the direction and the nature of the work of the future station. And already on the basis of all the conclusions made, they proceed to the construction of paths of one type or another. We repeat that there can be only three of them:
- longitudinal;
- semi-longitudinal;
- transverse.
For example, in conditions with difficult weather conditions and terrain, points with a transverse arrangement of paths are arranged. This reduces the number of ongoing work several times and speeds up construction. Such intermediate stations, for example, were built at BAM.
In order to make it easier for readers to understand the structure of the items described by us according to the typology, we will give a brief overview and try to explain in simple language the working schemes in these items.
Longitudinal device
The work is carried out according to four basic schemes. According to the first, the pick-up tracks are parallel to the main track on each side of it. In another embodiment, they can be placed on one side of the main track, and the third type involves the placement of cargo and exhaust tracks far from the main passenger flow from the back of the station.
Depending on the available schemes, the work of the station is built. Its employees can cross and overtake trains and perform these operations simultaneously. To do this, even and odd trains are taken on different paths, and depending on the traffic pattern, one is skipped forward or transferred to another branch in the direction of the arrow.
The capacity of stations at which the receiving and dispatching tracks are arranged in a longitudinal type is much higher than that of other options. However, in the construction of such points, large sums of money are spent and large-scale earthwork is required. In addition, such an arrangement is often impossible in certain areas due to the features of the terrain.
Half-length arrangement
Points of this type have shorter maneuvering areas. The trains are not able to directly switch from one main direction to another. All manipulations are performed on a small segment of the main tracks located on the back of the main station building.
Such a scheme significantly limits the bandwidth of the item. All work is carried out in stages, since it is almost impossible to simultaneously carry out all manipulations with trains.
Despite the fact that this type of device is slightly inferior to the previous one, quite comfortable conditions for receiving and sending passengers, their movement and placement of cargo vehicles are still organized here. At these points, the simultaneous reception of trains going in opposite directions is possible.
Cross arrangement scheme
A few decades ago, this device was considered the most convenient and cost-effective. Cargo and passenger tracks were located next to the station and each other. This significantly reduced the cost of building an intermediate point and reduced the time for loading and unloading trains. As a result, it was convenient for absolutely all interested parties: employees, senders and receivers of goods, and first of all to government agencies that finance the construction of the station.
But over time, obvious shortcomings of such a device were revealed. With the slightest increase in freight traffic, all work has to be moved to a separate site. As a result, passengers are forced to cross several tracks while boarding a train, and at the same time they interfere with loading operations. Naturally, there is no need to talk about security in this case.
In recent years, the transverse type of stations began to be built in a slightly different way. Cargo entrances are located far from the main tracks and behind the station building. This allows the trains for different purposes not to intersect, and workers can do their direct duties without worrying about the safety of passengers.
Double-track and single-track lines: arrangement
Most of the modern railways are double track. Therefore, it is possible to equip all three types of intermediate stations. At the same time, it is important to ensure isolation of maneuvering work from the rest, and cargo devices are located far from the main passenger stream.
If possible, preference on double-track tracks always turns out to be a longitudinal arrangement option. Its advantages are obvious:
- high throughput of railway points;
- ample opportunities for maneuvering and traveling trains;
- the best conditions for passengers.
Interestingly, in recent years, the reconstruction of transverse station types has been actively carried out. If possible, they are converted into longitudinal or semi-longitudinal, since such a view is more popular and convenient.
Features of passenger facilities at the stations
In the previous sections, we already mentioned that the passenger complex should include a station, platforms and covered walkways. However, they can be open. This is not prohibited by the arrangement rules.
If necessary, the station building can be combined with technical facilities and various offices. The location of the building relative to the tracks is clearly regulated by the rules of construction. For example, a station cannot be built closer than twenty meters from the main path of intermediate stations. If high-speed trains are launched in the direction, then this distance should increase to twenty-five meters. However, the maximum limit should not exceed fifty meters.
Platforms intended for boarding and disembarking passengers cannot be higher than two hundred millimeters, and their length should correspond to the maximum possible length of the passenger train. Moreover, each platform is built in such a way that, if necessary, it can be increased to eight hundred meters. If we are talking about platforms serving suburban trains, they are designed to increase up to five hundred meters.
The width of such structures also meets the standards. It can not be less than six meters. There are parameters for crossings, pavilions and gatherings located around the station.
A few words about tickets
Tickets at intermediate stations are sold at the box office, but the sales scheme has some features. For example, in some directions tickets appear in the public domain only after the train has already left the starting point of the route.
In other cases, you can purchase tickets at the ticket offices of intermediate stations three days before the intended trip.