Yard Operations – Complete Railway GK Notes
1. What is a Railway Yard?
A Yard is a system of tracks laid within definite limits for receiving, sorting, marshalling, dispatching or stabling of rolling stock. It is the “nerve-centre” of train operations.
2. Classification of Yards
| Class |
Function |
Typical Speed |
No. of Reception/Departure Lines |
| A |
Coaching terminal & freight hub |
30 kmph |
≥4 |
| B |
Pure coaching terminal |
25 kmph |
≥2 |
| C |
Subsidiary freight |
15 kmph |
≥1 |
| D |
Local goods / siding |
10 kmph |
1 |
3. Types of Yards & Their Technical Features
3.1 Passenger Yards
- Purpose: Receive, dispatch & stable coaching trains.
- Essential lines:
- Reception
- Running-through
- Platform
- Stabling
- Sick line (150 m longer than longest passenger rake)
- Gradient: Preferably level; 1 in 400 allowed with trap points.
- Turnouts: 1 in 12 on BG (1 in 8½ for dead-end).
- Interlocking: Full relay / electronic.
3.2 Goods Yards
- Facilities:
- Weigh-bridge (60 t electronic, ±0.5 % accuracy)
- End-loading ramp (1.2 m high)
- Cement/food silos (3000 t capacity)
- Hump & gravity yard for sorting (max 3000 wagons/day)
- Crane capacity: 140 t Gottwald mobile for ICD traffic.
3.3 Marshalling Yards
- Definition: Yard where trains are received, sorted & re-formed.
- Types:
- Flat-yard – shunting by engine
- Hump-yard – gravity shunting
- Hump specifications:
- Height: 4.0 m BG, 3.6 m MG, 3.2 m NG
- Gradient of lead: 1 in 17 (BG), 1 in 20 (MG)
- Speed of wagon: 6–8 kmph at retarder entry
- Retarder capacity: 500 kN per shoe
- Sorting capacity: 2500–3000 wagons in 20 h
- World’s largest: Bailey Yard (Nebraska, USA) – 315 km track.
- India’s largest: Mughalsarai (now Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya) – 176 km, 48 retarders, 2 humps, capacity 3000 wagons/day.
3.4 Loco Yards
- Trip shed – stabling & minor repair (3 pit-lines)
- Diesel shed – fuelling (8000 l/min pump), sand filling, scheduled maintenance
- Electric shed – 25 kV OHE isolation, 30 t lifting jacks, wheel lathe (under-floor, CNC)
3.5 Sick Yards / Repair Yards
- Sick line length: 1.5×longest wagon (26 m on BG)
- Repair depots: Provided with 50 t break-down crane, jib crane (5 t), wheel press (300 t).
4. Track & Signalling Specifications
| Item |
B.G. |
M.G. |
N.G. |
| Minimum radius for lead curve |
218 m |
155 m |
105 m |
| Turnout (hump lead) |
1 in 8½ |
1 in 8½ |
1 in 8 |
| Point detection |
95 % within 4 mm |
|
|
| Track centres (double line) |
5.3 m |
4.3 m |
3.05 m |
| OHE stagger at turnout |
±200 mm |
|
|
5. Operating Rules (GR & SR)
- GR 6.03: No vehicle shall be pushed beyond the fouling mark.
- SR 3.12: Speed in yard shall not exceed 15 kmph unless sanctioned.
- SR 3.13: All movements over hump to be under “Shunt on” signal.
- GR 6.09: Hand signals (by day green, by night white) for shunting.
- GR 8.02: Isolation of sick wagons within 24 h.
6. Historical Milestones
| Year |
Event |
| 1870 |
First hump yard in India at Howrah (MG) |
| 1925 |
Jamalpur workshop introduces rail-borne hand crane |
| 1956 |
Mughalsarai hump commissioned (Mechanical retarders – German) |
| 1974 |
Tundla yard becomes first with panel interlocking |
| 1996 |
Pt. DD Upadhyaya yard upgraded with Solid State Interlocking (SSI) |
| 2020 |
Gati-Shakti plan: 400 new goods sheds & 50 new sidings approved |
7. Modernisation & Recent Updates (2022-24)
- Automated Integrated Yard Management System (AIYMS): RFID + GPS + AI based wagon tracking pilot at Gandhidham.
- Retarder replacement: Pneumatic → servo-hydraulic at Jhansi (2023).
- 60 kg 90 UTS rails on hump leads to reduce wear.
- LED dwarf signals with 100 % redundancy (RDSO spec. RDSO/SPN/224/2022).
- GDH (Gati-shakti Diesel Hub): 3 MW solar roof at Whitefield trip shed (2024).
- Kavach (ATP) rolled out in 12 coaching yards – 2024 target 3500 RKm.
8. Capacity & Productivity Indices
- Wagon Turn-round (WTR): Target 2.1 days (2023-24), best yard 1.6 days.
- Net Tonnes per Wagon per Day (NTWD): 203 t (improved from 187 t in 2020).
- Hump utilisation factor (HUF): >75 % for Mughalsarai, 55 % for Jhansi.
- Average detention per wagon in yard: 3.8 h (2023) against 5.2 h (2019).
9. Safety Statistics (2023)
| Item |
Incidents |
Reduction vs 2022 |
| Yard derailments |
21 |
–32 % |
| Run-away wagons |
2 |
–67 % |
| Shunting accidents |
11 |
–15 % |
10. Important Abbreviations
- RYM – Railway Yard Master
- SM – Station Master
- PWI – Permanent Way Inspector
- C&W – Carriage & Wagon
- RT – Running Through
- SL – Stabling Line
- SLR – Second-class-cum-Luggage-cum-Guard van
11. 15+ Practice MCQs
1. The maximum permissible gradient in a hump yard lead for BG is
Answer: (b) 1 in 17
2. Which yard in Indian Railways has the highest sorting capacity?
Answer: (c) Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
3. The standard height of a BG hump is
Answer: (a) 4.0 m
4. The minimum radius of lead curve for BG hump yard is
Answer: (c) 218 m
5. Which of the following is NOT a type of yard?
Answer: (d) Block yard
6. The maximum speed permitted in a class ‘C’ goods yard is
Answer: (b) 15 kmph
7. The first hump yard of Indian Railways was commissioned at
Answer: (a) Howrah
8. A retarder in a hump yard controls wagon speed by
Answer: (c) Squeezing wheel tread
9. The target wagon turn-round time for 2023-24 is
Answer: (b) 2.1 days
10. The length of sick line is kept longer than the longest wagon by
Answer: (c) 50 %
11. Which system is being piloted for automated wagon tracking in yards?
Answer: (d) AIYMS
12. The maximum capacity of an electronic weigh-bridge used in freight yards is
Answer: (c) 60 t
13. The turnout number prescribed for dead-end goods siding on BG is
Answer: (b) 1 in 8½
14. Which of the following yards uses gravity for shunting?
Answer: (c) Hump yard
15. The world’s largest railway yard is located at
Answer: (a) Bailey, Nebraska, USA
16. The detention time per wagon in Indian yards has reduced from 5.2 h (2019) to ____ in 2023.
Answer: (b) 3.8 h
Last updated: June 2024
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