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

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:
  1. Flat-yard – shunting by engine
  2. 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

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

7. Modernisation & Recent Updates (2022-24)

1. Automated Integrated Yard Management System (AIYMS): RFID + GPS + AI based wagon tracking pilot at Gandhidham.
2. Retarder replacement: Pneumatic → servo-hydraulic at Jhansi (2023).
3. 60 kg 90 UTS rails on hump leads to reduce wear.
4. LED dwarf signals with 100 % redundancy (RDSO spec. RDSO/SPN/224/2022).
5. GDH (Gati-shakti Diesel Hub): 3 MW solar roof at Whitefield trip shed (2024).
6. 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)

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

Question:01 The maximum permissible gradient in a hump yard lead for Broad Gauge is

A) 1 in 15

B) 1 in 17

C) 1 in 19

D) 1 in 21

Question:02 Which yard in Indian Railways has the highest sorting capacity?

A) Mumbai CST

B) Sealdah

C) Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya

D) Chennai Central

Question:03 The standard height of a BG hump is

A) 4.0 m

B) 3.5 m

C) 4.5 m

D) 3.0 m

Question:04 What is the minimum radius of the lead curve for a BG hump yard?

A) 150 m

B) 175 m

C) 218 m

D) 250 m

Question:05 Which of the following is NOT a type of yard?

A) Marshalling yard

B) Stabling yard

C) Goods yard

D) Block yard

Question:06 The maximum speed permitted in a class ‘C’ goods yard is

A) 10 kmph

B) 15 kmph

C) 20 kmph

D) 25 kmph

Question:07 The first hump yard of Indian Railways was commissioned at

A) Howrah

B) Mughalsarai

C) Guntakal

D) Itarsi

Question:08 A retarder in a hump yard controls wagon speed by

A) Applying air-brake pressure to the couplers
B) Releasing sand onto the rails
C) Squeezing wheel tread
D) Reversing the track gradient

Question:09 The target wagon turn-round time fixed by Indian Railways for the year 2023-24 was

A) 1.8 days

B) 2.1 days

C) 2.4 days

D) 2.7 days

Question:10 The length of a sick line is normally kept longer than the longest wagon by

A) 10 %

B) 25 %

C) 50 %

D) 75 %

Question:11 Which of the following systems is currently being piloted for automated wagon tracking inside railway yards?

A) FOIS

B) ICMS

C) T-407

D) AIYMS

Question:12 [The maximum capacity of an electronic weigh-bridge used in freight yards is]

A) 40 t

B) 50 t

C) 60 t

D) 80 t

Question:13 The turnout number prescribed for dead-end goods siding on Broad Gauge (BG) is

A) 1 in 12

B) 1 in 8½

C) 1 in 16

D) 1 in 20

Question:14 Which type of railway yard primarily uses gravity to move wagons during shunting operations?

A) Flat yard

B) Triangular yard

C) Hump yard

D) Grid yard

Question:15 The world’s largest railway yard is located at

A) Bailey Yard, Nebraska, USA

B) Triage Yard, Chicago, USA

C) Kornwestheim Yard, Stuttgart, Germany

D) Sydenham Yard, Sydney, Australia

Question:16 The detention time per wagon in Indian yards has reduced from 5.2 h (2019) to ____ in 2023.

A) 4.5 h
B) 3.8 h
C) 3.2 h
D) 4.1 h

Last updated: June 2024