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Commercialpedia Indian Railways commercial circulars and policies

RAILWAY TRAFFIC AND SIDINGS

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TypeCommercial Circular
Topicfreight

Summary

A private siding owner can also allow another siding to be taken off from his siding with the

Text of the circular

RAILWAY SIDINGS 
LESSON I 
RAILWAY TRAFFIC AND SIDINGS 
THE NEED FOR SIDINGS 
1.1.1 
Railway sidings are an extension of the Railway system and an integral part of it.  The need 
for sidings arises because of the variety of traffic booked, carried and delivered by the Railways.  Railway 
traffic is divided into two broad categories 
(i) Coaching, consisting of passengers and their luggage and of parcels carried in brake vans of 
passenger trains or in parcel vans or motor vans etc. 
(ii) Goods or freight, consisting of piece goods in packages or bundles or cases; livestock and bulk 
goods like coal, food grains, minerals, ores, limestone, dolomite, petroleum (POL) products, iron and 
steel, heavy lifts, cement, timber, fire woods, etc. 
1.1.2 
The various streams of railway traffic and commodities have different characteristic, requiring 
specialized arrangements for stacking or storing, loading into and unloading from railway wagons, etc. 
Thus bags, bundles and cases are handled on high level goods platform, coal and minerals are unloaded 
on rail level platforms as it is not possible to deal with all the traffic at a single location when the volumes 
are large.  At a wayside station it is possible to deal with a few parcel packages on the passenger 
platform and even store them in the station master’s office.  Similarly, at such a station a small goods 
shed line suffices for an occasional goods consignment received or booked. However, at a large station 
like New Delhi or Lucknow or Nagpur, separate parcel platform, parcel godown; goods platform and 
goods shed are necessary. In large goods shed, separate lines and platforms are to be earmarked for 
general goods, minerals and heavy goods etc. When large quantities of goods are handled, there is heavy 
movement of road vehicles, road cranes which generates noise and dust pollution. Therefore, it is 
desirable to segregate such locations from the main railway station. 
1.1.3 
Parcel traffic which is cleared by passenger trains in brake vans or parcel vans itself has a 
variety of consignments, e.g., hard parcel, fruits and vegetables, eggs and poultry, fish. 
1.1.4 
Because of the variety and nature of material transported by the Railways, it is neither 
desirable nor possible to deal with all the traffic at a single location when the volumes are large. 
1.1.5 
At a large station, dealing with important passenger trains, facilities for maintenance of 
passenger rakes are also created e.g., washing lines with pits for under gear examination, AC coach 
maintenance lines, battery charging lines, siding for tourist coaches and trains, end loading platform lines 
for loading/unloading motor vehicle. 
1.1.6 
Large Railway complexes require special departmental sidings to serve various installations 
like diesel loco shed, electrics loco shed, loco workshop, carriage and wagon workshop, store depot, 
bridge workshop, flash but welding plant, scrap yard for cutting up condemned rolling stock etc,. Smaller 
stations  may have to provide only ballast sidings, quarry sidings, pump house sidings, etc. 
1.1.7 
Special siding arrangements are also required for Defence Department traffic. There are 
troop sidings at stations and in cantonments; sidings serving vehicle depots. Ordnance Factories which 
manufacture defence equipments and Ordnance Depots which store and issue defence material. Fig. 1.1 
shows a military platform at Meerut Cantt. and also the siding connections to Northern Railway’s Flash 
Butt Welding Plant. The military platform is divided into 3 parts by providing crossovers between the 
platform line and the common serving line. Hence released wagons can be withdrawn in parts. There is 
also a ramp for loading and unloading of motor vehicles in motor vans.

1.1.8 
All the ports in the country are served by the Railways and have extensive network of railway 
lines inside for dealing with various commodities imported and exported through the Ports.The railway 
systems of Ca

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