What does \"traveling line\" mean?

According to available information, the running track refers to the path along which a locomotive moves on the rails. The principle behind selecting the location of a locomotive’s running track is to minimize the intersections between the locomotive’s movements in and out of the depot and the routes used for train handling, thereby reducing the severity of such intersections. The location of the locomotive running track should be determined based on the station layout plan. In the layout plan of a single-track side-platform section station, there is only one arrival and departure track shared by both inbound and outbound trains. When the locomotive depot is located on the right side of the station, the locomotive tracks are generally placed between the arrival and departure tracks; when the depot is located on the left side of the station, the locomotive tracks should be situated between the arrival and departure track and the shunting yard. This allows the crossings of locomotives entering and leaving the depot with the routes taken by arriving trains to be converted into crossings with the routes taken by departing trains. At side-by-side section stations on double-track railways, when the locomotive depot is located on the right side of the station, the locomotive routing should be arranged between the up and down arrival and departure areas, regardless of whether the main track encloses the depot or not. When the depot is located on the left side of the station, if the main track encloses the depot, the locomotive routing should still be placed between the up and down arrival and departure areas, in order to avoid conflicts between locomotives entering and leaving the depot and the arrival paths of trains. If the main track does not enclose the depot, then the locomotive routing should be located between the arrival and departure areas and the shunting yard, so that the intersection between locomotives entering and leaving the depot and the arrival of trains (at point B) becomes an intersection with the departure of trains, thereby reducing the severity of such intersections.

I recently gave a review for a dedicated line, but I still don’t understand what is meant by the routing path. Can someone explain it clearly? Is it just the track that allows trains to pass through? GB50160 specifies that: \"Railway loading and unloading lines for liquefied hydrocarbons and flammable liquids shall not be used as running tracks as well.\" ”

Lokomotive depot – The main operational unit within the railway transportation system, responsible for the operation and maintenance of locomotives (commonly known as “train engines”). They are the ones who “drive the trains” and the ones who “repair the trains”. It belongs to the first-line train operation units. 　　In China, steam locomotives have been phased out from the railway fleet; currently, diesel and electric locomotives are the main types in use. 　　Currently, there are 18 railway bureaus (group companies) across the network, each overseeing 54 locomotive depots:

Sectional stations are usually located in medium-sized cities and at the beginning or end of the traction sections (locomotive routing) within a railway network. They are stations where trains are broken up and reassembled, as well as where trains are detached or attached along the route. Such stations are established based on the length of the locomotive traction sections and the layout and planning of the railway network. 　　The main tasks of a section station are to reorganize the train flows arriving and departing from the section, supply locomotives to adjacent railway sections, or replace freight locomotives and crew members; to carry out the necessary technical operations for trains that do not require reorganization; and to handle a certain number of train marshaling operations as well as passenger and freight services. Operations and Equipment 　　Although the operations and equipment at section stations are not the largest in terms of quantity or scale, they offer a fairly complete range of different types of operations and equipment. 　　Based on the tasks undertaken by section stations, the operations they need to handle can be summarized as follows: Passenger services: These are essentially the same as those provided at intermediate stations, only on a larger scale. 　　Freight shipping: It is similar to the freight shipping operations handled at intermediate stations, but the volume of work is greater. 　　Operation tasks: Operation tasks related to passenger trains. It is mainly responsible for handling the arrival and departure of passenger trains. Some stations also handle the departure and arrival operations for passenger trains within the district or in the suburbs, as well as the coupling and uncoupling of individual vehicles. Operations related to freight trains. It is mainly responsible for the reception and dispatch of non-modified through trains as well as related operations. For section trains and trains that are detached and coupled along the line, disassembly and marshaling operations must be carried out. At the same time, it also handles the dispatch and collection of vehicles for goods and industrial enterprises. Some section stations also undertake the task of forming a small number of direct trains departing from there. 　　Lokomotive operations: mainly involve changing locomotives and crew members, as well as performing maintenance, repairs, and inspections on the locomotives. 　　Vehicle operations: Carry out technical inspections of trains and maintenance tasks on vehicles. At a few section stations equipped with depots, depot maintenance work on vehicles is also carried out. 　　As can be seen from the above, the number and variety of operations handled at section stations are far greater than those at intermediate stations. Among the handled shunting, marshalling, and transfer trains, those that are transferred without any marshalling account for the largest proportion. 　　All freight trains that arrive at section stations can be divided into two categories based on the nature of the operations they undergo at those stations. One category consists of trains that do not disassemble upon arrival; they only undergo technical inspections and locomotive changes before continuing their journey. Such trains are known as trains for transfer without reorganization ； One type is those trains that need to be broken up after arriving at this station; such trains are called reorganization trains (breaking-up trains). 　　To ensure the completion of the aforementioned tasks, the section station is equipped with the following facilities: Passenger services facilities: mainly include passenger stations, platforms, canopies, and equipment for crossing tracks. 　　Freight handling equipment: freight yards and their related equipment. Such as loading and unloading lines, cargo platforms, warehouses, and loading and unloading machinery. 　　Operating equipment: Passenger train arrival and departure tracks. Goods train arrival and departure tracks, shunting tracks, pull-out tracks (sometimes equipped with simple humps), locomotive running tracks, etc. 　　Maintenance equipment: maintenance depot or turnaround depot. At the section station where the locomotive depot is located, if a circular operation system is employed, locomotive maintenance equipment should be available in the arrival and departure yards. When a long-distance rotation system is adopted, locomotive depots or transfer points can be established. 　　Vehicle equipment: includes depots, train maintenance facilities, and station repair shops, etc. 　　In addition to the aforementioned equipment, there are also equipment for signals, communications, lighting, and office buildings.

Intermediate stations are stations established to serve the people in urban and rural areas along the railway line, as well as industrial and agricultural production; they help to increase the capacity of the railway sections and ensure operational safety. It is generally located in the sections between technical stations (or on branch lines), and it is primarily responsible for the arrival and departure of trains, as well as for train passing and handling of passenger and freight services. Some intermediate stations also supply water to the locomotives. 　　Although the scale of equipment at intermediate stations is small, their number is large; they are found in medium and small towns as well as rural areas along the railways across the country, and play a very important role in developing local industrial and agricultural production as well as facilitating the exchange of goods between urban and rural areas. The location of intermediate stations should not only meet the requirements regarding the line’s capacity but also appropriately satisfy the needs of local industrial and agricultural development, taking into account natural conditions such as topography and geology.

Technical stop: A stop for technical operations (such as changing the locomotive, reversing the train, inspecting the vehicles, making supplies, etc.); no passenger services are provided.

A switch is a track connection device that allows locomotives and vehicles to change from one track to another, and it is commonly installed in large numbers at stations and marshalling yards. With switches, the capacity of the track to carry traffic can be fully utilized. Even on a single-track railway, by installing switches and building a siding longer than the length of the train, it is possible to run trains in opposite directions. Due to their large number, complex structure, short service life, tendency to limit train speeds, low operational safety, and high maintenance costs, switches are considered, along with curves and joints, to be the three major weak points of railway tracks. Its basic forms are three: namely, the connection of lines, their intersection, and a combination of connection and intersection. Common line connections include various types of single-turnouts and double-turnouts ； Intersections include straight intersections and diamond intersections ； Combinations of connections and crossings include intersecting switches and crossing straights, etc. Turnouts form a large family, with the most common type being the ordinary single-turnout. It consists of three units: the switch, the connecting part, the frog, and the guard rail. A switch consists of a base rail, a switch rail, and switching machinery. When the locomotive or vehicle is to move from track A to track B, the switch mechanism is operated to move the switch rails: switch rail 1 comes into close contact with main rail 1, while switch rail 2 moves away from main rail 2. This opens track B and closes track A, allowing the locomotive or vehicle to enter the connecting section and transition along the guiding curve rails to the frog and guard rail units. This unit includes a fixed frog heart, wing rails, and guard rails, and its function is to ensure the safe passage of wheels at the intersection of two tracks. As everyone may have noticed, when a wheel passes through a turnout, there is a gap between the narrowest part of the two side rails and the tip of the turnout center – this is what is known as the harmful space of the turnout. When the wheel passes through here, it may derail due to entering the wrong turnout groove. This is precisely the purpose of installing guard rails: to force the wheels to move in a specific direction. Nevertheless, the presence of this harmful space limits the speed at which trains can pass through the switches, which is highly detrimental to the operation of high-speed trains. The fundamental way to solve the problem of harmful spaces in turnouts is, of course, to eliminate those harmful spaces. Since ordinary switches cannot fulfill this requirement, special switches must be developed – movable heart rail switches. The main feature of the movable rail is that the frog rail can move as a slab. When we need to open a track in a certain direction, the moving rail of the switch comes into close contact with the wing rail in that direction, while being separated from the other wing rail; as a result, the problematic gaps associated with ordinary switches no longer exist. Practice has shown that by eliminating the harmful spaces around switches, train operation becomes more stable and the speed limits when passing through switches are reduced; therefore, it is particularly suitable for lines with high traffic volumes that require the operation of high-speed trains. Since there are single-turning switches, there are also double-turning switches, triple-turning switches, and multiple-turning switches (compound crossing switches), among others. The double-track turnout is Y-shaped, meaning the two tracks connected to the turnout branch off to both sides. A three-way turnout is shaped like a Ψ, connecting three tracks simultaneously, with two sets of switch mechanisms operating the two sets of point rails. A compound crossing turnout is shaped like an X; in fact, it consists of four sets of single turnout units combined with a rhombus-shaped intersection. In addition, there is another type of intersection device, commonly known as a diamond intersection. It consists of two sets of acute-angle turnout switches and two sets of obtuse-angle turnout switches, but it has no switchers, so it is not possible to change tracks between the paths. If the upper two points and the lower two points of the X shape of a compound crossing turnout are connected to each other, it forms a crossing switch. It can enable more directions and requires little space, which is why it is often used at stations. Each turnout has its own code, such as Turnout No. 9, Turnout No. 12, Turnout No. 18, and so on. This code is not chosen arbitrarily; it actually represents the cotangent value of the frog angle (α), that is, the ratio of the two legs FE and AE of the right triangle formed at the frog’s center. In other words, N = ctgα = FE/AE, and N is what constitutes the turnout number. Obviously, the smaller the frog angle α, the larger the N value and the larger the radius of the transition curve; as a result, the train moves more smoothly when passing through the switch, and the allowable speed for passing through the switch is also higher. Therefore, using large-sized turnouts is beneficial for train operation. However, everything has two sides: the higher the turnout number and the longer the turnout, the higher the cost will be, and it will also require much more space. Therefore, the size of the switch to be used should be determined based on local conditions and the specific line, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

　Marshalling yard: A station where operations of assembling and breaking up railway freight trains are carried out. A classification of railway stations based on the nature of their technical operations. Yard stations are usually built in locations where a large number of trains are assembled and disassembled, as well as at railway intersections. Ports with railway operations and large enterprises often have marshalling yards located in front of the port and connected to the enterprises. The station is equipped with a mechanical maintenance depot and a vehicle depot. There are arrival tracks for handling the arrival of trains, departure tracks for handling the departure of trains (or tracks that serve both as arrival and departure tracks), shunting tracks for carrying out operations such as the disassembly, assembly, and sorting of freight trains (also known as marshalling tracks), as well as pull-out tracks and hump facilities used by shunting locomotives to pull trains apart or assemble them. 　　The basic layout patterns for marshalling yards include the horizontal layout, in which the arrival yard and the shunting yard are arranged side by side; the vertical layout, in which the arrival yard and the shunting yard are arranged in sequence with the departure yard; and a mixed layout, in which the arrival yard and the shunting yard are arranged vertically while the departure yard and the shunting yard are arranged side by side. If the same shunting equipment is used for both the upward and downward directions, it is called a one-way marshalling yard ； If shunting equipment is provided in both the up and down directions, it is called a bidirectional marshalling yard. Based on their role on the railway network, marshalling yards can be of network-wide, regional, or local significance ； Based on the level of modernization of shunting equipment, it can be automated, mechanized, or non-mechanized. Advanced marshalling yards employ automated systems, using computers to control operations and process data. Achieving automation in marshalling yards can improve operational efficiency and working conditions. 　　A marshaling yard is a station on the railway network where a large number of freight trains are handled in terms of arrival, disassembly, reassembly for departure, through traffic, and other operations; it is equipped with well-developed facilities for shunting tasks. 　　Its main task is to carry out a large number of operations for breaking up and forming freight trains in accordance with the requirements of the train formation plan. Conduct technical maintenance and freight inspection on the vehicles in freight trains, and dispatch and receive trains on time according to the schedules specified in the timetables. That’s why people often refer to marshalling yards as factories for assembling trains. 　　The main tasks and functions of a marshaling yard can be summarized as follows: —— Sorting and assembling various types of freight trains ； 　　——Organizing and managing the traffic of trains within the region, that is, local service trains ； 　　——The locomotive depot located at the marshalling yard is also responsible for providing power to trains, as well as maintaining and overhauling locomotives ； 　　——The depot located at the marshalling yard, along with its affiliated units (station repair shops and train inspection stations), are also responsible for carrying out daily maintenance and regular inspections on the vehicles. 　　Yard stations generally have dedicated arrival, departure, and shunting yards, as well as hump shunting equipment, locomotive maintenance facilities, and vehicle repair equipment. They are usually located at intersections where three or more railways meet, or in industrial and mining enterprises and ports with heavy traffic flows, as well as in areas surrounding large cities. A marshaling yard located near an industrial area or port and designed to serve that industrial area or port, also known as an industrial marshaling yard or port marshaling yard. China currently has 49 marshalling yards, which are classified as follows: Network-type marshalling yards – located at the intersections of three or more major railway lines, where two or more long-distance trains are assembled (trains that pass through one or more marshalling yards), handling 6,000 or more vehicles per day and night. 　　Regional marshalling yards – located at the intersections of three or more main railway lines; they are primarily used to marshal trains traveling directly between adjacent marshalling yards, handling 4,000 or more vehicles per day and night. 　　Local marshalling yards – located at the intersections of three or more main and branch railways, or near industrial zones, port areas, and large metropolitan areas. They are primarily used to marshal through trains and local trains operating between adjacent marshalling yards, section stations, industrial stations, and port stations, handling 2,000 or more vehicles per day.

Regarding railway intersection points: Over the 15 years from now until 2020, the high-speed passenger railways connecting Zhengzhou to Xi’an, Beijing, Wuhan, and Xuzhou will be built and put into operation one after another. Zhengzhou will become the only city in China to have such high-speed passenger railway intersection points, and its transportation hub will become the largest high-speed railway hub in the central and western regions.

Hump: Track equipment used at railway marshalling yards for breaking up and assembling freight trains. It is named so because its cross-sectional shape resembles the hump of a camel. The plan view and longitudinal section of the hump consist of four parts: the pushing section, the peak platform, the releasing section, and the shunting yard. The supporting equipment for hump routes includes shunting locomotives, speed control devices, as well as corresponding signaling and communication equipment. When breaking up and forming freight trains, the locomotive pushes the train to the top of the hill; then, at a lower pushing speed (usually 3–5 kilometers per hour), and primarily by means of gravity, the cars whose couplers have been disconnected slide down the hill to the designated tracks in the yard, where they can be used to form new trains.

There seems to be a lot of information available on railway forums. It’s really true that different fields are like worlds apart – there are so many specialized terms related to railways.