Rail yard
A system of railway tracks and facilities where trains or railcars are stored, assembled, sorted, or transferred between routes.
Classification yard: A rail yard that sorts freight cars into trains according to their destinations. Its specialized tracks and switching operations perform the sorting work of a freight yard.
Railway track: A guided path of rails, usually fastened to sleepers, on which railway vehicles travel. The yard is built from interconnected tracks that assign places and routes to rail vehicles.
Railway freight transport: The movement of goods by rail in freight cars, containers, or bulk trains. Freight yards organize the cars and trains that carry goods across the rail network.
Passenger yard: A rail yard used chiefly to store, clean, inspect, or prepare passenger trains. Passenger yards prepare trainsets rather than sorting large numbers of freight cars.
Railway network: A system of connected railway routes, stations, and facilities used to operate rail services. A yard links local train movements with the routes and schedules of the wider network.
Hump yard: A classification yard where cars roll by gravity from an elevated track into sorting tracks. A raised hump lets gravity route uncoupled cars to assigned tracks.
Railway siding: A secondary track connected to a main railway line, often used for passing or loading. Sidings provide the basic kind of off-main-line track used for holding vehicles.
Intermodal freight transport: The movement of freight in standardized containers using more than one transport mode. Intermodal yards transfer containers between trains and trucks, and sometimes ships.
Freight yard: A rail yard used chiefly to handle freight cars and freight trains. Its cargo-handling and car-sorting functions differ from passenger train preparation.
Railway safety: The practices and systems used to prevent harm in railway operations. Switching movements and dense track layouts make safe operating procedures essential in yards.