Guide to station approaches
Revision as of 15:20, 7 March 2023 by Hannibal (talk | contribs) (Created page with "Large '''station approaches''' are likely some of the most complex track layouts in any network. This guide seeks to offer some general tips and advice on how to design station approaches, as well as some templates that can be useful. This guide does not deal with stations themselves, only with the track approaching stations. It also focuses on large station approaches that have at least some trains terminating. == Why station approaches are difficult == * * Stati...")
Large station approaches are likely some of the most complex track layouts in any network. This guide seeks to offer some general tips and advice on how to design station approaches, as well as some templates that can be useful. This guide does not deal with stations themselves, only with the track approaching stations. It also focuses on large station approaches that have at least some trains terminating.
Why station approaches are difficult[edit]
- Station approa
For real life station approaches there are a couple of additional factors at play. Especially for players seeking to rebuild real railways in NIMBY Rails, or to build real-looking fictional railways, it is important to understand why real station approaches often look so chaotic or sub-optimal.
- Real station approaches were often built incrementally over time in constrained spaces in or close to city centres. This includes having to deal with actual NIMBYs, where space is required for noise barriers in residential areas.
- Legacy railways were often built when unit cargo goods traffic was much larger than it is today, and goods- and passenger trains were often mixed in a single train. This results in busy passenger station approaches sometimes devoting significant area to what is essentially a small goods yard, further constraining space.
- As rail passenger traffic expanded, the station platform- and waiting area has expanded, often at the expense of space available for approach tracks, or constraining the curves/junctions that are possible.
- Safety requirements for signalling constrain the actual junction design and speed limits. In general the main constraint is that the heaviest, largest trains allowed on the track need to be able to come to a complete stop after a signal before a junction. This safety requirement is why real life signals are placed so far in advance of the junction for high speed junctions in open areas. Where this is not feasible - such as station approaches - very low speed limits such as 60 or 40kmh are required to meet the safety standards.