Rolling Stock
•The term Rolling Stock in rail Transport industry refers to
any vehicle that move on a railway.
•It usually includes both powered and unpowered
vehicles, for example:
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•Rail Transport
Rail Transport is a means of transferring of passengers
and goods on wheeled vehicles, running on rails, also
known as Tracks. It is also commonly referred to as train
Transport.
• How Different is Rail transport from Road transport?
• In contrast to Road transport, where vehicles run on a prepared flat
surface, rail vehicles(Rolling Stock) are directionally guided by the tracks on
which they run.
• Tracks usually consist of Steel Rails, installed on Ties(sleepers) and ballast,
on which the Rolling Stock, usually fitted with metal wheel, moves.
• Rolling Stock in a Rail Transport system generally encounters lower
frictional resistance than Road vehicles, so passengers and freight
cars(carriages and wagons) can be coupled into longer trains.
• Source of power : Diesel or Electric
•
History of Rail Transport
• Rail Transport commenced in the mid 16th century in Germany in the form of Horse-powered funiculars and Wagon ways.
•
Modern Rail Transport
•
• Modern Rail Transport commenced with the British development of the steam locomotives in the early 19th century.
•
• Rails/Tracks
•
• The introduction of Bessemer process, enabling Steel to be made inexpensively, led to the era of great expansion of Railways that
began in the late 1860s.
• Steel rails lasted several times longer than Iron.
• Steel rails made heavier locomotives possible, allowing for longer trains and improving the productivity of railroads.
• The Bessemer process introduced Nitrogen into the Steel which caused the Steel to become brittle with age.
• The open hearth furnace began to replace the Bessemer process near the end of the 19th century, improving the quality of Steel
and further reducing costs.
• Thus Steel completely replaced the use of Iron in Rails, becoming standard for all Railways.
•
Types of Gauge
Broad Gauge(1676mm)
Standard Gauge(1435mm)
Rolling Stock Wheels Meter Gauge(1000mm)
Electric Locomotive
• An Electric Locomotive is a Locomotive powered only by Electricity
How is Electricity supplied to moving Trains?
• Electricity is supplied to moving trains with a(nearly) continuous conductor running along the track that usually takes one of the
three forms: an Overhead line, a Third Rail mounted at track level, or an onboard battery.
• Both Overhead wire and third-rail system usually use the running rail as the return conductor but some systems use a separate
fourth rail for this purpose.
• The type of Electrical power used is either Direct Current(DC) or Alternating Current(AC).
•
The Earlier and Modern System at a Glance
• Earliest systems were DC systems.
• In 1891, Charles Brown(Germany) demonstrated the first practical AC Electric Locomotive.
Motive Force
• In Thermodynamics, Motive Force is a natural agent, such as water or steam, wind or electricity, used to impart motion to
machinery such as engine.
•
• Traction Motor
• A Traction Motor is an Electric Motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as an Electric Locomotive.
• Traction Motors are used in Electrically Powered Rail vehicles.
• DC Motors with series field winding are the oldest type of Traction Motors.
• Nowadays, AC Induction Motors and Synchronous Motors, being simple and require low maintenance, are commonly used.
•
• Multiple Unit(MU)
• A Multiple Unit is a self propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another Multiple
Unit can be controlled by a single driver.
• MUs are classified on the basis of their power source and are of two main types:
• EMUs(Electric Multiple Units)
• DMUs(Diesel Multiple Units)
• A MU has the same power and traction components as a locomotive, but instead of components being concentrated in one car, they
are spread throughout the cars that make up the unit.
• The INDIAN RAILWAY uses DMUs & EMUs on its National Network. All Suburban and Rapid Transit lines are served by EMUs.
• Rapid Transit
Rapid Transit is a passenger railway in an Urban area with high capacity and high
frequency.
• Rapid Transit is also referred to as Mass Rapid Transit(MRT), Metro or Heavy Rail.
•
• More About Rapid Transit System
• Rapid Transit systems are Electric railways that operate on an exclusive right-of-way,
which can not be accessed by pedestrain or other vehicles of any sort and which is
often grade separated in tunnels(underground) or an elevated railways(overhead).
• Modern services on rapid Transit systems are typically provided using Electric Multiple
Units(EMUs) on rail tracks.
• The Stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains, requiring
custom made trains in order to minimize the gaps between train and platform.
• Metro is the most common term for underground Rapid Transit Systems used by Non-Native English Speakers.
• History of Rapid transit System
• The Worlds first Rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened as a conventional railway in 1
• Did you Know?
• China has the Largest number of Rapid transit systems in the world.
• Shanghai Metro is the worlds largest single operator of Rapid Transit system by Route length.
• Area of Application of Rapid Transit
• Rapid Transit is used in cities and Metropolitan areas to transport large number of people often over short distances at high frequenc
Risk and Security measures associated with Rapid Transit
• Compared to other modes of transport, Rapid Transit has a good safety record.
• Head-on collisions are rare due to use of double track, and low operating speeds reduce the occurance and severity of rear-end collis
and derailment.
• The risk of people falling onto the tracks of high platform(over 1m/3ft.) can be eliminated by the use of platform screen doors.
Advantages of Rapid Transit
• Rapid Transit is seen as an alternative to an extensive road transport system with many motorways.
• The Rapid Transit system allows higher capacity with less land use, less environmental impact.
