If you are planning a railway siding to your facility, then when choosing a site you should find out whether a siding can be built there and connected to the main railway at all, and roughly what it would cost. To do that, you need to know the following:
- A connection is only possible to station tracks (not main-line tracks!) or to non-public tracks (other enterprises' sidings).
- If station tracks or sidings are within reach of the site, the technical feasibility of connecting an additional siding to them must be confirmed. This is discussed with the station master responsible for those tracks. The station master should also confirm that the station can handle the planned number of wagons; if it cannot, the station will have to be reconstructed (at the customer's expense).
- The farther the site is from the connection point, the more expensive the siding. The best option is a site that borders those tracks or lies within one kilometre of them. For longer distances a feasibility study is needed, since the cost of the siding may become comparable to the cost of building the enterprise itself.
- The connecting line from the station to the site also requires a land allocation. The width of the right-of-way depends on the track curve radius and on whether the line runs in a cutting or on an embankment. The minimum width is 12 m (for straight track on level ground, i.e. with no embankment or cutting).
- If the line crosses several plots with different owners, it must be checked whether the land can be bought out.
- Building track within city limits means relocating, reinforcing and rebuilding a large number of utilities, which makes construction more expensive.
- Level crossings with busy highways also add significantly to the cost of a siding. If a grade-separated crossing is required, the cost of the track rises several times over (such a site is not recommended).
- Crossing water obstacles (rivers, lakes) and large changes in elevation along the planned route also add significantly to the cost.
- Crossings with high-pressure gas mains and high-voltage power lines add to the cost to a lesser extent.
- Tracks on the site should ideally run parallel to the station tracks. Any other layout creates tight curves, which raises operating costs and sometimes makes construction impossible.
Our specialists can always help you take these and many other details into account when choosing a site for a facility with a railway siding. The key is to get in touch early!