Terminal design & planning

There are several factors that need to be considered in designing and planning a rail terminal. Each factor differs based on either it is passenger & freight terminal.

Passenger terminal

There are questions to ask when designing the rail passenger terminal.

Freight Terminal

There are questions to ask when designing the rail freight terminal.

Location

A major difference applies to passengers and freight rail terminals, which also include very different locations. In the heyday of rail development, several rail terminals were built in the 19th century. Although the sites may have been on the edge of urban areas at the time, decades of urban growth have engulfed older railway terminals, including residential and industrial areas; leaving limited opportunities for expansion.

The layout/ setting

Rail terminals are typically located in rectangular shaped facilities because of the linear characteristics of the style they represent. It helps the terminal to exploit the advantages of capacity, that is, the number of available track spurs. If the terminal is installed this feature is difficult to modify.

For rail freight terminals, a wide range of unloading and loading activities always take place at break-bulk rail terminals. The most developed terminal is the intermodal terminal with a wide range of equipment and facilities to handle domestic and international containers. The strategic position of rail freight terminals is usually located along port terminals, (less common) fluvial terminals or inland locations that provide markets or resource accessibility.

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