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Why the siding usually stays in a spreadsheet
Yard management systems were built around the lorry. They know about the gate, the dock, the driver and the number plate. They don’t know about tracks, train consists or UIC numbers, which is why a plant with a siding keeps its rail records separately, usually in a spreadsheet on a network drive.
A second set of records means entering everything twice, data drifting apart and no single answer to the question of what arrived at the plant today. If half the raw material comes in by rail, the road traffic log shows only half the deliveries.
Records of wagons, train consists and tracks
In TraxSystem a wagon is identified by its UIC number, so the records speak the same language as the consignment documents and the carrier. Wagons make up a consist, the consist stands on a track, and the track has an occupancy you can see before accepting the next delivery.
Train formation and the wagon list are handled in an editor that checks the numbers are valid. Wagon mass comes from weighing or from the consignment documents, so the wagon list shows the mass alongside the numbers.
Portal for the rail carrier
The rail carrier gets its own account and sees only its own consists and wagons. It doesn’t go into the plant’s system and gets no access to road traffic. This works on the same principle as the road carrier portal.
Rail traffic reports use the same export and visibility scope mechanism as the rest of the system.
What siding operations in TraxSystem do not do
TraxSystem does not control rail traffic and does not replace signalling equipment, signals or points. It is for records and planning; it is not a railway safety system.
Nor does the system exchange data automatically with the carrier’s systems. Data reaches it through the portal or is entered by hand, because we don’t have a ready connection to carriers’ systems and don’t promise one.
It doesn’t weigh wagons by itself, because the mass comes from the weighbridge or from a document, and it doesn’t manage shunting work or train drivers.
Questions about railway siding operations
Can we implement just the rail part?
Yes, although it rarely makes sense. Plants with a siding usually have road traffic as well, and the value comes precisely from having both in one log and one report.
Who enters the wagon numbers?
The carrier through the portal or a member of the plant’s staff, and the wagon list editor accepts a whole consist at once.
Does the system know track occupancy in real time?
It knows the status that follows from what has been recorded: arrivals, placements for collection and moves between tracks. The system does not read the position of rolling stock from trackside equipment.
Can rail reports be combined with road reports?
Yes. That is usually the first report a customer builds after implementation: what arrived at the plant in a given period, regardless of how it got there.
Related
Portals for external partiesWeighingPlant with a railway sidingReports
Further reading: UIC wagon number and wagon list · Why yard systems don’t handle wagons · Booking a rail delivery in the carrier portal