A headshunt (or escape track in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) is a short length of track provided to release

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s at terminal platforms, or to allow shunting to take place clear of main lines.

Terminal headshunt

A 'terminal headshunt' is a short length of track that allows a locomotive to uncouple from its train, move forward, and then run back past it on a parallel track. Such headshunts are typically installed at a

terminal station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...

to allow the locomotive of an arriving train to move to the opposite end of (in railway parlance, 'run around') its train so that it can then haul the same train out of the station in the other direction (assuming, of course, that it is a locomotive equipped to run in either direction; for locomotives that only operate in one direction, a wye or

turntable A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...

needs to be provided to physically turn the engine around, as well as a run-around track).

Reversing headshunt

Found primarily on

metro system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tu ...

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

networks, and

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

ways, a 'reversing headshunt' allows certain trains or trams to change direction, even on lines with high traffic flow, whilst others continue through the station.

Shunting neck

The term headshunt may also refer to shunting neck or 'shunt spur': a short length of track laid parallel to the main line to allow a train to shunt back into a siding or

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...

without occupying the main running-line.

Run round

A run round loop (or run-around loop) is a track arrangement that enables a locomotive to attach to the opposite end of the train. It is commonly used to haul wagons onto a siding, or at a terminal station to prepare for a return journey. This process is known as "running round a train". Although a common procedure for

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

s when the majority of them were locomotive-hauled, the maneuver is now becoming rarer on public service railways. Increased use of

multiple unit A multiple-unit train (or multiple unit (MU)) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more Coach (rail), carriages joined, and where one or more of the carriages have the means of propulsion built in. By contrast, a locomotive-hauled ...

and push-pull passenger services avoids the requirement for dedicated track and the need for railway staff to detach and reattach the locomotive at track level. However, on

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

s run-round loops are still usually more or less necessary at each end of the running line, partly because train services are usually locomotive-hauled, and partly because the run-round operation gives added interest to visitors. This practice is still very common on Intercity services in

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. Runaround tracks are used in

freight rail Rail freight transport is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

service in order to back cars into spurs or to change directions to keep the locomotive at the front of the train for transport. In this case the runaround track must be as long as the longest set of cars that would be pulled. The locomotive leaves the cars on the runaround track or the main line, goes around, and hooks up to the other end of the train. It can then reverse the cars into a spur.

Examples

Stations which used to have run-rounds include: * United Kingdom **

Edinburgh Waverley railway station Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; ) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East C ...

; The terminal platforms of this station featured locomotive release roads between two main platforms, connected by a three-way point to the crossover from each platform line. The same arrangement of a three-way point on a central release road was also installed at the now closed stations: *** Manchester Central *** Liverpool Exchange ***

Leeds Central Leeds Central was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The constituency first existed from 1885 until it was abolished in 1955. It was recreated in 1983. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Revie ...

St Ives railway station St Ives railway station is a railway station which serves the coastal town of St Ives, Cornwall, England. It was opened in 1877 as the terminus of the last new broad gauge passenger railway to be constructed in the country. Converted to standa ...

Matlock Riverside railway station Matlock Riverside was the terminus of Peak Rail,Peak Rail website
''Archived 14 ...

, now closed ** Birmingham Moor Street. This station is on a confined site, so to save space the platform lines were equipped with traversers to allow locomotives to run round via the adjacent platform line (platforms 1 & 2) or an adjacent loop (platform 3). **

Withernsea Withernsea is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, wh ...

, the terminal station on the now closed

Hull and Holderness Railway The Hull and Holderness Railway was a branch line in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that connected the city of Kingston upon Hull with the seaside resort of Withernsea via the town of Hedon and the villages of Keyingham and Patrington. ...

. At this station, instead of a crossover or points the run round loop was accessed from a

at the end of the platform line and run round loop.1891 1:2,500 OS map showing the layout of Withernsea stationDisused Stations in the UK
There was a similar arrangement at

Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface D ...

and

Bembridge Bembridge is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to the implausible claim by so ...

railway stations on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

. File:Withernsea Railway Station.jpg, Turntable and run round loop at Withernsea File:Leeds Central Station geograph-2334667-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, Leeds Central station showing the release crossovers * Australia **

Murwillumbah railway station The Murwillumbah railway station is a heritage-listed former terminus railway station located on the Murwillumbah line in South Murwillumbah, in the Tweed Shire local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The former railway station ...

, now closed ** Toronto railway station, New South Wales, now closed ** Cronulla railway station, had run-round, but never had locomotives ** Newcastle railway station, New South Wales, now closed; run-round on Platform 1&2, not on Platform 3&4 Stations which still have run-rounds include: * United Kingdom **

Weymouth railway station Weymouth is the main railway station serving the town of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, in Dorset, England; the other is at Upwey railway station, Dorset, Upwey, which is located north of the town centre. It is the southern terminus of both the Sou ...

** Fort William railway station **

Morecambe railway station Morecambe is a railway station on the Morecambe Branch Line, which runs between and . The station, situated west of Lancaster, serves the town of Morecambe in Lancashire. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. History Th ...

** Rowsley South railway station **

Mallaig railway station Mallaig railway station is a railway station serving the ferry port of Mallaig, Lochaber, in the Highland (unitary authority area), Highland region of Scotland. This station is a terminus on the West Highland Line, by rail from and from Glasgo ...

* Germany **

Hagen Hauptbahnhof Hagen Hauptbahnhof is a railway station serving the city of Hagen in western Germany. It is an important rail hub for the southeastern Ruhr area, offering regional and long distance connections. The station was opened in 1848 as part of the Berg ...

* Australia (all in regular loco-hauled passenger use unless otherwise indicated) **

Central railway station, Sydney Central is a heritage-listed railway station located in the centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The station is Australia's largest and busiest railway station, and is a major transport interchange for NSW TrainLink inter-city rail s ...

Albury railway station Albury railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Railway Place, Albury, New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the border with Victoria, in Australia. It was designed under the direction of John Whitton and built from 1880 to 1 ...

Canberra railway station Canberra railway station is located in Kingston, Australian Capital Territory, Kingston, a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, serving the national capital. It is located on a branch of the Bombala railway line and is served by NS ...

(run-around not in regular use) **

Southern Cross railway station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Victoria, Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins and La Trobe Street, La Tr ...

(Melbourne) ** Shepparton railway station ** Bairnsdale railway station **

Geelong railway station Geelong railway station is a regional railway station on the Warrnambool line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the city of the same name, in Victoria, Australia. The original station opened on 1 November 1856.South Geelong railway station South Geelong railway station is a regional railway station on the Warrnambool V/Line rail service, Warrnambool line, part of the V/Line, Victorian railway network. It serves the suburb of South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, in Geelong, Vic ...

** Marshall railway station **

Warrnambool railway station Warrnambool railway station is a regional railway station and the terminus of the Warrnambool line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the city of Warrnambool, in Victoria, Australia. Warrnambool station is a ground level premi ...

Swan Hill railway station Swan Hill railway station is located on the Piangil line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Swan Hill, and it opened on 30 May 1890.

** Seymour railway station **

Roma Street railway station Roma Street railway station is a commuter and long-distance passenger train station located in the Brisbane central business district, central business district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the junction station for the North Coast ...

(Brisbane) (not sure if run-around in use) **

Toowoomba railway station Toowoomba railway station is a heritage-listed railway station on the Western railway line, Queensland, Western line at Russell Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It serves the city of Toowoomba, w ...

** Charleville railway station ** Rockhampton railway station **

Longreach railway station Longreach railway station is the terminus station of the Central Western line, serving the town of Longreach, Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the Landsborough Highway. It was built from 1887 to 1917. It was added to the Qu ...

Townsville railway station Townsville railway station is located on the North Coast line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the city of Townsville. The station has one platform. Opposite the platform lies a passing loop. It is also the starting point for the Great Nor ...

** Mount Isa railway station ** Cairns railway station ** Kuranda railway station **

Adelaide Parklands Terminal Adelaide Parklands Terminal, formerly known as Keswick Terminal, is the interstate passenger railway station in Adelaide, South Australia. The terminal is north of the suburb of Keswick, by road south-west of the city centre, and adjoins t ...

** Public Transport Centre (East Perth terminal) ** Darwin railway station

No loop

If a terminal station does not have a run-round loop trains are restricted to multiple units or

Top and Tail A top-and-tail railway train has locomotives at both ends, for ease of changing direction, especially where the terminal station has no run-round loop. This is a British term. It is normal for only the leading locomotive to power the train when i ...

trains.

References

{{Rail tracks Railway sidings