Stabling yards
Stabling yards are essential to delivering clean, safe, secure and reliable passenger services. We store, inspect and clean our trains in stabling yards.
We keep stabling yards well lit to provide a safe working environment for our staff and to prevent vandalism, and we maintain power to stabled trains for extended periods of time to allow for:
Train preparations
Our drivers and guards prepare our trains for service in stabling yards by conducting safety inspections. Safety inspections take approximately two hours per train and involve checking each train's power/traction systems, braking systems, safety systems (including horns), passenger information systems, emergency equipment and lighting. In addition, facilities inspections are often incorporated into safety inspections.
Cleaning
Our staff clean our trains in stabling yards, usually between the evening and morning peaks. Cleaning takes approximately three hours per eight-car train but can take longer if vandalism, such as graffiti, is greater than normal.
Standby requirements
At strategic times and locations, we maintain trains on standby in stabling yards. These trains are ready for immediate service in the event of service interruptions.
We recognise that stabling yards can be a source of community concern and use dedicated guidelines and procedures so that we achieve our operational aims and minimise impacts on the community, like noise and light spill. Our design guidelines and operating procedures for stabling yards cover:
New and upgraded stabling yards
We use dedicated guidelines for the design of new and upgraded stabling yards. These guidelines specify safety, engineering and environmental standards and measures to minimise impacts on the community.
Stabling yard operations
We follow dedicated procedures to store, inspect and clean our trains in stabling yards to provide a safe working environment for our staff and minimise impacts on the community.
We have also recently completed a dedicated program which covered:
Review of horn use
We reviewed horn use and horn testing on our network and compared it with current national and international practice.
Report for the environmental regulator
We have submitted the outcomes of our review to the Office of Environment and Heritage to enable appropriate management by the environmental regulator.
More information