{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.railway-junction","code":"thing-q336764","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q336764/","name":"railway junction","alternateNames":["former junction","China railway hub","scissors crossing","grand union","Double junction"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A railway junction is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge through connecting tracks; layouts include simple, double, scissors, flying and other grade-separated junctions, and grand unions with connections between crossing routes; lines that merely cross without connecting do not constitute a junction, and a junction station or broader railway hub may contain junctions but is not synonymous with one; signalling and interlocking may control junction movements, and junctions can constrain capacity.","purpose":"Let an agent explain railway junctions and their types and layouts, describe signalling, operation and capacity, identify notable junctions and hubs with sources, and support railway engineering and history questions.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Track convergence","Interlocked control","Layout types","Capacity constraint"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What railway junctions are.","layers":[{"id":"types","name":"Types","description":"Types and layouts.","findings":[{"id":"types-finding","name":"Types","description":"Types.","questions":[{"text":"What types of railway junction exist, from simple and scissors junctions to flying junctions and grand unions?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific layout?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"control","name":"Control","description":"Signalling and interlocking.","findings":[{"id":"control-finding","name":"Control","description":"Control.","questions":[{"text":"How are junctions controlled by signalling and interlocking to prevent conflicting movements?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits railway signalling?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"operate","name":"Operate","description":"Operation and capacity.","layers":[{"id":"capacity","name":"Capacity","description":"Capacity.","findings":[{"id":"capacity-finding","name":"Capacity","description":"Capacity.","questions":[{"text":"Why are junctions capacity bottlenecks, and how are they redesigned to increase throughput?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits railway capacity?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"hubs","name":"Hubs","description":"Hubs and interchange.","findings":[{"id":"hubs-finding","name":"Hubs","description":"Hubs.","questions":[{"text":"How do junction stations and railway hubs organise interchange between lines and services?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific hub?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Safety and heritage.","layers":[{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Safety.","findings":[{"id":"safety-finding","name":"Safety","description":"Safety.","questions":[{"text":"What accidents have occurred at junctions, and how have they shaped safety regulation, with findings attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is a railway emergency present now?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"heritage","name":"Heritage","description":"Former and heritage junctions.","findings":[{"id":"heritage-finding","name":"Heritage","description":"Heritage.","questions":[{"text":"What former junctions survive as heritage or have been reinstated?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits railway heritage?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"History and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did junction design and signalling develop with railway history?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can junction operation be taught with diagrams and simulations?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe junction layouts and their capacity effects from public sources.","Report observed faults at a junction to the infrastructure manager."],"mustNot":["Enter a railway junction or track area without authorization.","Interfere with points, signals or interlocking at a junction.","Publish detailed vulnerabilities of junction signalling.","Present a timetable through a junction as safe without the operator's approval."],"requiresHuman":["Any change to train routing or signalling at a junction."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Junction collisions and derailments can kill many people at once.","Railway infrastructure is shared by passengers, freight and communities."],"affectedParties":["Passengers and train crews","Track workers","Nearby residents"]},"owners":{"steward":"The railway infrastructure manager.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q124817561","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q1777515","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q228332","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"junction","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"operation point","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"public transport","type":"related","note":"rail services"},{"target":"airport terminal","type":"related","note":"another transport hub entry"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.railway-junction","Wikidata: Q336764 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q336764)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Track gauge:  millimetres - Measured between the inner rail faces at the reference position specified by the applicable railway standard.","Minimum track curve radius:  metres - Determined from surveyed track centreline geometry for each route through the junction.","Track gradient:  percent - Calculated from the change in rail elevation divided by horizontal distance along a specified track segment.","Junction footprint area:  square metres - Measured from a surveyed boundary that explicitly defines the included tracks and associated infrastructure."]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Connected tracks allow rail routes to converge or diverge.","Points, crossings and signals can support identification, but a crossing without a route connection is insufficient.","A station serves passengers, a siding is a storage track and a level crossing is a crossing with a road.","Track layouts with points, crossings and signals where lines converge."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain types and layouts","describe signalling and capacity","identify notable junctions","support engineering and history questions"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Collisions and derailments at junctions","Capacity bottlenecks and delays","Confusing junction terminology"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Railway signalling and interlocking standards","Track design standards","Safety regulation for railway operations"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Places where railway lines meet or cross.","simple and double junctions","scissors crossings and crossovers","flying and grade-separated junctions","grand unions","junction stations and railway hubs"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q336764: railway junction","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q336764","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Junction (rail)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junction_%28rail%29","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each layout type be a separate entry?","How should railway infrastructure registers be linked?","How should signalling standards be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q336764/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q336764/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T03:42:37Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}