Shunting in railway operations is the process of sorting items of rolling stock into complete trains, or the reverse. In the United States, this activity is known as switching. Shunting can be classified into three broad categories:
- Hand shunting: This is used when coaches or wagons are pushed by human power to facilitate movement.
- Hump shunting: This is more commonly used than hand shunting and is used when one end of the yard is at an incline and the vehicles in question roll down the incline or hump' into pre-set yard routes. This is also referred to as 'loose shunting'.
- Loco shunting: This is the most popular method of shunting among the three and is used when a locomotive pushes or pulls the coaches/wagons and places them in predefined tracks, according to the shunting plan.
Rail shunting equipment ranges from rechargeable electric shunters to specially licensed road shunters, with up to 5000t shunting capacities. The terms "shunter" and "switcher" are not only applied to locomotives but also to employees engaged on the ground with shunting/switching operations. The task of such personnel is particularly dangerous because not only is there the risk of being run over, but on some railway systems—particularly ones that use buffer-and-chain/screw coupling systems—the shunters have to get between the wagons/carriages in order to complete the shunting process.
