A headshunt (US: escape track) is a short length of track

Rail tracks

The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...

, provided to release locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s at terminal platforms

Terminal Station

Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...

, or to allow shunting to take place clear of main lines.

Terminal Headshunts

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

Terminal Station

Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...

 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.

Shunting neck

The term headshunt may also refer to shunting neck or shunt spur: a short length of track

Rail tracks

The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...

 laid parallel to the main line for the purpose of allowing a train to shunt back into a siding

Rail siding

A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...

 or rail yard

Rail yard

A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....

 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. This process is known as "running round a train". It is commonly performed to haul wagons onto a siding, or at a terminal station to prepare for a return journey.

Although a common procedure when the majority of trains were locomotive-hauled, the manoeuvre is now comparatively rare on public service railways. Increased use of multiple unit

Multiple unit

The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

 and push-pull

Push-pull train

Push–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...

 passenger services avoids the requirement for dedicated track and the need for railway staff to detach and reattach the locomotive at track level. However, many heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

s (in the UK, at least) deliberately incorporate run-round loops 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.

Examples

Stations which used to have run-rounds include:

• St Ives (UK).
• Toronto railway station, New South Wales
  Toronto railway station, New South Wales
  The Toronto Railway Station was a former railway station located in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Toronto, the terminus of the former Fassifern - Toronto branch line in New South Wales, Australia.The station closed in 1990...
  
   - now closed.
• Cronulla railway station - had run round, but never had locomotives, now no run round.
• Newcastle railway station, New South Wales - run-round on Platform 1&2, not on Platform 3&4.

Stations which still have run-rounds include:

• Canberra
  Canberra
  Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
  
   and
• Murwullimbah - now closed