switching railroad

Shunting, in railway operations, is the process of sorting items of rolling stock into complete train sets or consists, or the reverse. In the United States this is known as "switching".

A switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard. It generally consists of making up and breaking up trains, storing and classifying cars, serving industries within yard limits, and other related purposes. These movements are made at slow speed under special yard rules.