Abstract: Railway transportation is an important potential source of the heavy metals in soils. In order to explore the spatial distribution pattern and pollution level of soil heavy metals in railway depots, the authors selected a locomotive depot, a vehicle depot and a marshalling yard in the northern part of China as the study object and measured the heavy metals (As, Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu, and Ni) content of the respective 16 samples from locomotive depot and vehicle depot, and 6 samples from the marshalling yard. The distribution characteristics of heavy metal in each railway depot were analyzed by comparing with the standards, and their correlation relationships were identified. The environmental quality and ecological risks of heavy metals in the soils of each depot were evaluated by Nemerow comprehensive pollution index and Hakanson ecological risk assessment method. The results are as follows. ① There is a phenomenon of heavy metal accumulation in the railway depot, but the accumulation degree is relatively light without a sign of exceeding the standard. ② The spatial distribution of Pb and Cd content in the locomotive depot and Cu, Cd, and Pb content in the vehicle depot has huge variations. The accumulation of heavy metals is greatly affected by human activities, and Pb and Cd content in the soils of the oil depot, washing workshop, and boiler room of the locomotive depot is higher. Cu, Pb, and Cd content in the soils of the boiler room, substation, pre-inspection and pre-repair warehouse, wheelset overhaul workshop, and command center of the vehicle depot is higher as well. Furthermore, the divergences in the process of each railway depot will lead to the accumulation of different heavy metals in the soil.③ There is a significant positive correlation between Cd content and Pb and As content, and these heavy metals may be influenced by the factors such as oil combustion exhaust gases, storage and usage of oil, vehicle exhaust gases, and railway coal transportation. ④ The results of comprehensive soil environmental quality assessment show that there is no pollution in each depot, and the ecological risk degree of each depot is at the lowest level. This research results could provide references for the design, operation, and soil environmental impact assessment of railway depots.