A broad-gauge railway is a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
with a
track gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...
(the distance between the rails) broader than the used by
standard-gauge railway
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
s.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as
Russian gauge
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (
CIS states
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
,
Baltic states
The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
),
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
and
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. Broad gauge of , commonly known as
Irish Gauge
Railways with a track gauge of fall within the category of broad gauge railways. , they were extant in Australia, Brazil and Ireland.
History
600 BC
:The Diolkos (Δίολκος) across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece – a grooved pave ...
, is the dominant track gauge in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, and the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n states of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as
Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge ( es, ancho ibérico, trocha ibérica, pt, bitola ibérica) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. This is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The Indian gauge, , ...
, is the dominant track gauge in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Broad gauge of , commonly known as
Indian gauge
, a broad gauge, is the track gauge used in India, Pakistan, western Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, and on BART in San Francisco, United States.
In North America, it is called Indian Gauge, Provincial, Portland, or Texas gauge. In Ar ...
, is the dominant track gauge in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and on
BART
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...
(Bay Area Rapid Transit) in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
. This is the widest gauge in common use anywhere in the world. It is possible for trains on both Iberian gauge and Indian gauge to travel on each other's tracks with no modifications in the vast majority of cases.
History
![GWR broad gauge locomotives](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/GWR_broad_gauge_locomotives.jpg)
In
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, broad gauge was first used in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
for the
Dundee and Arbroath Railway
The Dundee and Arbroath Railway was an early railway in Scotland. It opened in 1838, and used the unusual track gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm). In 1848 it changed to standard gauge and connected to the emerging Scottish railway network ...
(1836–1847) and the
Arbroath and Forfar Railway
The Arbroath and Forfar Railway was a railway that connected Forfar with the port town of Arbroath, in Scotland.
It opened in 1838–1839 and it was successful in making an operating profit, but it was always desperately short of capital. It u ...
(1838–1848). Both short and isolated lines, they were built in . The lines were
subsequently converted to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
and connected to the emerging Scottish rail network.
The
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
was designed by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
in 1838 with a gauge of , and retained this gauge until 1892. Some harbours also used railways of this gauge for construction and maintenance. These included
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and rema ...
and
Holyhead
Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...
Breakwater, which used a locomotive for working
sidings. As it was not connected to the national network, this broad-gauge operation continued until the locomotive wore out in 1913. The gauge initially proposed by Brunel was exactly but this was soon increased by to to accommodate clearance problems identified during early testing.
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
was to add an extra half inch to his original gauge for the same reason.
While the parliament of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...
was initially prepared to authorise lines built to the broad gauge of , it was eventually rejected by the
Gauge Commission in favour of all new railways in England, Wales and Scotland being built to standard gauge of , this being the gauge with the greatest mileage. Railways which had already received their enabling Act would continue at the 7 ft gauge. Ireland, using the same criteria, was allocated a different standard gauge, the
Irish gauge
Railways with a track gauge of fall within the category of broad gauge railways. , they were extant in Australia, Brazil and Ireland.
History
600 BC
:The Diolkos (Δίολκος) across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece – a grooved pave ...
, of which is also used in the Australian states of South Australia and Victoria. Broad-gauge lines in Britain were gradually
converted to
dual gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
or standard gauge from 1864 and finally the last of Brunel's broad gauge was converted over a weekend in 1892.
In 1839, the Netherlands started its railway system with two broad-gauge railways. The chosen gauge of was applied between 1839 and 1866 by the ''
Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij
The Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij () or HSM (''Hollands Iron Railway-Company'') was the first railway company in the Netherlands founded on 8 August 1837 as a private company, starting operation in 1839 with a line between Amsterdam ...
'' (HSM) for its Amsterdam–The Hague–Rotterdam line and between 1842 and 1855, firstly by the Dutch state, but soon by the ''
Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij
The Dutch Rhenish Railway or Dutch–Rhenish Railway ( nl, 'Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg' or ) was a Dutch railway company active from 1845 until 1890.
History
The Dutch Rhenish Railway Company Limited was founded in Amsterdam on 3 July 1845 to t ...
'', for its Amsterdam–Utrecht–Arnhem line. But the neighbouring countries Prussia and Belgium already used standard gauge, so the two companies had to
regauge their first lines. In 1855, NRS regauged its line and shortly afterwards connected to the Prussian railways. The HSM followed in 1866. There are replicas of one broad-gauge 2-2-2 locomotive (''
De Arend'') and three carriages in the ''
Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum
The Railway Museum ( nl, Het Spoorwegmuseum) in Utrecht is the Dutch national railway museum. It was established in 1927 and since 1954 has been housed in the former Maliebaan station.
History
The museum was established in 1927 and was initial ...
'' (Dutch Railway Museum) in Utrecht. These replicas were built for the 100th anniversary of the Dutch Railways in 1938–39.
The erstwhile
Great Indian Peninsula Railway
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...
introduced a broad gauge of for the first passenger railway line in India, between
Bori Bunder
Bori Bunder (also known as Bori Bandar) is an area along the Eastern shore line of Mumbai, India.
Background
This place was used as a storehouse for goods imported and exported from Mumbai. In the local language, 'Bori' mean sack and 'Bandar' ...
and
Thane
Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...
. This was later adopted as the standard throughout the country, as it was thought to be safer in areas prone to cyclones and flooding.
[Indian Railways: Some Fascinating Facts]
"Train Atlas"
''Train Atlas'', Indian Railways, 2003 The gauge is now commonly referred to as
Indian gauge
, a broad gauge, is the track gauge used in India, Pakistan, western Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, and on BART in San Francisco, United States.
In North America, it is called Indian Gauge, Provincial, Portland, or Texas gauge. In Ar ...
. While some initial freight railway lines in India were built using
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
, most of the standard and narrow gauge railways have since been dismantled and relaid in broad gauge.
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and some states in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
have a gauge of but
Luas
Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both lin ...
, the Dublin light rail system, is built to standard gauge. Russia and the other former
Soviet Republics use a (originally ) gauge while Finland continues to use the gauge inherited from the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(the two standards are close enough to allow full interoperability between Finland and Russia). Portugal and the Spanish ''
Renfe'' system use a gauge of called ''Ancho Ibérico'' in Spanish or ''Bitola Ibérica'' in Portuguese (see
Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge ( es, ancho ibérico, trocha ibérica, pt, bitola ibérica) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. This is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The Indian gauge, , ...
); though there are plans to convert to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
.
In
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada, the gauge for
TTC subways and streetcars was chosen in 1861. Toronto adopted a unique
Toronto gauge
Toronto-gauge railways are tram and rapid transit lines built to Toronto gauge, a broad gauge of . This is wider than standard gauge of which is by far the most common track gauge in Canada. The gauge is unique to the Greater Toronto Area and i ...
of , an "overgauge" originally stated to "allow horse-drawn wagons to use the rails" on the horse-drawn streetcar lines of the day but with the practical effect of precluding the use of standard-gauge equipment in the street. The
Toronto Transit Commission
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...
still operates the
Toronto streetcar system
The Toronto streetcar system is a network of nine streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the busiest light-rail system in North America. The network is concentrated primarily in Dow ...
and three heavy-rail
subway lines using this unique gauge. The light metro
Scarborough RT
Line 3 Scarborough (originally known as the Scarborough RT or SRT) is a light rapid transit line that is part of the Toronto subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The line runs entirely within the suburban district of Scarborough, encompass ...
and two light rail lines under construction (
Eglinton Crosstown line
Line 5 Eglinton (also known as the Eglinton Crosstown or the Crosstown) is a light rail line that is under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Metrolinx and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the line will be part ...
and
Finch West) use standard gauge.
In 1851, the broad gauge was officially adopted as the standard gauge for the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...
, becoming known as the ''Provincial gauge'' and government subsidies were unavailable for railways that chose other gauges. This caused problems in interchanging freight cars with northern United States railroads, most of which were built to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
or a gauge similar to it. In the 1870s (mainly between 1872 and 1874), Canadian broad-gauge lines were
changed to standard gauge to facilitate interchange and the exchange of rolling stock with American railroads. Today, all Canadian railways are standard-gauge.
In the early days of rail transport in the US, railways tended to be built out from coastal cities into the
hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
, and systems did not initially connect. Each builder was free to choose its own gauge, although the availability of British-built locomotives encouraged some railways to be built to standard gauge. As a general rule, southern railways were built to one or another broad gauge, mostly , while northern railroads that were not standard gauge tended to be narrow gauge. Most of the original track in Ohio was built in , and special "compromise cars" were able to run on both this track and standard gauge track. In 1848, Ohio passed a law stating "The width of the track or gauge of all roads under this act, shall be four feet ten inches between the rails." When American railroads' track extended to the point that they began to interconnect, it became clear that a single nationwide gauge was desirable.
Six-foot-gauge railroads () had developed a large regional following in
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
in the first part of the 19th century, due to the influence of the
New York and Erie, one of the early pioneering railroads in America, chartered in 1832, with its first section opening in 1841. The builders and promoters decided that a six-foot track gauge would be needed for locomotives to be larger and more powerful than were in general use at the time, for pulling very large trains. Also the six-foot gauge provided greater stability, and the New York and Erie would operate passenger cars up to wide. Building westward from the Hudson River, it eventually reached Lake Erie, establishing a mainline longer than providing a shortcut to the
American Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
region from the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
vicinity, and helping spawn a regional network of six-foot-gauge railroads almost exclusively within New York State.
Many early New York railways were Erie railroad-built branch lines, while others were independent railroads that wanted to partner and interchange with the Erie. These included the Walkill Valley, the Albany and Susquehanna (later part of the Delaware and Hudson); the Elmira, Jefferson & Canandaigua (later the Northern Central, becoming part of the Pennsylvania Railroad); the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western mainline (which also had a significant amount of trackage in Pennsylvania); predecessor lines of the New York and Oswego Midland (later the New York, Ontario, and Western); and the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls (later becoming part of the New York Central railroad's ''Peanut Route'' along the shoreline of Lake Ontario). However, by the late 1870s, the trend was inevitable, and conversion to standard gauge began, some lines first becoming "dual gauged" with the addition of a third running rail. Between 1876 and 1880, most of the remaining six-foot gauge trackage was converted.
In 1886, the railways in the Southern United States agreed to coordinate changing gauge on all their tracks. After considerable debate and planning, most of the southern rail network was converted from gauge to gauge, nearly the standard of the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
, over two days beginning on 31 May 1886. Over a period of 36 hours, tens of thousands of workers pulled the spikes from the west rail of all the broad-gauge lines in the South, moved them east and spiked them back in place. The new gauge was close enough that standard-gauge equipment could run on it without difficulty. By June 1886, all major railroads in North America were using approximately the same gauge. The final conversion to true standard gauge took place gradually as track was maintained.
Some North American
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
(streetcar) lines intentionally deviated from standard gauge. This may have been to make the tram companies less tempting targets for takeovers by the steam railways (or competing tram companies), which would be unable to run their trains over the tram tracks.
Pennsylvania trolley gauge
Originally, various track gauges were used in the United States. Some railways, primarily in the northeast, used standard gauge of ; others used gauges ranging from to . As a general rule, southern railroads were built to one or another broad ga ...
of , is still used on the
streetcars in New Orleans
Streetcars in New Orleans have been an integral part of the city's public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans' streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue line, is the oldest continuously oper ...
, and the
Pittsburgh Light Rail
The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T) is a light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh, but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the ci ...
system. This gauge was also used for the now defunct
Pittsburgh Railways
Pittsburgh Railways was one of the predecessors of Pittsburgh Regional Transit. It had 666 PCC cars, the third largest fleet in North America (after Toronto (745) and Chicago (683)). It had 68 streetcar routes, of which only three (until April ...
,
West Penn Railways, and
trams in Cincinnati. Similar gauge is used in Philadelphia on the SEPTA routes,
15,
101 and 102, the
Subway–Surface Trolleys and the
SEPTA Market-Frankford.
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...
(BART) system in the San Francisco Bay Area was opened in 1972 with gauge, and thus requires all related equipment to be custom built. The system trackage has been extended multiple times since then, and new railcars have been ordered with this non-standard gauge.
The use of a non-standard gauge precludes interoperability of rolling stock on railway networks. On the British
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
the gauge was supposed to allow high speed, but the company had difficulty with locomotive design in the early years, losing much of the advantage, and rapid advances in
permanent way
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
and suspension technology allowed standard-gauge speeds to approach broad-gauge speeds within a decade or two. On the and gauges, the extra width allowed bigger inside cylinders and greater power, a problem solvable by using outside cylinders and higher steam pressure on standard gauge. In the end, the most powerful engines on standard gauge in North America and Scandinavia far exceeded the power of any early broad-gauge locomotive, but then met limits set by other factors such as the capacity of manual stoking, the axle (and total) locomotive weight that would trigger upgrades to the rails and bridges, the maximum wheelbase and/or boiler length compatible with an individual route's curves.
High Speed Rail
Spain uses standard gauge track for its high speed railways in order to provide cross-border services with France and the rest of Western Europe, but runs high speed trains on its legacy broad gauge network at 200 km/h (124 mph) and are developing trains to travel at speeds in excess of 250 km/h (155 mph). Russia uses a modified
Siemens Velaro
Siemens Velaro is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains built by Siemens and used in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, China, Russia, and Turkey. The Velaro is based on the ICE 3M/F high-speed ...
High Speed Train on its flagship
St Petersburg to Moscow service at 250 km/h (155 mph) and can run at 350 km/h (217 mph) on dedicated track. The country is planning to build its portion of the Beijing to Moscow high speed railway in broad gauge. Finland uses a modified
Alstom pendolino on the
Allegro service to Helsinki at 220 km/h (137 mph). Uzbekistan uses a modified
Talgo 250
Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains.
Corporate history
TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tra ...
on the Tashkent–Bukhara high-speed rail line at 250 km/h (155 mph).
South Asia primarily uses the broad gauge for its passenger rail services and the fastest broad gauge train presently in the region is the Indian Railways'
Vande Bharat Express (a.k.a. Train 18). During one of the trial runs, the Vande Bharat Express achieved a peak speed of 180 km/h (112 mph). The sustained speeds of this train is considerably lower, with a peak operational speed of 130 km/h and an average speed of 95 km/h, due to track limitations. Indian Railways has plans to introduce a higher speed
Train 20
The Train 20 (sleeper class Vande Bharat Express) is a proposed semi-high-speed, long-distance electric multiple unit (EMU) train which is supposed to be designed to replace the Rajdhani Express fleet of the Indian Railways. The rakes are expecte ...
that is capable of 200 km/h, but the project has encountered delays stemming from bids for rolling-stocks with poor local sourcing. A number of semi high speed railway projects using broad gauge tracks are being planned or built in the region, with sustained speeds of 200 km/h with future-proofing for 250 km/h. India's
current high speed railway project is being built on the standard gauge due to limitations imposed by the Japanese consortium funding the project, however the feasibility reports by both the French and German consultants preferred a broad gauge high speed railway. These European reports stated that the additional costs of train procurement, due to the essential modifications of the rolling-stock for the broad gauge, from European rolling-stock manufacturers such as
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
or
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
would be softened through a large minimum order size of at least thirty train sets. A considerable debate has continued about the suitability of the high speed rail on standard gauge for the Indian travel demands and the possible exclusion of the existing rail network in India. The recent discussions around the
Kerala semi-high speed rail has highlighted the limitations of high speed rail on broad gauge. Since most of the global high speed rail infrastructure is built using the standard gauge, the cost benefits of using off-the-shelf rolling-stocks with minimal customizations and the availability of extensive, well proven technical know-how, are significant factors in favor of the high speed rail on the standard gauge over the broad gauge, for cost sensitive rail markets in South Asia, especially in India.
Gauges
4 ft in gauge
This gauge is used by the
Toronto streetcar system
The Toronto streetcar system is a network of nine streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the busiest light-rail system in North America. The network is concentrated primarily in Dow ...
and the
Toronto subway
The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is a multimodal transport, multimodal rail network consisting of three Pa ...
5 ft and 1520 mm gauge
This gauge was first used in the United Kingdom and the United States before it became the standard gauge for most railways in the former Soviet Union.
Russian gauge or CIS gauge is the second most widely used gauge in the world, and spans the whole of the former Soviet Union/
CIS
Cis or cis- may refer to:
Places
* Cis, Trentino, in Italy
* In Poland:
** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central
** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north
Math, science and biology
* cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...
bloc including the Baltic states and Mongolia. Finland uses . The difference is clearly lower than the tolerance margin, so through running is feasible. Care must be taken when servicing international trains because the wear profile of the wheels differs from that of trains that run on domestic tracks only.
When the Finnish rail network was founded in 1862, Finland was the
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...
, a region of
Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
. The first border crossing railway to Russia was opened in 1870, while the first to Sweden was not until 1919, so railways were built to the broad Russian
track gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...
of . In Russia, this gauge was re-standardized to during the 1960s. Finland retained the original gauge with no re-standardisation.
5 ft 3 in gauge
![Farranfore train station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Farranfore_train_station.jpg)
As part of the railway gauge standardisation considered by the United Kingdom Parliamentary Gauge Commission, Ireland was allocated its own gauge, Irish gauge. Ireland then had three gauges, and the new standard would be a fourth.
The Irish gauge of is used in Ireland and parts of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and Brazil. A problem with the Irish Gauge in Australia is that it is only wider than the
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
used in other parts of Australia, principally
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. Therefore, it is not considered advisable to use a third rail to allow dual-gauge operation on mainline sections of track, because of the danger of material lodging between the two rails.
There has been argument for well over a century about the practicability of third rail operation, and numerous devices have been promoted to overcome the problem, especially at turnouts, including the "Brennan Switch".
5 ft in
This gauge was once used by the
United Railways and Electric Company
The United Railways and Electric Company was a street railway company in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1899 to 1935.
In 1900, the company built the Power Plant in Baltimore's Inner Harbor to provide electrical ...
and the
MTA Maryland
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Baltimore-Washingt ...
and is now used only by the
Baltimore Streetcar Museum
The Baltimore Streetcar Museum (BSM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum. It is located at 1911 Falls Road ( MD 25) in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum is dedicated to preserving Baltimore's public transportation history, especially the streetcar er ...
.
Iberian gauge
As finally established, the Iberian gauge of is a compromise between the similar, but slightly different, gauges first adopted as respective national standards in Spain and Portugal in the mid-19th century. The main railway networks of Spain were initially constructed to a gauge of six Castilian feet. Those of Portugal were initially built in standard gauge, but by 1864 were all
converted to a gauge of five Portuguese feet – close enough to allow interoperability in practice. The new
high-speed network in Spain and Portugal uses standard gauge. The dual-gauge high-speed train
RENFE Class 130 can change gauge at low speed without stopping.
5 ft 6 in gauge
The gauge was first used in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
for two short, isolated lines, the
Dundee and Arbroath Railway
The Dundee and Arbroath Railway was an early railway in Scotland. It opened in 1838, and used the unusual track gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm). In 1848 it changed to standard gauge and connected to the emerging Scottish railway network ...
(1836-1847) and the
Arbroath and Forfar Railway
The Arbroath and Forfar Railway was a railway that connected Forfar with the port town of Arbroath, in Scotland.
It opened in 1838–1839 and it was successful in making an operating profit, but it was always desperately short of capital. It u ...
(1838- ). Both the lines were subsequently converted to
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
and connected to the Scottish rail network.
Later this gauge was adopted as a standard for many British colonies such as
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...
and
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
.
In 1851, the broad gauge was officially adopted as the standard gauge for the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...
, becoming known as the ''Provincial gauge'', and government subsidies were unavailable for railways that chose other gauges. In the 1870s, mainly between 1872 and 1874, Canadian broad-gauge lines were
changed to standard gauge to facilitate interchange and the exchange of rolling stock with American railways. Today, all Canadian railways are standard-gauge.
In US, this gauge was adopted for many lines, but soon fell out in favour of standard gauge. Today, only California's
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...
(BART) uses this gauge.
In
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, some
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
freight railways were built in initial period, though they were dismantled later. Later, in the 1850s, the gauge of was adopted as standard for the nationwide network. Attempts to economize on the cost of construction led to the adoption of gauge and then and
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
s for many secondary and branch lines. In the later part of the 20th century, due to interchangeability and maintenance issue, the railways in each of the countries in the
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
began to convert all
metre-gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
and
narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
lines to this gauge. Today, the nationwide rail network in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
is entirely on this gauge, whereas
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, under
Project Unigauge
Project Unigauge, started on 1 April 1992, is an ongoing effort by Indian Railways to convert and unify all rail gauges in India to broad gauge.
Present status & yearly progress
Following table tracks the yearly changes.
Lines where ...
, and
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
are still undergoing gauge conversion.
This gauge is the widest gauge in regular passenger use in the world.
Broader gauges
Some industrial uses require still broader gauges, such as:
* Large
telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
s and telescope arrays.
*
Launch pad
A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire ...
s – The
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
,
Roscosmos
The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
,
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
and
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...
use double-track railway to move rockets and supporting equipment at launch sites (with exceptions such as the
rocket launch
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
es from
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
, which use
caterpillar tracks
Continuous track is a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle b ...
on a river stone roadbed because other solutions cannot support the loads required).
*
Gantry crane
A gantry crane is a crane built atop a gantry, which is a structure used to straddle an object or workspace. They can range from enormous "full" gantry cranes, capable of lifting some of the heaviest loads in the world, to small shop cranes, us ...
for unloading cargo from ships, loading cargo onto ships and for constructing ships.
*
Funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
s,
Incline elevator
An inclined elevator or
inclined lift
is a form of cable railway that hauls rail cars up a steep gradient.
Introduction
An inclined elevator consists of one or two inclined tracks on a slope with a single car on each carrying payload. In t ...
and
Canal inclined plane
An inclined plane is a type of cable railway used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings.
History
Inclined planes have evolved over the ...
, for transportation on sloped way.
Gallery
File:CSIRO Australia Telescope, Narrabri 1.JPG, Broad gauge track for CSIRO Australia Telescope in Narrabri
Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway. At ...
File:USNS Comfort in Boston dry dock from viewing stand.JPG, Dockside crane on wide gauge tracks at the former South Boston Naval Annex's Dry Dock Number 3
File:Lärchwand-Schrägaufzug 016.jpg, The Lärchwandschrägaufzug in Kaprun, Austria has a gauge of
File:Ru200107240021.jpg, The Krasnoyarsk Dam
The Krasnoyarsk Dam is a high concrete gravity dam located on the Yenisey River about upstream from Krasnoyarsk in Divnogorsk, Russia. It was constructed from 1956 to 1972, and it supplies about 6,000 MW of electricity, mostly used to supply th ...
's inclined plane is an electric rack railway having gauge of , making it the widest gauge railway of any type in the world
These applications might use double track of the country's usual gauge to provide the necessary stability and axle load. These applications may also use much heavier than normal rails, the heaviest rails for trains being about . Vehicles on these gauges generally operate at very low speeds.
Future proposals
Argentina-India broad-gauge link
*Routes: India - Pakistan - Afghanistan - Central Asian Republics - Russia - North America - Andes Mountains - Bolivia - Argentina with several branches
*Track gauge:
*Electrification: 25kV 50/60Hz AC and 50kV 50/60Hz AC
overhead lines
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipmen ...
*Platform height: above rail
*Minimum track center spacing:
*Minimum overhead wiring height: above rail for 25kV AC and above rail for 50kV AC
*Loading gauge: wide and tall
Resurrection of Brunel's broad-gauge railways
*Routes:
**Russia - Belarus - Poland - Germany - France
**Russia - Ukraine - Poland - Germany - Netherlands - Britain
**Russia - Central Asian Republics
**Russia - North America
**Russia - Finland - Sweden - Denmark - Germany
**Denmark - Britain
*Track gauge:
*Electrification: 50kV 50/60Hz AC
overhead lines
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipmen ...
*Platform height: above rail
*Minimum track center spacing:
*Minimum overhead wiring height: above rail
*Loading gauge: wide and tall
Cultural references
A
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
character,
Roderick Spode
Roderick Spode, 7th Earl of Sidcup, often known as Spode or Lord Sidcup, is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. In the first novel in which he appears, he is an "amateur dictator" and the ...
, suggests widening the rails of the entire British railway network so sheep may stand sideways on trains.
See also
*
Breitspurbahn
The Breitspurbahn (, translation: ''broad-gauge railway'') was a planned broad-gauge railway, proposed during the time of Nazi Germany, supposed to run with double-deck coaches between major cities of '' Grossdeutschland'', Hitler's expanded Ge ...
*
List of track gauges
This list presents an overview of railway track gauges by size. A gauge is measured between the inner faces of the rails.
Track gauges by size
Minimum and ridable miniature railways
For ridable miniature railways and minimum gauge railways, t ...
*
List of tram systems by gauge and electrification
The following is a list of tram/streetcar (including heritage trams/heritage streetcars), or light rail systems with their track length, track gauge, electrification system.
The vast majority of tram systems use . Generally, standard gauge ...
*
Ramsey car-transfer apparatus
In railroad industry, the Ramsey car-transfer apparatus (Ramsey transfer) was a device to replace bogies on railroad cars to permit transfer of a train between railroad lines with different gauge.
The Ramsey transfer existed in a number of vari ...
*
Track gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...
References
External links
Broad Gauge SocietyBrunel's Broad Gauge RailwaysJane's World Railways(hard copy)
*
Brunel portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broad Gauge
Track gauges by size