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Historically,
Italian law has defined its track gauges in terms of the distance between the centres of each rail, rather than the inside edges of the rails, giving some unusual measurements. According to the law of 28 July 1879, the only legal gauges in Italy were , , measured between the rail centres, which correspond to and between the rail inside edges.
The narrower gauge has 1,000 mm between the centres of the rails, which explains the name Italian metre gauge, but it is 950 mm in gauge when measured from the inside of the rails,as gauges are normally measured in other countries.
A disadvantage of measuring from the centre of the rail is that the width of the rail varies and affects the gauge. It is easier and more reliable to measure from the inner edges of the rails.
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
had two unusual dominant 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 ...
s which were legally defined depending on the terrain encountered. The gauge of was used for the national Italian rail network and was very similar to 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 ...
commonly used elsewhere in the world.
Since the 1930s, the gauge has been adopted as the standard and gradually replaced the track gauge. Thus, in Italy, only a few older tram systems, such as the Milanese tramway network, remain equipped with .
The other popular gauge, a 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 ...
, was defined at and is very similar to the 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 ...
– – commonly used in many other parts of Europe and thus came to be known as "the Italian metre gauge".
Historical legal definitions of 1879
Italian law has defined its track gauges in terms of the distance between the centres of each rail, rather than the inside edges of the rails, giving some unusual measurements. According to the law of 28 July 1879, the only legal gauges in Italy were , , measured between the rail centres, which correspond to and between the rail inside edges.
The narrower gauge has 1,000 mm between the centres of the rails, which explains the name Italian metre gauge, but it is 950 mm in gauge when measured from the inside of the rails,as gauges are normally measured in other countries.
A disadvantage of measuring from the centre of the rail is that the width of the rail varies and affects the gauge. It is easier and more reliable to measure from the inner edges of the rails.
gauge railways
The following systems survive today: *Orvieto Funicular
The Orvieto Funicular ( it, Funicolare di Orvieto) is a funicular railway in the Italian city of Orvieto. It connects Orvieto station with Piazza Cahen in the city centre, which is situated on a volcanic rock above the station. The line passes ...
*Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
tram network
*Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
tram network
*Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
tram network
*Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
tram network
Outside Italy, the Madrid Metro
The Madrid Metro (Spanish: ''Metro de Madrid'') is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of 293 km (182 mi). Its gro ...
also uses this gauge.
or standard gauge railways
The Italian standard gauge railway system has a total length of of which active lines are . The network is recently growing with the construction of the new high-speed rail network.Italian narrow gauge railways
In Italy, track gauges of , , , , and are or were present. The aforementioned "Italian metre gauge" was also used in the former Italian colonies ofEritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
(Eritrean Railway
The Eritrean Railway is the only railway system in Eritrea. It was constructed between 1887 and 1932 during the Italian Eritrea colony and connects the port of Massawa with Asmara. Originally it also connected to Bishia. The line was partly damag ...
), Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
(Italian Libya Railways
Italian Libya Railways was a group of small railways built in the Italian colony of Libya between the two World Wars.
History
The Kingdom of Italy built in Italian Libya nearly 400 km of railways with gauge.
Projects
The Italian authorit ...
), and Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
( Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway).
See also
*Narrow gauge railways in Italy
Most narrow-gauge railways in Italy were built with Italian metre gauge, which is actually because historically the Italian track gauge was defined from the centres of the rail instead of the internationally accepted method of measuring the gau ...
*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 ...
References
{{Navbox track gauge Italian railway-related lists Italy, rail gaugesItaly
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...