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This list presents an overview ofrailway track gauges by size. A gauge is measured between the inner faces of the rails.
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For ridable miniature railways and minimum-gauge railways, the gauges are overlapping. There are also some extreme narrow-gauge railways listed. See:Distinction between a ridable miniature railway and a minimum-gauge railway for clarification.
Model railway gauges are covered inrail transport modelling scales.
Railways with a track gauge between500 mm (19+3⁄4 in) and4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge.
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Standard gauge is4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) gauge. It is the most widely-used gauge: about 60% of the world's railway mileage is standard gauge.[109]
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Several railways use gauges very close to standard gauge, including:
| Gauge | Country or Region | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Imperial | ||
| 1,432 mm | 4 ft 8+3⁄8 in | Hong Kong | Disneyland Resort line,Island line (excludingWest Island line),Kwun Tong line (excludingKwun Tong line extension),Tseung Kwan O line,Tsuen Wan line,Tung Chung line[110] |
| Bucharest, Romania | Bucharest Metro | ||
| 1,440 mm | 4 ft 8+11⁄16 in | Austria | Hungerburgbahn, Hungerburg, Innsbruck, Tyrol. 1,440 mm (4 ft 8+11⁄16 in) (2007-) Old track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) (1906-2005) |
| France | Bellevue funicular | ||
| Switzerland | St. Moritz–Corviglia funicular (upper section of 1,616 metres or 5,302 feet route-length only – lower section is1,200 mm (3 ft 11+1⁄4 in) gauge) | ||
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| Gauge | Country or Region | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Imperial | ||
| 1,445 mm | 4 ft 8+7⁄8 in | Italy | Tramway networks inMilan, Turin andRome;Orvieto Funicular; railway network until 1930. |
| Spain | Madrid Metro | ||
| 1,448 mm | 4 ft 9 in | England | Manchester and Leeds Railway |
| United States | Danville, Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre Railroad,Strasburg Rail Road (converted to standard gauge).[citation needed] | ||
| 1,460 mm | 4 ft 9+1⁄2 in | United States | Citizens' Railroad Company (St. Louis, Missouri), Cass Avenue & Fair Ground Railway[96] |
| 1,450 mm | 4 ft 9+3⁄32 in | Germany | Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG,Trams in Dresden |
| 1,458 mm | 4 ft 9+13⁄32 in | Germany | Trams in Leipzig |
| 1,473 mm | 4 ft 10 in | United States | The Midwest, until after theCivil War (Ohio gauge) |
| Wales | Funiculars:Aberystwyth Cliff Railway,Aberystwyth | ||
| 1,486 mm | 4 ft 10+1⁄2 in | United States | St. Louis Cable and Western Railway[96] |
| 1,492 mm | 4 ft 10+3⁄4 in | Canada | Toronto Suburban Railway[111] from 1891–1917.4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) until the end at 1931 |
| 1,495 mm | 4 ft 10+7⁄8 in | Canada | Toronto gauge:Halton County Radial Railway,Toronto streetcar system, andToronto subway (Lines 1, 2, and 4)[111] |
| 1,499 mm | 4 ft 11 in | United States | New Albany Railway[96] |
| 1,520 mm | 4 ft 11+27⁄32 in | Finland | Also namedRussian gauge. See5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways &Confederate railroads in the American Civil War. |
| Former USSR | Also namedRussian gauge. See5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways &Confederate railroads in the American Civil War. | ||
| Hong Kong | Peak Tram | ||
| 1,522 mm | 4 ft 11+29⁄32 in | Finland | Helsinki Metro[112] |
| 1,524 mm | 5 ft | England | Funiculars:East Hill Cliff Railway |
| Finland | In 1862 the first railway connection inGrand Duchy of Finland were built with five-foot railway gauge,[113] however that gauge was first introduced in United Kingdom.[114] | ||
| Isle of Man | Funiculars:Laxey Browside Tramway | ||
| Russia | Also namedRussian gauge. See5 ft and 1524 mm gauge railways | ||
| Spain | Funiculars:Sant Joan Funicular,Montserrat, nearBarcelona | ||
| United States |
| ||
| 1,537 mm | 5 ft 1⁄2 in | England | London and Blackwall Railway 1840–1849,converted to standard gauge |
| 1,549 mm | 5 ft 1 in | United States | Horsecar lines inCamden, New Jersey;[96]Lynchburg Street Railway Company (Virginia)[96] |
| 1,575 mm | 5 ft 2 in | Spain | Ferrocarril de Langreo |
| United States | Columbus Ohio streetcars[115][102] | ||
| 1,581 mm | 5 ft 2+1⁄4 in | United States | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA),[102]Philadelphia |
| 1,588 mm | 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in | United States | Pennsylvania trolley gauge[102] |
| 1,591 mm | 5 ft 25⁄8 in | United States | New Orleans City and Lake Railroad,St. Charles Street Railroad[96] |
| 1,600 mm | 5 ft 3 in | Australia | States ofVictoria andSouth Australia |
| Brazil | São Paulo Railway Company, States ofRio de Janeiro,São Paulo andMinas Gerais | ||
| Germany | Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway 1840-1854, converted to standard gauge | ||
| Ireland | See5 ft 3 in gauge railways. | ||
| Switzerland |
| ||
| United States | Streetcars inAltoona, Pennsylvania[96]
| ||
| 1,613 mm | 5 ft 3+1⁄2 in | United States | Sacramento Valley Railroad (1852–77) |
| 1,620 mm | 5 ft 325⁄32 in | South Korea | U Line |
| 1,626 mm | 5 ft 4 in | United States | Early railrooads in Ohio[29] |
| 1,638 mm | 5 ft 4+1⁄2 in | United States | Baltimore,Baltimore Streetcar System (defunct)[116][102] andBaltimore Streetcar Museum (operating) |
| 1,664 mm | 5 ft 5+1⁄2 in | Portugal | 5Portuguese feet Converted to1,668 mm from 1955[117] |
| 1,668 mm | 5 ft 5+21⁄32 in | SeeIberian gauge. | |
| 1,672 mm | 5 ft 5+13⁄16 in | Spain | 6Castilian feet Spanish national rail networkConverted to1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in)Iberian gauge from 1955;[117] The currentBarcelona metro line 1 andCercanías Málaga. |
| 1,676 mm | 5 ft 6 in | England |
|
| India | See5 ft 6 in gauge railway | ||
| United States | Bay Area Rapid Transit (excludingeBART and OAK Airport line); Some lines in New England were built to this gauge includingAndroscoggin (until 1861),Maine Central (until 1871),Vermont Central (until 1870s),Grand Trunk (until 1877),Buckfield Branch / Portland & Oxford Central (until 1878),European & North American (until 1877), andBangor & Piscataquis (until 1877). | ||
| Wales | Funiculars:Centre for Alternative Technology Railway,Powys | ||
| 1,700 mm | 5+6⁄93 in | South Korea | Busan Metro Line 4,Sillim Line |
| 1,727 mm | 5 ft 8 in | England | Babbacombe Cliff Railway andFisherman's Walk Cliff Railway |
| United States | Central City Horse Railway (Peoria, Illinois)[96] | ||
| 1,740 mm | 5 ft 81⁄2 in | United States | Gualala River Railroad[118] |
| 1,750 mm | 5 ft 8+7⁄8 in | France | Ligne de Sceaux Paris toLimours viaSaint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, until 1891 |
| 1,800 mm | 5 ft 10+7⁄8 in | Germany | Oberweißbacher Bergbahn (funicular section only)[119][120] |
| Switzerland | Standseilbahn Linth-Limmern,Linthal, Glarus,Glarus | ||
| United States | Hogwarts Express (located inUniversal Orlando Resort) | ||
| 1,829 mm | 6 ft | England | Funiculars:West Hill Cliff Railway |
| India | In the 19th century, engineers considered this gauge but finally settled on5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) | ||
| Russia | Saint Petersburg – Tsarskoe Selo Railways, 1837–1897 | ||
| United States | Albany and Susquehanna Railroad,Erie Railroad until June 22, 1880,Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad March–May 1876, Predominant gauge used by railroads along southern tier of New York State that connected to the pioneeringErie Railroad. Most lines converted to standard gauge 1876–1880, along with theErie. | ||
| 1,850 mm | 6 ft 27⁄32 in | Canada | Falls Incline Railway[121] in the city ofNiagara Falls,Ontario |
| 1,880 mm | 6 ft 2 in | Ireland | Ulster Railway, 1839–1846,re-gauged to5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) |
| Japan | SCMaglev train depots forChuo Shinkansen. | ||
| Taiwan | Taipei Metro medium-capacityrubber-tired trains (with1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) rails) | ||
| 1,945 mm | 6 ft 4+9⁄16 in | Netherlands | Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij, 1839–1866[116]De Arend (locomotive) |
| 1,980 mm / 1,981 mm | 6 ft 6 in | England | North Cliff Lift,Scarborough 1,981 mm 6ft 5.99in |
| Israel | Haifa,Carmelit subway railway line – Funicular 1,980 mm6 ft 6 in | ||
| 2,000 mm | 6 ft 6+3⁄4 in | Scotland | Cairngorm Mountain Railway – Funicular |
| 2,134 mm | 7 ft | England | Original definition ofBrunel'sbroad gauge. This rail gauge was soon changed to7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm)[122] to ease running in curves. |
| 2,140 mm | 7 ft 1⁄4 in | England | Brunel'sGreat Western Railway untilconverted tostandard gauge by May 1892, See Great Western RailwayThe "gauge war". Also,harbour railways at theIsle of Portland andBrixham |
| Isle of Man | Port Erin Breakwater Railway | ||
| Portugal (Azores) | Ponta Delgada andHorta harbour (using rolling stock from Holyhead harbour) | ||
| South Africa | East London andTable Bay harbour railways | ||
| Wales | Holyhead harbour railway | ||
| 2,286 mm | 7 ft 6 in | England | St Nicholas Cliff Lift,Scarborough |
| 2,440 mm | 8 ft | United States | Johnstown Inclined Plane,Johnstown, Pennsylvania |
| 2,642 mm | 8 ft 8 in | China | Guangzhou MetroAPM Line (uses theBombardier Innovia APM 100) |
| 2,743 mm | 9 ft | Japan | Lake Biwa Canal, aninclined plane nearKyoto |
| United States | Knoxville Incline,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||
| 3,000 mm | 9 ft 10+1⁄8 in | Nazi Germany | Originally proposed to run on a 4,000 mm13+1⁄48 in, (13 ft 1+1⁄2 in) track. SeeBreitspurbahn. |
| 3,048 mm | 10 ft | United States | Fort Pitt Incline,Penn Incline,Monongahela Freight Incline andCastle Shannon Incline,Pittsburgh[123] |
| 3,270 mm | 10+8⁄74 in | Poland | Elbląg Canal,Buczyniec,Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship. |
| 3,327 mm | 10 ft 11 in | Scotland | Dalzell Iron and Steel Works,Motherwell,Lanarkshire.[124] |
| 3,600 mm | 11+9⁄73 in | Austria | 3,600 mm 11ft 9.73in, (11 ft 9+23⁄32 in) to transport material for the construction of Mooserboden and Wasserfallboden reservoirs. |
| 4,572 mm | 15 ft | Hassel Island, U.S. Virgin Islands,U.S. Virgin Islands | Creque Marine Railway.[125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135] |
| 5,486 mm | 17+11⁄98 in | England | Magnus Volk'sBrighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway, The railway itself consisted of two parallel2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) gauge tracks, billed as18 ft (5,486 mm) gauge.[136] |
| 8,200 mm | 26 ft 10+27⁄32 in | Austria | Lärchwandschrägaufzug[137] SeeWaagner-Biro |
| 9,000 mm | 29 ft 6+5⁄16 in | Russia | Krasnoyarsk ship lift[138] The base of the platform of the elevator car is 9 by 5.40 m (29 ft 6+3⁄8 in by 17 ft 8+5⁄8 in). |
The work on laying tracks, which were 1,534 metres in length and had a track gauge of 620 mm, started in March 1872
In laying the rails an extra quarter of an inch was allowed on the straight, making the gauge7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm), strictly speaking, but it was always referred to as 7 feet.
