Separate Gauge
If dual-gauge turnouts are too slow, or too difficult because the gauges are too similar, then an option is to build two separate lines, one of each gauge, side by side. This choice also depends on the amount of traffic. Dual-gauge could continue to be employed at an expensive bridge or tunnel.
Separate lines can at least share signal boxes, signallers and other major infrastructure.
Examples include:
- Albury, New South Wales to Melbourne, Victoria, 300 km
- As the old and original broad gauge track declines in use, it is slated for conversion to standard gauge, replacing parallel standard-gauge single track and broad-gauge double track with a double-track standard-gauge line. This will reduce delays on the standard-gauge line at crossing loops.
- Melbourne Victoria, to Geelong, Victoria, 80 km, a single standard-gauge line parallel to double-track broad gauge.
- Yogyakarta-Solo in Java, Dutch East Indies during pre-WW II days, 58 km. This had a single 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) line parallelling a dual-gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) and 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) line.
- Australia - in 1960, the Perth to Northam line was originally to be separate side-by-side narrow gauge and standard gauge lines, but it was realised that line capacity would be much higher if it were built as double dual gauge.
- The Uzhhorod – Košice broad gauge track will in 2016 be extended 450 km to Austria parallel to a normal gauge railway.
Read more about this topic: Dual Gauge
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