Narrow Gauge Railway - Advantages of Narrow Gauge

Advantages of Narrow Gauge

Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are usually lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives (smaller loading gauge) as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels (smaller structure gauge) and tighter curves. Narrow gauge is thus often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. It is also used in sparsely populated areas where the potential demand is too low for broader gauge railways to be economically viable. This is the case in some of Australia and most of Southern Africa, where extremely poor soils have led to population densities too low for standard gauge to be viable.

There are many narrow gauge street tramways, particularly in Europe where 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄₈ in) gauge tramways are common.

For temporary railways that will be removed after short term use, such as for construction, the logging industry, the mining industry or large scale construction projects, especially in confined spaces, such as the Channel Tunnel a narrow gauge railway is substantially cheaper and easier to install and remove. The use of such railways has almost vanished due to the capabilities of modern trucks. A double track narrow gauge construction railway may fit inside the profile of a single track normal gauge line, which is useful.

In many countries narrow gauge railways were built as "feeder" or "branch" lines to feed traffic to more important standard gauge lines, due to their lower construction costs. The choice was often not between a narrow gauge railway and a standard gauge one, but between a narrow gauge railway and none at all.