Dominant Gauges
| ft′ in″ | mm |
|---|---|
| 5′ 6″ | 1676 |
| 5′ 5⅔″ | 1668 |
| 5′ 3″ | 1600 |
| 5′ | 1524 |
| 4′ 11⅚″ | 1520 |
| 4′8½″ | 1435 |
| 4′6″ | 1372 |
| 3′6″ | 1067 |
| 3′5⅓″ | 1050 |
| 3'3⅜″ | 1000 |
| 3′1⅜″ | 950 |
| 3′ | 914 |
| 2′6″ | 762 |
| 2′ 5½″ | 750 |
| 2′ | 610 |
| 1′ 11⅝″ | 600 |
| Gauge | Name | Installation (km) | Installation (miles) | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | Indian gauge | 78,500 | 48,800 | India (42,000 km/26,000 mi; increasing with Project Unigauge), Pakistan, Argentina 24,000 km/15,000 mi, Chile, Sri Lanka 1,508 km/937 mi (approx. 6.67% of the world's railways) |
| 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 2⁄3 in) | Iberian gauge | 15,394 | 9,565 | Portugal, Spain. In Spain as of the Iberian gauge 21 km/13 mi are of three-rail dual Iberian and standard gauges, more to come in the future |
| 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) | Irish gauge | 9,800 | 6,100 | Ireland (1,800 km/1,100 mi), and in Australia mainly Victoria and some South Australia Victorian gauge (4,017 km/2,496 mi), Brazil (4,057 km/2,521 mi) |
| 1,524 mm (5 ft) | Russian gauge | 5,865 | 3,644 | Finland (contiguous to and generally compatible with 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 5⁄6 in)) |
| 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 5⁄6 in) | Russian gauge | 220,000 | 140,000 | CIS states, also Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia (approx. 17% of the world's railways; all contiguous — redefined from 1,524 mm (5 ft) ) |
| 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | Standard gauge | 720,000 | 450,000 | Europe, Argentina, United States, Canada, China, Korea (South), Korea (North), Australia, Indonesia (only at Aceh), Middle East, North Africa, Mexico, Cuba, Panama, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay and Philippines. Also high-speed lines in Japan, Taiwan and Spain. (approx. 60% of the world's railways) |
| 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | Cape gauge | 112,000 | 70,000 | Southern and Central Africa, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, New Zealand, Queensland Australia Queensland Rail (approx. 9% of the world's railways) |
| 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) | Metre gauge | 95,000 | 59,000 | SE Asia, India (17,000 km/11,000 mi, decreasing with Project Unigauge), Argentina (11,000 km/6,800 mi), Brazil (23,489 km/14,595 mi), Bolivia, northern Chile, Switzerland (RhB, MOB, BOB, MGB), East Africa (approx. 7% of the world's railways) |
Read more about this topic: Track Gauge
Famous quotes containing the word dominant:
“When every autumn people said it could not last through the winter, and when every spring there was still no end in sight, only the hope that out of it all some good would accrue to mankind kept men and nations fighting. When at last it was over, the war had many diverse results and one dominant one transcending all others: disillusion.”
—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)