Break-of-gauge - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge

Rail gauge

Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

meets a line of a different gauge. Train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

s and rolling stock

Railroad car

A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...

cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges

Gauge conversion

In rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...

, and freight

Cargo

Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

and passenger

Passenger

A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....

s must otherwise be transloaded

Transloading

For the data downloading process, see sideload.Transloading is the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another. It is most commonly employed when one mode cannot be used for the entire trip, as for instance when goods must be shipped internationally from one inland...

. Either way, a break-of-gauge adds delays, cost, and inconvenience to traffic that must pass from one gauge to another.

Inconvenience

Transloading of freight from cars of one gauge to cars of another is very labour- and time-intensive, and increases the risk of damage to goods. If the capacity of freight cars on each system does not match, additional inefficiencies can arise. Technical solutions to avoid transloading include variable gauge axles

Variable gauge axles

A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge caused by two railway networks with differing track gauges....

, replacing the bogie

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

s of cars, and the use of transporter cars that can carry a car of a different gauge.

Talgo
Talgo
Talgo is a Spanish manufacturer of railway vehicles. It is best known for a design of articulated railway passenger cars in which the wheels are mounted in pairs, but not joined by an axle, and being between rather than underneath the individual coaches...

and CAF
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles is a rail equipment manufacturer based in Beasain in the Basque Country, Spain. Equipment manufactured by CAF includes light rail vehicles, rapid transit trains, railroad cars and locomotives, as well as variable gauge axles that can be fitted on any...

have developed dual gauge axles (variable gauge axles

Variable gauge axles

A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge caused by two railway networks with differing track gauges....

) which permit through running between broad gauge and standard gauge. In Japan the Gauge Change Train
Gauge Change Train
The Gauge Change Train or is the name given to a Japanese project started in 1994 to develop a high-speed train with variable gauge axles to allow inter-running between the standard gauge Shinkansen network, and the narrow gauge provincial network....

has been built on Talgo patents that can run on standard and narrow (1067 mm) gauge.

In some cases, breaks-of-gauge are avoided by installing dual gauge

Dual gauge

A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...

track, either permanently or as part of a project to replace one gauge with another.

At almost every break-of-gauge, passengers have to change trains, but there are a few passenger trains that can run through a break-of-gauge. For example, the Talgo (variable-gauge axles, see above), and the Moscow-Beijing trains (bogie exchange

Bogie exchange

Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the chassis containing the wheels and axles of the car, and installing a new chassis with...

) although on the latter passengers usually have to leave the train for some time whilst the work is done.

Advantages

Narrow gauges tend to be associated with smaller loading gauges and sharper curves, which tend to reduce initial capital cost

Capital cost

Capital costs are costs incurred on the purchase of land, buildings, construction and equipment to be used in the production of goods or the rendering of services, in other words, the total cost needed to bring a project to a commercially operable status. However, capital costs are not limited to...

s. This offsets the costs of any traffic affected by the break-of-gauge.

An advantage is that invading armies may be severely hampered (as when Germany invaded the USSR in WWII).

Another advantage might be that if the different gauges have different loading gauges, the break-of-gauge helps keep the larger wagons clear of smaller tunnels.

Similarly, if the larger and smaller gauges use different couplers, the break of gauge tends to keep the different couplers separate.

Passengers

For passenger trains the inconvenience is less, especially at major train stations, where many passengers change trains or end their journeys anyway. Therefore some passenger-only railways have been built with other gauges than would otherwise be used in a country, like the high-speed railways in Japan and Spain.

For night trains, which are very common in places like Russia, train change is less desired, especially by night. For these often the bogie

Bogie

s are replaced, even if it takes much more time than having the passengers change trains.

Tidal traffic

The inefficiencies of a break of gauge are especially apparent when there is a tide of traffic in one direction, as might happen when fodder from a drought-free region needs to be transhipped to a drought-affected region on the other gauge. Firstly, one might run out of suitable wagons on the other gauge, while loaded wagons unable to be transhipped obstruct the main lines or crossing loops on the first gauge.

Tidal traffic can be handled by having large numbers of spare and idle wagons sitting at the break of gauge station just in case, which an appropriate number of stabling siding to accommodate these spare wagons out of the way on normal traffic.

Overcoming a break of gauge

Where trains encounter a different gauge, such as at the Spanish-French border or the Russian-Chinese one, the traditional solution has always been transshipment

Transshipment

Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....

— transferring passengers and freight to cars on the other system. This is obviously far from optimal, and a number of more efficient schemes have been devised. One common one is to build cars to the smaller of the two systems' loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

s with bogies that are easily removed and replaced, with a bogie exchange at an interchange location on the border. This takes a few minutes per car, but is quicker than transshipment. A more modern and sophisticated method is to have multigauge bogies whose wheels can be moved inward and outward

Variable gauge axles

A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge caused by two railway networks with differing track gauges....

. Normally they are locked in place, but special equipment at the border unlocks the wheels and pushes them inward or outward to the new gauge, relocking the wheels when done. This can be done as the train moves slowly over special equipment.

When transhipping from one gauge to another, chances are that the quantity of rolling stock on each gauge is unbalanced, leading to more idle rolling stock on one gauge than other.

In some cases, breaks of gauge are avoided by installing dual gauge track, either permanently or as part of a changeover process to a single gauge.

Piggyback operation

One method of achieving interoperability between rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

of different gauges, is to piggyback stock of one gauge on special transporter wagons or even ordinary flat wagons fitted with rails. This enables rolling stock to reach workshops and other lines of the same gauge to which they are not otherwise connected. Piggyback

Transporter wagon

A transporter wagon, in railway terminology, is a wagon or railroad car designed to carry other railway equipment. Normally, it is used to transport equipment of a different rail gauge...

operation by the trainload occurred as a temporary measure between Port Augusta

Port Augusta, South Australia

-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...

and Marree

Marree, South Australia

Marree is a small town located in the north of South Australia. It lies North of Adelaide at the junction of the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track, above sea level. The area is the home of the Dieri people. At the 2006 census, Marree had a population of 70.The town was home to Australia's...

during gauge conversion

Gauge conversion

In rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...

works in the 1950s, to bypass steep gradients and washaways in the Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges

Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...

.

Narrow gauge railways were favoured in the underground slate quarries of North Wales

North Wales

North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

, as tunnels could be smaller. The Padarn Railway

Padarn Railway

The Padarn Railway was a narrow gauge railway line in Wales, built to the unusual gauge of . It was built to carry slate from the Dinorwic Quarry to Port Dinorwic. It opened in 1842, replacing the previous Dinorwic Railway. The Padarn Railway closed in 1961 .An unusual feature of the railway were...

operated transporter wagons on their gauge railway, each carrying four slate trams. When the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

acquired one of the narrow gauge lines in Blaenau Ffestiniog

Blaenau Ffestiniog

Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...

, they used a similar type of transporter wagon in order to use the quarries' existing slate wagons.

Transporter wagons are most commonly used to transport narrow gauge stock over standard gauge lines. More rarely, standard gauge vehicles are carried over narrow gauge tracks using adaptor vehicles; examples include the Rollbocke transporter wagon arrangements in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic and the milk transporter wagons of the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway

Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway

The Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Staffordshire, Great Britain that operated between 1904 and 1934. When in operation, the line mainly carried milk from dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the standard gauge system. It also provided passenger...

in England.

In 2010, Japan is developing the Train on Train

Train on Train

is the name given to the concept being developed by Hokkaido Railway Company in Japan as a means of transporting freight at higher speeds through the undersea Seikan Tunnel when Hokkaido Shinkansen high-speed passenger services through the tunnel commence in 2015.-Overview:When the Hokkaido...

piggyback concept.

Containerisation

The widespread use of containers since the 1960s has made break of gauge less of a problem, since containers are efficiently transferred from one mode to another by suitable large cranes

Crane (machine)

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...

.

Consider the transfer from a train of one gauge to another train of a different gauge. It helps if the lengths of the wagons on each gauge are the same so the containers can be transferred from one train to the other with no transverse movement along the train. The different wagons should carry the same number of containers. Delays to each train depends on how many cranes can operate simultaneously.

Container cranes are relatively portable, so that if the break of gauge transshipment hub changes from time to time, the cranes can be moved around as required. Fork lift trucks can also be used.

There is a gauge transshipment station at Kidatu

Kidatu

Kidatu is a town in southern Tanzania located in Kilombero district, Morogoro Region. The local population is about 3300. Primary economic activity is the large Illovo sugar plantation.Kidatu is a town in central Tanzania...

in Tanzania.

Africa

Rail lines linked by ferries on convenient rivers or lakes. See train ferries
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...

.
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

is one of the few places in Africa where different gauges actually meet.
Kidatu
Kidatu
Kidatu is a town in southern Tanzania located in Kilombero district, Morogoro Region. The local population is about 3300. Primary economic activity is the large Illovo sugar plantation.Kidatu is a town in central Tanzania...

in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

has a container transshipment facility to move freight containers between TAZARA (1067 mm) and Tanzania Railways Corporation
Tanzania Railways Corporation
The Tanzania Railways Corporation ' is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks.When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, TRC was formed to take over EARH's railway,...

trains (1000 mm)
Angola
Railway stations in Angola
Railway stations in Angola include:- Maps :* * * - Stations served by passenger trains :- North line :...

originally had , and lines, but the 1,000 mm and 600 mm lines were converted to 1,067 mm in the 1950s in expectation that the lines would meet, but this has never happened.
DRCongo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

originally had both and lines, but when these lines met in the 1950s, the line was converted to .

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Railway

Bangladesh Railway is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains the entire railway network of the country...

has a mixture of Indian gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

and metre gauge

Metre gauge

Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

track. It has decided to resolve many of its break-of-gauge problems by converting its most important broad and narrow gauge routes to dual gauge.

People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China

Rail transport in the People's Republic of China

Rail transport is the most commonly used mode of long-distance transportation in the People's Republic of China. Almost all rail operations are handled by the Ministry of Railways, which is part of the State Council of the People's Republic of China...

has a standard gauge network; neighbouring countries Mongolia

Rail transport in Mongolia

Rail transport in Mongolia is an important means of travel in the landlocked nation with few paved roads. According to official statistics, rail transport carried 93% of Mongolian freight and 43% of passenger turnover in 2007. The Mongolian rail system employs 12,500 people. The national operator...

, Russia

Rail transport in Russia

The Russian railways are one of the economic wonders of the 19th, 20th, and 21st century world. In length of track they are second globally to the railways of the United States. In volume of freight hauled, they are third behind the United States and China, using the standard measure of...

and Kazakhstan

Qazaqstan Temir Zholy

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy , also National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, is the national railway company of Kazakhstan.-Organization:...

use gauge, and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

uses metre gauge, so there are some breaks of gauge. See the Trans-Manchurian Railway (gauge changing at Zabaikalsk on the Russian side of the border), the Trans-Mongolian Railway

Trans-Mongolian Railway

The Trans-Mongolian Railway connects Ulan-Ude, on the Trans-Baikal railway in Russia, with the Chinese city of Jining, by way of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia....

and the Lanxin railway

Lanxin railway

The Lanzhou−Xinjiang Railway or Lanxin Railway is the longest railway in northwestern China. It runs from Lanzhou, Gansu, through the Hexi Corridor, to Ürümqi, in the Xinjiang. It is Xinjiang's only rail link with the rest of China...

. The Yunnan–Vietnam Railway is dual gauge in Vietnam as far as Hanoi. There is currently a break of gauge at Dostyk on the Kazakh border, but Kazakhstan is building an additional line, in standard gauge, line between Dostyk and Aktogay

Aktogay, East Kazakhstan Province

Aktogay is a town in Ayagoz District, East Kazakhstan Province of Kazakhstan and major railway hub of Turkestan-Siberian Railway.Aktogay is located in Balkhash-Alakol lowlands, close to Balkhash lake. The Ayagoz river’s mouth is located nearby Aktogay. The climate is continental. Summer is hot...

Hong Kong

Hong Kong's

Rail transport in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's rail network comprises public transport trains operated by MTR Corporation Limited . The MTRC operates the metro network of Hong Kong and the commuter rail network connecting the northeastern and northwestern New Territories with the rest of Hong Kong...

railway, the MTR

MTR

Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...

, has gauge within its own network, whereas the lines the MTR Corporation Limited operates on a lease, namely East Rail Line

KCR East Rail

The East Rail Line is one of ten railway lines of the Mass Transit Railway system in Hong Kong. It used to be one of the three lines of the Kowloon-Canton Railway network...

, West Rail Line

KCR West Rail

The West Rail Line is one of the MTR lines in Hong Kong. It was formerly known as the KCR West Rail . It starts at Hung Hom Station in Yau Tsim Mong District and ends at Tuen Mun Station in Tuen Mun...

and Ma On Shan Line

KCR Ma On Shan Rail

The Ma On Shan Line is a branch line of the East Rail Line in Hong Kong. Originally, the railway was operated by Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation...

, use standard gauge. These standard gauge lines are leased from another railway company, the KCR Corporation, who was the operator of these lines until 2007. The tracks of the two systems are not interconnected. The Light Rail

KCR Light Rail

The MTR Light Rail, also known Light Rail Transit , is a light rail system in Hong Kong, serving the northwestern New Territories, within and between Tuen Mun District and Yuen Long District...

is also standard gauge.

India

Rail transport in India

Rail transport is a commonly used mode of long-distance transportation in India. Almost all rail operations in India are handled by a state-owned organisation, Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways. The rail network traverses the length and breadth of the country, covering a total length of...

currently has significant lengths of four different gauges: Indian gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

, metre gauge

Metre gauge

, gauge and gauge. Indian Railways

Indian Railways

Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....

has decided to convert most of its metre gauge

Metre gauge

and narrow gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

systems to broad gauge

Broad gauge

Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

under an exercise called Project Unigauge

Project Unigauge

Project Unigauge is an ongoing exercise by Indian Railways to standardise most of the rail gauges in India at 1676 mm broad gauge....

Iran

Iran, with its standard gauge rail system, has break-of-gauge with gauge at the borders with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

and Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

, and now also with Pakistan's Indian gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

at Zahedan

Zahedan

Zahedan is a city in and the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 552,706, in 109,488 families.-Geography:...

. The break-of-gauge station at Zahedan was built outside the city, as the existing station was hemmed in by built up areas.

Japan

Most high-speed lines in Japan

Shinkansen

The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...

have been built as standard gauge lines. A few routes

Super Tokkyu

is the name given to the concept of building new high-speed narrow gauge railway lines in Japan to extend the shinkansen network of high-speed lines.-Concept:...

have been planned as narrow-gauge, and the conventional (non-high-speed) is mostly narrow-gauge , so there are some breaks of gauge and dual gauge is used in some places. Private railways often use other gauges.

In 2010, Hokkaidō Railway Company

Hokkaido Railway Company

The is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railways Group , and thus often known as . It operates intercity rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart card ticketing system, from autumn 2008....

was working on a transporter train by trainload concept called Train on Train to carry narrow-gauge freight trains at faster speeds on standard-gauge flatcars. The Seikan Tunnel

Seikan Tunnel

The Seikan Tunnel is a railway tunnel in Japan, with a long portion under the seabed. Track level is about below seabed and below sea level. It travels beneath the Tsugaru Strait—connecting Aomori Prefecture on the Japanese island of Honshu and the island of Hokkaido—as part of the Kaikyo Line...

is being converted by Hokkaido Railway Company to dual gauge to accommodate the Hokkaido Shinkansen

Hokkaido Shinkansen

The is a high-speed rail line currently under construction between Aomori and Hokkaido through the Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May 2005, and the initial Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate section is projected to open in 2015. There are long-term plans to extend the line to Sapporo...

North Korea

A break of gauge occurs across the Tumen River

Tumen River

The Tumen River is a 521 km-long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea, and Russia, rising in Mount Baekdu and flowing into the Sea of Japan....

which forms the border between North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

and Russia.

Russia (Khasan)
North Korea (Tumangang
Tumangang
Tumangang Workers' District is a town in Sonbong, Rason, North Korea. It is the closest town of North Korea to the border with Russia. Tumangang sits on the Tumen River, and across the river is the Russian town of Khasan. A train connects Khasan with Tumangang and from there to Rason. A road also...

)

Taiwan (Republic of China)

Like Japan, the Republic of China use the gauge for the majority of its railway network, but standard gauge for its high-speed rail; however, gauge differences are less of a problem as Taiwan High Speed Rail

Taiwan High Speed Rail

Taiwan High Speed Rail is a high-speed rail line that runs approximately along the west coast of the Republic of China from the national capital of Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung...

generally uses separate rolling stocks. The THSR has separate rights of way, and at most locations runs on routes kilometres away from the conventional railway network.

Thailand

Several countries bordering Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

use meter gauge track, but there are missing links between Thailand and Vietnam via Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

Russian gauge meeting Standard gauge

Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

(1,435 mm).

vs. Former Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

countries: Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, Moldova

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

(1,520 mm). Night trains are common, and they are often bogie-exchanged.

Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

(1,524 mm) and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

(1,435 mm), between Tornio
Tornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...

and Haparanda
Haparanda
Haparanda is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden with 4,778 inhabitants in 2005. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland...

via a short dual-gauge bridge. Freight is generally transloaded. No passenger trains. There is also a SeaRail
SeaRail
SeaRail operates a train ferry for railway freight wagons between Turku, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden. Because the track gauge of the Finnish railways is wider than the standard gauge of much of the rest of Europe , a special fleet of freight wagons with interchangeable bogies is used...

ferry (with 1,435 mm onboard) linking Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

, Finland with Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden; the Turku terminal handles both gauges.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

(1,435 mm) railroad ferries to Ukraine, Russia and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

(1,520 mm)
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

(1,435 mm) railroad ferries (from Sassnitz with 1,520 mm onboard) to Russia and Baltic States and to Finland (from Travemünde with 1,435 mm onboard).
While breaks of gauge are generally located near borders, a line carrying iron ore from Ukraine extends into Slovakian territory to a steelworks near Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...

and there are plans to extend the line further west, to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. See also Rail gauge in Slovakia.
The historically first break-of-gauge between Russian and Standard gauge was built in 1861 as dual gauge between the border stations of Eydtkuhnen, Germany (now Chernyshevskoye
Chernyshevskoye
Chernyshevskoye is a settlement in Nesterovsky District in the eastern part of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, on the border with Lithuania.Between Chernyshevskoye and Lithuanian Kybartai is an important 24-hour border crossing point on the A229 principal road and the railway route connecting...

Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...

, Russia), and Kybartai
Kybartai
Kybartai is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Vilkaviškis and is on the border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia....

, then Russia, now Lithuania.
The 1520 Strategic Partnership seeks to harmonise the gauges of Europe-Asia.

Iberian gauge meeting Standard gauge

France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

(1,435 mm) and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

(1,668 mm), for example at Cerbère
Cerbère
Cerbère is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Cerbériens....

(FR) - Portbou
Portbou
Portbou is a town in the Alt Empordà county, in Girona province, Catalonia, Spain. It has a population of 1,307 people.- Overview :It is located near the French border in the Costa Brava region, and frequently serves as a dropping off point for SNCF trains coming from Cerbère in France.Portbou...

(ES); Hendaye
Hendaye
Hendaye is the most south-westerly town and commune in France, lying in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and located in the traditional province Lapurdi of the French Basque Country...

(FR) - Irun
Irun
Irun is a town of the Bidasoa-Txingudi region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain...

(ES) and Latour-de-Carol
Latour-de-Carol
Latour-de-Carol is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-Transport:The village's main claim to fame is as the site of the international railway station, Gare de Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg...

. From 2010 the Spanish high-speed network (1,435 mm) is connected to the French railways without a break-of gauge.

The earliest working example of the axle changing system at the French-Spain border in 1948 had the waggons being changed at the rate of 8 per hour.

Local Narrow gauge lines meeting mainlines

Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, see "Minor breaks of gauge" section below.

Australia

Origins

(1845) Evils of break of gauge and Gauge Commission
Royal Commission on Railway Gauges
The Royal Commission on Railway Gauges was held in the United Kingdom in 1845 to choose between the Broad Gauge of the Great Western Railway and its allies, and the so-called narrow gauge used by most of the rest of the country. The situation in Ireland where there were three gauges was also...

of UK mentioned in Australian Newspaper

The then three mainland states originally agreed to gauge.

South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

(1847)
New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

(1851)
Victoria
Victoria
- Given name :* Victoria , word origin and list of people* Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Empress of India * Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden * Victoria of Baden , the queen-consort of Sweden as wife of King Gustaf V...

Then there was a change to gauge.
South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

(1851)

Current

Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
New South Wales (1,435 mm) and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
Southern South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

uses broad gauge, like Victoria. Northern South Australia had a number of narrow gauge lines, leading to several break-of-gauge stations at various times including Hamley Bridge
Hamley Bridge, South Australia
Hamley Bridge is a community in South Australia located at the junction of the Gilbert and Light rivers, as well as the site of a former railway junction....

, Terowie
Terowie, South Australia
Terowie is a small town in the mid-north of South Australia located north of Adelaide. It is located in the Regional Council of Goyder. Terowie retains a number of authentic and well preserved 1880s buildings, and has been declared a "historic town". It also remains a town of interest to those...

, Peterborough
Peterborough, South Australia
Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. At the 2006 census, Peterborough had a population of 1,689....

, Gladstone
Gladstone, South Australia
Gladstone is a small rural town in the Mid North of South Australia in the approach to the lower Flinders Ranges. At the 2006 census, Gladstone had a population of 629....

, Port Pirie, Port Augusta
Port Augusta, South Australia
-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...

, Marree, Wolseley
Wolseley, South Australia
Wolseley is a small South Australian town near the Victorian border. It is five kilometres south of the Dukes Highway and 13 kilometres east of Bordertown. It was first proclaimed a town in 1884....

and Mount Gambier. The Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...

lines have always been isolated.
In the latter part of the 20th century, all mainland capital cities were connected by a standard gauge network, leading to more breaks of gauge (or branch line closures) in states where this is not the norm
Perth's
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

railway system is narrow gauge , while the Indian Pacific is standard gauge. The line between East Perth
East Perth railway station
East Perth railway station is a Transperth railway station 1.9 km from Perth Train Station, on the Midland Line in Perth, Western Australia.It is next to the East Perth Terminal and Public Transport Centre, in Western Australia....

and Midland
Midland, Western Australia
Midland is a suburb in the Perth, Western Australia metropolitan area, as well as the regional centre for the City of Swan local government area that covers the Swan Valley and parts of the Darling Scarp to the east. It is situated at the intersection of Great Eastern Highway and Great Northern...

, the eastern suburban terminus, and inland to the major rail junction at Northam
Northam, Western Australia
Northam is a town in Western Australia, situated at the confluence of the Avon and Mortlock Rivers, about north-east of Perth in the Avon Valley. At the 2006 census, Northam had a population of 6,009. Northam is the largest town in the Avon region...

is dual gauge. All rail east of this is standard gauge.
Since the 1990s, new concrete sleepers installed in the Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

suburban area have been gauge convertible (the difference between the gauges are too close to allow dual gauge).
In May 2008, agreement reached to convert the declining trafficked broad gauge line of a BG
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

/SG
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

pair for 200 km between Seymour
Seymour, Victoria
Seymour is a township in the Shire of Mitchell in the state of Victoria, Australia and is located north of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Seymour had a population of 6,063...

and Albury
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...

to double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...

Standard gauge for growing interstate traffic.
Since the 1930s, most Victoria steam locomotives were designed for ease of conversion to standard gauge, but except for R766
Victorian Railways R class
The R class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Australia's Victorian Railways from 1951 to 1974. A long overdue replacement for the 1907-era A2 class 4-6-0, their development and construction was repeatedly delayed due to financial constraints caused by the Great Depression and...

, this has never happened.
Note that the lines of the same gauge do not all join up, being separated by other gauges, deserts or oceans. Rolling stock is often transferred on low-loaders or by ship.

Military

Military depots where arms, fuel, etc. are stored are best located at break-of-gauge stations so that stores can be loaded directly onto the correct gauge. Such depots were created at Albury, Tocumwal and Oaklands

Oaklands, New South Wales

Oaklands is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, Australia. The town is located 615 kilometres south west of the state capital, Sydney and 105 kilometres north west of Albury. Oaklands is in the Urana Shire Local government area and at the 2006 census, had a population of...

New Zealand

New Zealand originally had small lengths of lines of , and , but quickly converted all to which better suited this sparsely populated and mountainous country.

North America

The United States of America had broad, narrow and standard gauge tracks in the 19th century, but is now almost entirely standard gauge. Narrow-gauge operations
Narrow gauge railroads in the United States
Standard gauge was favored for railway construction in the United States, although a fairly large narrow gauge system developed in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Isolated narrow gauge lines were built in many areas to minimize construction costs for industrial transport or resort access, and...

are generally isolated rail systems. The notable exception would be the break-of-gauge in Antonito, Colorado
Antonito, Colorado
The Town of Antonito is a statutory town located in Conejos County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town's population was 873.-Geography:...

between the standard gauge Rio Grande Scenic Railroad
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad
The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad of Colorado, a heritage railway, began operations in 2006, operating both steam and diesel locomotives in the San Luis Valley. Located south of Denver, Colorado, the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad operates out of Alamosa, Monte Vista and La Veta...

and the narrow gauge Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad running between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. It runs over the Cumbres Pass, the highest point on a US passenger railway....

, billed as the Toltec Gorge Limited.
Similarly, Canada
Transportation in Canada
Canada is a developed country whose economy includes the extraction and export of raw materials from its large area. Because of this, it has a transportation system which includes more than of roads, 10 major international airports, 300 smaller airports, of functioning railway track, and more...

and Mexico are standard gauge.
A break-of-gauge, to , between Mexico
Transportation in Mexico
Transportation and Communications in Mexico may refer to:* Communications in Mexico* Transportation in Mexico...

and Guatemala
Transportation in Guatemala
Transportation in Guatemala.-Ground transportation:Chicken buses, recycled and often colorfully painted former US school buses, are popular within cities and for short-distance trips...

is currently closed.

South America

Argentina and Chile both use broad gauge tracks, but the link railway uses narrow gauge with rack railway
Rack railway
A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...

sections. So there are two break-of-gauge stations, one at Los Andes, Chile
Los Andes, Chile
Los Andes, founded in July 31, 1791 as Santa Rosa de Los Andes, is a Chilean city and commune located in the province of the same name, in Valparaíso Region...

and the other at Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...

. It was planned to reopen this currently closed railway in summer 2007 and re-gauge from small to broad to be in future without break-of-gauge
A break-of-gauge between Argentina
Transportation in Argentina
Transport in Argentina is mainly based on a complex network of routes, crossed by relatively inexpensive long-distance buses and by cargo trucks. The country also has a number of national and international airports. The importance of the long-distance train is minor today, though in the past it was...

and Brazil
Transportation in Brazil
Transport infrastructure in Brazil is characterized by strong regional differences and lack of development of the national rail network. Brazil's fast growing economy, and especially the growth in exports, will place increasing demands on the transport networks...

, to
A break-of-gauge between Uruguay
Transport in Uruguay
Transport in nation of Uruguay consists of 2,835 km of rail network, 8,983 km of roads, 1,600 km of navigable waterways, and 15 airports/landing fields serviced by the national airline PLUNA.-Railways:total:2835.558 km...

and Brazil, to at Santana do Livramento
Santana do Livramento
Santana do Livramento is a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located along the border with the city of Rivera, Uruguay, which helps form an international city of 200,000 inhabitants.- Overview :...

.

Minor breaks of gauge

Wherever there are narrow gauge lines that connect with a standard gauge line, there is technically a break-of-gauge. If the amount of traffic transferred between lines is small, this might be a small inconvenience only. In Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

and Switzerland there are numerous breaks-of-gauge between standard-gauge main lines and narrow-gauge railways.

Many internal Swiss railways that operate in the more mountainous regions are Metre gauge and most are equipped for rack

Rack railway

A rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...

assistance to deal with the relatively steep gradients encountered. Through running of standard gauge trains on rack sections would not be possible, but dual gauge track exists in many places where the gradient is relatively flat to carry standard and metre gauge stock. There also exists gauge railways which are entirely rack operated.

The effects of a minor break-of-gauge can be minimized by placing it at the point where a cargo must be removed from cars anyway. An example of this is the East Broad Top Railroad
East Broad Top Railroad
The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company is a for-profit heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania, north of Interstate 76 and south of U.S. Route 22, the William Penn Highway. The railroad operates excursion trains on a seasonal schedule.-History:The East Broad Top...

in the United States of America, which had a coal wash and preparation plant

Coal breaker

A coal breaker was a coal processing plant which broke coal into various useful sizes. Coal breakers also removed impurities from the coal and deposited them into a culm dump...

at its break-of-gauge in Mount Union, Pennsylvania

Mount Union, Pennsylvania

Mount Union is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, 45 miles southeast of Altoona, on the Juniata River. In the vicinity are found bituminous coal, ganister rock, fire clay, and some timber. A major Easter grass factory is located in the northern quadrant of the borough limits; until May...

. The coal was unloaded from narrow gauge cars of the EBT, and after processing was loaded into standard gauge cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

Nominal breaks of gauge

The line between Finland and Russia has a nominal break-of-gauge; Finnish gauge is whereas Russian gauge is . This does not usually prevent through-running, as the nominal 4 mm (0.15748031496063 in) difference is generally within tolerance, and the present Russian gauge is actually a redefinition of the older .

The Iberian gauge

Iberian gauge

Iberian gauge is the name given to the track gauge most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal: namely ....

is actually three slightly different gauges. Traditionally in Spain , traditionally in Portugal , and the newer redefined . Through-running is done with vehicles having a gauge within certain tolerances.

Gauge orphan

When a main line is converted to a different gauge, such as with Unigauge in India, branch lines can be cut off and made relatively useless, at least for freight trains, until they too are converted to the new gauge. These severed branches can be called gauge orphans.

Gauge outreach

The opposite of a gauge orphan is a line of one gauge which reaches into the territory composed mainly of another gauge. Examples include five broad gauge lines of Victoria which crossed the border into otherwise standard gauge New South Wales. Similarly the standard gauge line from Albury to Melbourne in 1962 which eliminated most transshipment at Albury, especially the need for passengers to change trains in the middle of the night. A Russian broad gauge line reaches out from Ukraine into Slovakia to carry minerals; another broad gauge line reaches also from Ukraine into Poland to carry heavy iron ore and steel products without the need for transshipment as would be the case if there were a break of gauge at the border. In 2008, it was proposed to extend the Slovak line to Vienna. From 1994, the Rail Baltic proposal emerged to build a 728km North-South line to link European standard gauge railways from Poland to Kaunas, Lithuania

Lithuania

, via Riga, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

to Tallinn, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

. The gauge outreach from Kalgoorlie to Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

partly replaced the original narrow gauge line, and partly rebuilt that line with better curves and gradients as double track dual gauge.

In 2010, a proposal surfaced to build a broad gauge line from an iron ore mine at Kaunisvaara

Kaunisvaara

Kaunisvaara is a village in northern Sweden, in Pajala district, 100 km north of the Arctic Circle.-Mining:There are large magnetite deposits in this area; Northland Resources began constructing the first mine in December 2011. Ore production is expected to begin in 2012, with annual iron ore...

in Sweden (whose rail network is otherwise standard gauge) to Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

which has a broad gauge network.

Ideal location

Transshipment hubs at breaks-of-gauge tend to happen at or near international borders because of formal principles about which gauge to have in a country, driver education, and unwillingness to allow too much foreign traffic and since it suits customs operations. Taken to its limits, the break-of-gauge can be like Wallangarra/Jennings

Jennings, New South Wales

Jennings is a town on the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located in the Tenterfield Shire Local Government Area, from the state capital, Sydney and from Brisbane. It is separated by the state border from its neighbouring town of Wallangarra in Queensland. ...

where it carefully straddles the state borders, with the station building being designed half with Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

architecture and half with New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

architecture. A more sensible solution would have been to build the break-of-gauge at the already existing town of Tenterfield, 12 miles (19 km) away.

Passenger breaks-of-gauge should be located in important cities where many passengers would change trains anyway, like for the Japanese and Spanish high-speed railways. They should preferably not be placed in the middle of nowhere, where sleeping passengers may have to be woken in the middle of the night. The border between the Russian and Standard gauges does often have such a location, and therefore bogies are exchanged on the sleeper cars.

Equipment

Breaks of gauge are facilited by flood lighting for night time operation, electric flood lighting not being available in the early days. Similarly heavy duty cranes only become practical once electricity suppllies become available.

Other issues

While track gauge is the most important factor preventing through running between adjacent systems, other issues can also be a hindrance, including structure gauge

Structure gauge

The structure gauge, also called the minimum clearance outline, is the minimum height and width of tunnels and bridges as well as the minimum height and width of the doors that allow a rail siding access into a warehouse...

, loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

, axleloads, couplings

Coupling (railway)

A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...

, brakes, electrification systems, signalling

Railway signal

A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...

systems, multiple unit

Multiple unit

The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

controls, rules and regulations

Safeworking

Signalling block systems enable the safe and efficient operation of railways, so as to avoid collisions between trains. Block systems are used to control trains between stations and yards, and not normally within them. Any block system is defined by its associated physical equipment and by the...

, driver certification and language. The structure gauge, loading gauge and axleload problem are solved by simply using the smaller ones for through running. The general solution is often to custom-build vehicles that fit all the standards they shall follow. Trains can be built to accept two voltages and to have double signaling systems equipment etc.

External links

Jane's World Railways (hard copy)
Transport and Telecommunication:The operation of the gauge changing facility of the new railway line Rail Baltica, Jonas Jonaitis, Vol.7, No 1, 2006

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Inconvenience

Advantages

Passengers

Tidal traffic

Overcoming a break of gauge

Piggyback operation

Containerisation

Africa

Bangladesh

People's Republic of China

Hong Kong

India

Iran

Japan

North Korea

Taiwan (Republic of China)

Thailand

Russian gauge meeting Standard gauge

Iberian gauge meeting Standard gauge

Local Narrow gauge lines meeting mainlines

Australia

Origins

Current

Military

New Zealand

North America

South America

Minor breaks of gauge

Nominal breaks of gauge

Gauge orphan

Gauge outreach

Ideal location

Equipment

Other issues

See also

External links