Rail transportation is one of the most leading types of transportation of passengers and goods. Few people think about the gauge when getting on a train. Even fewer people know how these parameters were dictated. For various reasons, the track gauge in different countries has significant differences.
A bit of history
Science fiction writer from England Herbert George Wells says that the gauge was selected based on the distance between the wheels of an ordinary horse-drawn cart. You can read about this in his essay Foresight.
The development of rail transport took place in the middle of the 19th century. Then the giant companies in this industry maximize their influence in business circles. Of course, at the same time, significant growth in industry is recorded.
The first locomotives were perceived as an alternative to horsepower. Their parameters are fully consistent with the size of the crews. This is what dictated the dimensions of the first railway transport and the gauge (1435 mm).
Not all the first paths were laid on the basis of generally accepted norms. So, for example, the railway gauge on the road from Dublin to Drogheda (Ireland) was 1600 mm.
Fight for track size
Engineer Izambart Brunel, who lived in 1806-1859, always spoke out for the expansion of the gauge. In 1835, the construction of the Great Western Road was completed. The distance between the rails was 2135 mm.
Disagreements on the question of what kind of railway gauge should be taken as a standard continued until 1845. During the disputes, the operational characteristics of various types of roads were carefully studied. To make the only right decision, a special parliamentary commission was created in England, which was to establish uniform railway gauge sizes. Thus, in 1845 a law appeared on the construction of railways with a gauge of 1435 mm. And the existing paths that did not correspond to these data had to be reconstructed. Violators face a fine of £ 10 per mile for 1 day of the existence of the illegal road.
Special conditions for Ireland
The Great Western Road was forced to build another, third, rail. For Ireland, the British government made an exception (the gauge here and still is 1600 mm). In the country in the 40s of the 19th century, ruts of six standards coexisted safely. In order for the problem to be solved fairly, the government determined a single standard, calculating the average result.
US Railways
In the United States, before the civil war, states sought to isolate themselves. Of course, this could not but affect the transport. The first roads were very different in the distance between the rails. In New York, a law was approved that prohibited other branches from connecting to roads (they had a track gauge of 1, 524 mm).
From 1865 to 1886 there was a union of American highways. States are beginning to find ways of interaction, the English standard is gaining more and more supporters.
Only in February 1886 did they adopt the “Convention”, which enshrined the introduction of a single gauge in the United States. Highways with a length of 21, 000 km were altered in just two days. And the preparation took 79 days. The railway gauge in the United States was reduced to 1435 mm. The same size on the railways of Canada.
European Railways
The English gauge (1435 mm) was also distributed on the European continent. Legislatively, this size was approved in different countries at different times: in Bavaria in 1836, in Prussia in 1837, on the territory of the entire German Customs Union - in 1850.
Since then, the railway gauge in Europe, adopted in England, has been taken as the basis and is the most common.
However, the origins of these parameters should be sought in ancient Rome. In those days, in order to prevent permanent damage to the chariots, it was decided to create carts with the same distance between the wheels (and it was 1435 mm).
Wide track
In addition to Ireland, wide gauge (1600 mm) is also used in countries such as Australia (partly from 1854) and Brazil. A wider (1676 mm) was introduced in Spain in 1848, in Portugal in 1854, in Argentina in 1857, and even later in India, Chile, and Ceylon.
In all these countries, the then-adopted gauge has still remained predominant.
And what about Russia
The railway gauge in Russia was more than English. From the number of 1829 mm entered on the Tsarskoye Selo road, the country switched to a size of 1524 mm. It was typical for the Moscow-Petersburg road. In the future, this parameter became the norm. Apparently, Russian engineers borrowed the figure from the United States. At that time, consultants from America were actively involved in paving the way.
The width of 1524 mm was justified by economic calculations. When creating such a gauge, the government incurred less useless costs. Perhaps this was also a strategic decision. Because neighboring countries would not be able to invade the country through railways.
At the end of the 60s of the last century, the track was reduced to 1520 mm. This was done for the convenience of calculations. Today, transport routes with 1520 and 1524 mm gauges occupy the second place in the world along the length of roads (their total duration).
The railway gauge in Russia and Europe was taken as standard at different times. For what reasons the regions did not come to a common indicator, it is not known for certain.
Russian subways
The railway gauge in Russia in all subways is the same as on most of the country's railways. This also applies to all CIS countries. Russian tram lines have a similar distance between rails - 1520 mm. There are several cities that differ in this regard. In Rostov-on-Don, for example, the European gauge is laid. Its width is 1435 mm. In some Russian regions and settlements of the CIS, a narrow gauge of 1000 mm wide is used to move trams. These are cities such as Kaliningrad (Russia), Pyatigorsk (Russia), Lviv (Ukraine), Zhytomyr (Ukraine), Vinnitsa (Ukraine) and others.
Countries with Russian gauge
Gauge with indicators of 1520 and 1524 mm takes place in a number of countries. These are mainly countries of the former USSR and bordering it: Finland, Mongolia, Afghanistan. Of course, this does not mean that other ruts are not applied there.
There are such options when several railway canvases are used, the width of which differs from the accepted standard. For example, in Bulgaria there is a small stretch of road in Varna at the ferry crossing. In Germany - in the port of Sassnitz. The railway gauge in China at border crossings with Russia also has an appropriate size. In DPRK, in 2011, a section was reconstructed at the Khasan-Tumangan border crossing. Romania has a line that connects the metallurgical plant and Moldova. Also, such short routes are available in Slovakia, Sweden, Iran.
Despite the fact that the railway gauge in Europe differs from our parameters, sections with the Russian gauge can save money on frequent transportation of goods from factories, plants and with a large stable passenger flow.
Narrow gauge application
When they were just starting to build rails, a road with a 590 mm gauge appeared in England. Then such a railway bed was laid in France, Belgium, and the countries of Scandinavia. A narrow gauge railway was also introduced in Russia (in 1871).
In some countries, such roads are still used. So, for example, in the Cape colony their length is so great (112 thousand kilometers) that they remained unchanged. The road is called “Cape Gauge”, its width is 1067 mm.
In the countries of South Africa and central Africa, the Philippines, New Zealand, and parts of Japan and Australia, there are also such narrow railways. The railway gauge on Sakhalin also had a size of 1067 mm. Since 2004, Russian Railways has been carrying out reconstruction to increase the volume of freight traffic.
In Japan, high-speed trains are building highways with a rails spacing of 1435 mm.
The railway gauge in Russia on the border with Poland and to Kaliningrad is the same. Now at the South Station of this city there are several such tracks.
In the USSR, a track with a width of 750 mm was also used. These paths were second in popularity and were used until 1980. Currently, they are either changed to a generally accepted standard, or simply closed.
Some European countries have used 1000 mm tracks.
The disadvantages of narrow gauge railways
The narrow gauge has always been chosen for reasons of economy. Only light trains could move freely on them. This contributed to the cheaper construction of railways. Calculations showed that the road to Festinog would cost three times more if it had a normal track.
Unfortunately, this width did not allow to satisfy all the needs. At the end of the 19th century, countries began to actively move to large sizes.
Despite the confidence of supporters of the narrow gauge railway and their desire to prove the expediency and practicality of such paintings, these views were not accepted by the majority. And the 1435-millimeter paths spread with great speed on roads of various values.
Now narrow gauges are used for industrial transportation inside large factories and plants, for tourist routes, in mines, on some lines inside the country for passenger transportation.
Some statistics and funny things
1, 435 mm gauge roads are the most common. Their share is 75% of all railways. Wider ones vary within 11%, and narrow gauge ones - 14%.
The length of railway tracks around the world is 1.2 million km. Most of the roads are laid in the USA (almost 240 thousand km). In second place is Canada (90 thousand km). The third place belongs to Russia (86 thousand km).
The narrowest gauge (0 mm) boasts part of the railway in Germany, where one rail was used. This path was experimental in nature.
The widest track gauge (3000 mm) was proposed by Hitler's General Staff in order to export raw materials from occupied Ukraine and other European countries. The victory over the fascists made this plan impossible. The three-meter railway gauge in Ukraine remained only on paper.
The most common ruts
| Track Width (mm) | Length (km) | Road name | Countries where used |
| 1676 | 42300 | Indian | India, Chile, Pakistan, Argentina |
| 1668 | 14300 | Iberian | Spain and Portugal |
| 1600 | 9800 | Irish | Ireland, Brazil, and Australia (partially) |
| 1524 | 7000 | Russian | Estonia and Finland |
| 1520 | 220, 000 | Russian | in the CIS countries, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Mongolia (partially) |
| 1435 | 720000 | European | Europe, Canada, USA, China, Australia, Korea, North Africa, Middle East, Cuba, Panama, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay |
| 1067 | 112000 | Cape | South Africa, Central Africa, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Sakhalin (Russia) |
| 1000 | 95000 | Meter | Asia (southeast), India, Bolivia, Brazil, Uganda, Chile, Kenya |
