Spacing of the rails

The spacing of the rails is the distance separating the internal side from the two files of Rail S of a Railway. Spacing of 1435  mm (4 feet 8  inches and half) is used the most in the world (60  % of the lines). It is the standard or international spacing which characterizes the “normal way”. When the spacing is higher, one speaks about broad Way, and Narrow gauge railway when it is lower (metric gauge track for the spacing of 1  m). Certain ways are equipped with three, even four, files of rails to allow the circulation of material of different spacings. The points of change of spacing create breaking bulks.

Various spacings used

Here the most used spacings. There are hundreds of them, of 305 mm ( Ruislip Lido Railway , in the North of London), until 9  m, in Russia, intended for the transport of boats.

Broad way

3.000 mm

2.140 mm

  • Great Western Railway, England (network transformed between 1854 and 1892 with 1  435  mm)

1.945 mm

1.750 mm

  • This spacing atypical was retained at the origin by the Système Arnoux for the line of Paris (landing stage of the Barrier of Hell, current station Denfert-Rochereau) with Sceaux with prolongation of Borough-the-Queen to Limours via Saint-Rémy-the-Chevreuse. This line, known as Line of Seals and limited today to Saint-Rémy-the-Chevreuse, was converted with the normal way in 1891.

1.676 mm

1.668 mm

1.600 mm

1.524 mm

1520 mm

Sees normal

1.435 mm (standard spacing UIC)

Metric gauge track

1.067 mm

1.055 mm

1.050 mm

1.000 mm

950 mm

  • Italy and its old colonies

914 mm

Industrial way, also called narrow gauge railway

  • 900 mm (Mines in the East of France, trams of Linz)
  • 760  mm (There exists, in particular in Austria, of the lines 760  mm for the passenger transport.)
  • 700  mm (some networks, of which the tourist Railroad of Abreschviller)
  • 610  mm (see Railroad of Nauru)
  • 600  mm (Very widespread, called Decauville but produced by good of others)
  • 580  mm (Collieries of Messeix and some mining networks)
  • 560  mm (Mines of Escaro)
  • 500  mm (Another spacing spread with that of 600  mm)
  • 400  mm (horticultural spacing and market-gardener)
  • 380  mm (some networks, of which the Tourist Railroad of Handle)

Origin of the normal spacing

The normal spacing is of British origin. It was defined by an English engineer, George Stephenson, originator of the open line Stockton-Darlington in 1825, which could convince the manufacturers of material to use a standard spacing of 4 feet 8  inches and half. This spacing was taken again thereafter by a royal commission which recommended its adoption in 1845 and by the British Parliament which voted the following year the Gauge Act (Law on the spacing of the rails). The majority of the important lines of Great Britain were built with normal way, except notable Great Western Railway which adopted a spacing definitely broader (7  feet, is 2  134  mm). This company reconverts with the normal spacing in 1892.

A probable assumption is that the spacing of 4  feet 8  inches and half selected starting from an overall width of the vehicles was fixed at 5 feet.

Spacings used in the world

Europe

In Europe, the majority of the principal networks are with normal way (standard spacing of 1  435  mm), except a certain number of peripheral territories.

The Russia chose the broad way at the 19th century. One generally estimates that this choice was justified by military reasons, to prevent the use of the Railway network by possible invaders. Some point out that no standard had still been essential in 1842 when the tsar Nicolas II engaged George Washington Whistler, eminent American railway engineer, to build the most important line in Russia, that which connects Moscow to Saint-Pétersbourg. The choice of the spacing of 5  feet was coherent with the use into force at the time in the States of the South of the United States.

Russia and majority of the States which were in the old Russian empire, of which the Baltic States, the Finland, the Ukraine, the Bielorussia, republics of the the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as the Mongolia are currently with the spacing of 5  feet (1  524  mm); although the official Russian standard is of 1  520  mm, compatibility is in practice assured.

The Iberian countries (Spain and Portugal) adopted the broad spacing of 5  feet 5  inches and half. The official standard in Spain was exactly of 1  674  mm, while in Portugal it was of 1  664  Misters Cependant the compatibility of the two networks is ensured by the studied design of rolling stock and the equipment, and in the years '80 one gradually unified the spacing with 1668 Misters His entry in the European Union led Spain to adopt a plan of reconversion of the spacing of the rail network. The lines at high speed AVE, including the line Madrid - Seville open in 1991 and the line about to be completed Madrid - Barcelona, are with normal way. To facilitate the conversion of the broad way to the normal way, of the sections with double spacing were built. No date was still fixed for the total conversion of the network, although projects are being studied.

The Ireland, and the Northern Ireland, are with the broad spacing of 1  600  Misters.

The European Union launched a program in favor of the railway Interopérabilité which aims at harmonizing not only the spacing of the rails, but also of other railway standards, such as indication and the electrification. Community financing are devoted to the conversion of lines located in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) of the Russian spacing at the standard spacing, like with construction in Spain and Portugal of lines complementary to the network at high speed. It supports also the interconnection of the Iberian networks with the rest of Europe.

The district distributers are often with metric gauge track (spacing normally of 1  000). It is the case of the last lines in exploitation of the French district distributers (like the White-Money, the line of the Railroads of Provence, the Ligne of Cerdagne and the Ligne Saint-Gervais-Vallorcine to only quote most known of France). It is the case also of good number of railroads of mountain, in particular in Suisse.

North America

With the the United States, the Mexico and the Canada, the spacings of rails used in the beginning were extremely varied. Certain companies, especially in the North-East, were put at the British standard, but it was not a general information and some used broad spacings, until 6  feet. Since independence compared to the the United Kingdom was still recent, the arguments relating to the English standard had little weight. The standard spacing however spread, when the need for inter-connecting the networks with fact of appearing the disadvantages of the situation.

The majority of the States of the South had however chosen the spacing of 5  feet. After the American Civil War, the trade between North and the South developed much and this difference in spacing became a too heavy handicap. One needed long debates and much of time to lead to the first conversion of the network Southerner for the spacing of 4  feet 9  inches (either 1  448  mm), which was then the standard on the network of Pennsylvania ( Pennsylvania Railroad ). It was carried out in two days starting from the May 31st 1886. Final conversion towards the standard spacing was done thereafter, gradually with the liking operations of maintenance.

With Toronto, Canada, the local subway ( Toronto Transit Commission ) uses a particular spacing, 4  feet 10  inches 7/8 (either 1  495,42  mm), so that this network is incompatible with all the other transport systems of the area. The BART ( Bay Area Rapid Transit ) of San Francisco chose, as for him, a spacing of 5  feet 6  inches (1  676  mm, is the same one as in India or South America).

Asia

The railroads Japan board were built with the spacing of 1  067  mm (3  feet 6  inches). The lines at high speed (Shinkansen) were carried out right from the start with the normal spacing of 1  435  mm which makes it possible to offer a better stability. That made more delicate the integration high speed and the services travellers of the traditional network (contrary to the TGV which can serve stations except new lines).

With Taiwan, which was under Japanese domination of 1895 with 1945, there exist several lines with the spacing of 1  067  Misters the Ligne at high speed HSR was however built it also with normal spacing.

Railroads of the South-East Asia, of which the Vietnam, the Kampuchea, the Laos, the Thailand, the Burma, and the Malaysia, are mainly with the metric spacing (1  000  mm). The Indonesia has a spacing of 3 feet 6 inches (1 067 mm).

The project of regional network ASEAN, intended to connect Singapore, with the southern point of the Malayan peninsula, the Chinese network with normal way, via Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, should be with normal way, or double spacing (metric gauge track/normal way).

The India, the Pakistan, the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, old British colonies, inherited at the time their independence a large variety spacings, among which broad spacing of 1  676  mm prevailed. The Indian Railroads adopted a project of standardization, which aims at converting systematically to the standard of 1  676  mm majority of the ways with lower spacing.

The Afghanistan is in an interesting situation: located at a crossroads of Asia, this country is almost empty of railroad. If it decided to build a rail network, the choice of the spacing would be a true headache. The country is indeed surrounded by four railway “continents” using three different spacings: 1  435  mm, 1  520  mm and 1  676  Misters the Iran in the West, as the China in the East are with the normal spacing; in the South, the Pakistan uses the broad spacing of 1  676  mm, while with North, the Republics of Central Asia (Turkménistan, Ouzbékistan and Tadjikistan) are with the Russian spacing of 1  520  Misters.

Australia

The Australian rail network is shared in three spacings different from the only fact of the inconsistency of political decisions.

At the 19th century, the three major Statuses at the time of the Australia adopted a single standard, namely the standard spacing of 4  feet 8  inches and half (1  435  mm). But at the end of 30  years, it was decided a general conversion with the broad spacing of 5  feet 3  inches, then the News-Wales of the South went into reverse and returned to the standard spacing, while the State of Victoria and the South Australia remained with the broad spacing (1  600  mm).

Thereafter the Queensland, the Tasmanie, and partly the Western Australia, adopted the narrow gauge railway with spacing of 3  feet 6  inches (1  067  mm), to make savings in investment.

Urban legend

A urban Légende affirms that the dimension of the American space shuttle is directly related to the spacing of the ways because of alleged forced on the way bringing to launching base. It is only one urban legend, there is for example no tunnel on a way leading to the space base|date= This legend affirms moreover that the spacing of the rails derives from the ways of ruts formed in the ways paved by the passage of the carriages and tanks used at the time of imperial Rome. Each vehicle was forced to follow these traces to preserve its wheels, and Jules César would have made impose this width by the Law so that any vehicle can cross the Roman cities without being constrained by different spacings. However, one can think that this standardization probably holds of coincidence. The excavations of the buried cities of Pompéi and Herculanum put at the day of deep ruts dug in the flagstones of an average width of 1  448  mm of center in center, with an average interior spacing of 1  372  Misters the manufacturers of carriages, then later of the first Coach S, were confronted with the same problem, when they had to design vehicles with wheels tractor drawn by animals.

See too

Related articles

External bonds

  • Railroad Gauge Width

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