With railways, a 'break-of-gauge' is where a line of one
gauge meets a line of a different gauge.
Trains and
rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and
freight and
passengers must otherwise be transloaded. 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 arise. Technical solutions to avoid transloading include variable gauge axles, replacing the trucks of cars, and the use of
transporter cars that can carry a car of a different gauge.
''
Talgo'' and ''
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles'' have developed dual gauge axles (
variable gauge axles) which permit through running.
In some cases, breaks-of-gauge are avoided by installing
dual gauge track, either permanently or as part of a changeover process between gauges.
Major breaks of gauge
Major breaks of gauge between large systems include:
Africa
★ rail lines links by ferries on convenient rivers or lakes. See
portage railways
★
Dar es Salaam is one of the few places in Africa where different gauges actually meet.
Angola
★ Angola originally had 1000mm and 1067mm lines, but the 1000mm lines were converted to 1067mm in the 1950s in expectation that the lines would meet, though this has never happened.
Democratic Republic of Congo
★ DRCongo orignally had 1000mm and 1067mm lines, but when these lines meet in the 1950s, the 1000mm line was converted to 1067mm.
Asia
Bangladesh
Bangladesh has decided to resolve most of its break-of-gauge problem by converting most of its broad and narrow gauge tracks to
dual gauge.
China
China (standard gauge) on one hand,
Mongolia and
Russia (1520 mm) on the other. See the
Transmanchurian Railway.
China (standard gauge),
Vietnam (metre gauge)
India
India has decided that towns on the narrow gauge system get a second class service, and has decided to convert a significant proportion of the narrow gauge system to broad gauge.
Iran
Iran with its standard gauge has break-of-gauge at the borders with
Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan, and will soon have a new break-of-gauge with
Pakistan. It has a short main line with tracks of Indian broad gauge.
Thailand
Several countries bordering
Thailand use meter gauge track, but there are missing links between Thailand and Vietnam via
Cambodia.
Vietnam
★
Dual gauge (
meter gauge and
standard gauge) from
Chinese border to
Hanoi
★
The length of Vietnam railway network
Australia
★
Queensland (1067 mm) and
New South Wales (1435 mm)
★ New South Wales (1435 mm) and
Victoria (1600 mm)
★ Southern
South Australia uses
broad gauge, like Victoria. Northern South Australia had a number of
narrow gauge 1067 mm lines, leading to several break-of-gauge stations at various times including
Hamley Bridge,
Terowie,
Peterborough,
Gladstone and
Port Pirie
★ In the latter part of the
20th century, all mainland capital cities were connected by a
standard gauge (1435 mm) network, leading to more breaks of gauge (or branch line closures) in states where this is not the norm
★
Perth's railway system is narrow gauge (), while the
Indian Pacific is standard gauge. The line between
East Perth and
Midland, the eastern suburban terminus, and inland to the major rail junction at
Northam is
dual gauge. All rail east of this is standard gauge.
Europe
★
France (1435 mm) and
Spain (1668 mm)
★
Poland,
Slovakia,
Hungary,
Romania (1435 mm) and former
Soviet Union countries:
Russia (
Kaliningrad),
Lithuania,
Belarus,
Ukraine,
Moldova (1520 mm)
★
Finland (1524 mm) and
Sweden (1435 mm), between
Tornio and
Haparanda. Railway ferries between Finland and Sweden or Germany (see
SeaRail).
★
Switzerland, see "Minor breaks of gauge" below.
North America
★ The
United States of America had broad, narrow and standard gauge tracks in the 19th century, but is now almost entirely 1435 mm. Similarly the adjacent countries of
Canada and
Mexico.
Latin America
★ Argentina and Chile both use 1676 mm broad gauge tracks, but
the link railway uses
meter gauge with
rack railway sections. So there are two break-of-gauge stations, one at
Los Andes, Chile and the other at
Mendoza, Argentina. It is planned to reopen this currently closed railway in summer 2007 and regauge from small to broad to be in future without break-of-gauge
★ A break-of-gauge (914 mm / 1435 mm) between
Mexico and
Guatemala is currently closed.
★ A break-of-gauge between
Argentina and
Brazil, to
★ A break-of-gauge between
Uruguay and
Brazil, to
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 and
Switzerland there are numerous breaks-of-gauge between standard-gauge main lines and narrow-gauge
mountain railways.
The line between Finland and Russia has a minor break-of-gauge. Finnish gauge is 1524 mm and Russian 1520 mm, but this does not stop through-running.
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'' in the United States of America, which had a
coal wash and preparation plant at its break-of-gauge in
Mount Union, Pennsylvania. The coal was unloaded from
narrow gauge cars of the EBT, and after processing was loaded into
standard gauge cars of the
Pennsylvania Railroad.
In addition to its broad-gauge lines,
Spain has modern high-speed lines operating at standard gauge, and uses gauge converters. These railways are used for passengers only, and they have to change train, usually in big cities where they would have to change train anyway.
See also
★
Break of gauge
★
Gantlet track
★
Ramsey Car Transfer Apparatus
★
Variable gauge axles
Other issues
While track gauge is the most important factor preventing through running between adjacent systems, other issues can also be a hindrance, including
loading gauge,
couplings,
brakes,
electrification,
signalling systems,
rules and regulations, and
language.
External links
★
Jane's World Railways (hard copy)
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