What railway gauge does Australia use?
What railway gauge does Australia use?
Rail gauges and route kilometres The three main railway gauges in Australia are 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow, 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 81⁄2 in) standard, and 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad; a slow progression towards unification to standard gauge has taken place since the 1930s.
What is the rail gauge in NSW?
Standard gauge
Standard gauge – 17,678 km – mainly New South Wales and the interstate rail network. Narrow gauge – 15,160 km – mainly Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania as well as part of South Australia.
What are the 3 gauges of railways?
Rail Gauges
- Broad Gauge: width 1676 mm to 1524 mm or 5’6” to 5’0”
- Standard Gauge: width 1435 mm and 1451 mm or 4′-8⅟2”
- Metre Gauge: width 1067 mm, 1000 mm and 915 mm or 3′-6”, 3′-33/8” and 3′-0”
- Narrow Gauge: width 762 mm and 610 mm or 2′-6” and 2′-0”.
Why are there different rail gauges?
Broader gauge railways are generally more expensive to build, because they are usually heavier in construction, use larger cars and locomotives (larger loading gauge), as well as larger bridges, larger tunnels (larger structure gauge). But broader gauges offer higher speed and capacity.
How old are Australian trains?
On 12 September 1854 the Melbourne and Hobson’s Bay Railway Company opened Australia’s first steam railway line in Melbourne. The 2.5-mile (about four-kilometre) track went from Flinders Street Station to Sandridge, now known as Port Melbourne.
Why are there no trains in Australia?
“Australia is just not suited to high-speed rail because our cities are too small and too far apart,” Marion Terrill, director of the think tank’s transport and cities program, told The Australian Financial Review.
What is the rail gauge in Victoria?
Track gauge The majority of the railways of Victoria are of 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge, presenting break-of-gauge difficulties when connections were made with New South Wales which uses 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 81⁄2 in) standard gauge.
What is dual gauge rail?
A dual gauge railway line has track consisting of two rails spaced according to one track gauge, to which are added either one or two more rails spaced according to another track gauge.
What is a drawback of bull headed rails?
What is a drawback of Bull headed rails? Explanation: Bull headed rails can better withstand wear and tear and thus have long lives. But they require a chair so that they can be fixed with sleepers.
Are there any broad gauge railways in Australia?
The other colonies (later states) opted for either 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in ( 1,435 mm) standard-gauge or 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm) broad-gauge railways, maintaining only limited narrow-gauge rail lines, except for South Australia, which wavered between narrow and broad. As a result of this legacy, Australian railways are a confusing mix of all three gauges.
Where can I find a rail map of Australia?
We have a dozen rail maps of Australia, its regional areas and cities showing every passenger railway and every station served by passenger trains. All suburban trains, light rail, country and interstate passenger train routes are shown. Would you like a printed version of our maps?
When was the Northern Territory narrow gauge railway built?
The Northern Territory adopted narrow gauge when it was still part of South Australia, and a North-South transcontinental line was planned from Adelaide to Darwin in the 1870s. The Central Australia Railway was built northwards from 1878, reaching Alice Springs in 1929, and closed in 1980 when a parallel standard-gauge railway was built.
What was the gauge of the New South Wales Railway?
In 1857, the NSW railway engineer John Whitton suggested that the short length of railway then operating in New South Wales be altered from 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in ( 1,435 mm) gauge to 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm) to conform with Victoria but, despite being supported by the NSW Railway Administration, he was ignored.