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Railway Technical Info - Index

This section of my website provides selected technical data for railway operators in a variety of countries, principally those in which I have travelled.

Information on this page is subject to the disclaimer.

The columns in the individual country lists are as follows:

System:

Name or description of the system; systems with different technical standards run by the same operator will if possible be identified separately

Type:

Brief comment on the nature of the operation. This is naturally a somewhat subjective decision; these are my thoughts on broad groupings:

• Heavy rail: traditional national or regional operator, providing long distance and local passenger and freight services
• Metro: high-frequency urban passenger service, typically underground or elevated
• Tram: urban passenger service, usually at ground level, with lower frequencies and/or lighter vehicles than "metro"; covers traditional street tramways and modern LRT systems
• Light rail: local passenger service in rural areas, with lighter vehicles and/or narrower gauge than "heavy rail"

Track:

This covers:
(1) the nominal track gauge: standard = 4' 8½" (1435mm), metre = 1000mm. Note that any Imperial (feet & inches) gauge stated may not exactly agree with the metric gauge stated.
(2) where necessary, any rack system in use.

Route:

This covers:
(1) the use of left- or right-hand running on double-track lines (known as "rule of the road"), shown as LH or RH; n/a implies the system is single throughout. Many heavy-rail systems now have full bi-directional signalling, though usually still with a preference for a particular rule of the road; where known, this is indicated with the use of "pref.".
(2) for tram systems and certain "light rail" systems, whether vehicles have single- or double-ended driving, implying the use, respectively, of turning circles or stub tracks at termini.

Electrification:

Electrification system(s) used

Comment:

Any other info

Countries

Europe

Rest of the World

• Canada ([CA])
• Oceania ([AU] Australia, [NZ] New Zealand)

Other General Links

• Worldwide Railway Gauge List
• Trainspotting Bükkes: European interoperability maps (gauge, rule of the road, electrification etc.)
• Jens Schulze's Bahnstrom website, system data section: the "Weltweit" page lists gauges and electrification systems for "heavy rail" systems around the world; the "Statistik" page summarises electrification systems used by country

This page is copyright © of and maintained by Mark Waller
Last update: 2008-03-28