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Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two to run on it.
Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there is not enough room for two single tracks or when tracks of two different gauges meet in or .
Given the requirement for gauge to be within very tight limits, when the designed distance between the pair of wheels on a wheelset differs even slightly from that of others on a railway, track must be built to two specific gauges. That is achieved in a variety of ways: most commonly by adding a third rail, more rarely by adding another pair of rails; and rarer still, when three gauges are present, by four rails.
Multi-gauge track is very often associated with a break-of-gauge station, where rail vehicles or vehicle contents are transferred from one gauge to another. A break of gauge causes delay and increases congestion, especially on single-track lines. Essentially, two trains are required to do what a single train would normally accomplish. When traffic passes mainly in one direction, full wagons taken to the border have to be returned as empties, and a train of empty wagons has to be brought to the break of gauge from the other side to fetch the cargo. Congestion is also caused by unloading and reloading. (1991). 9781875359080, Australian National Railways Commission. ISBN 9781875359080 The problem is worsened when there is a disparity between the capacity of locomotives and vehicles on the two gauges: typically, one broad-gauge trainload needs three narrow-gauge trains to carry.
| 1600 / 1000 mm (5 ft 3 / 3 ft 33/8 in) | 1600 / 1435 mm (5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 in). |
| 1435 / 891 mm (4 ft 81/2 / 2 ft 113/32 in) | 1435 / 1000 mm (4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 33/8 in) |
| 1435 / 1067 mm (4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in) |
Four rails might also be installed because of other engineering or operational factors, even though three rails would suffice: an example is on the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme (Somme Bay railway), which combines standard and metre gauge – different, well within the parameters for three rails.
Four rails are necessary where the centre-line of rail vehicles on both tracks must be closely aligned with the centre-line of the track in tunnels or other constricted locations. Such configurations, when they revert back to standard parallel lines as soon as room is available, are termed ".
Four rails must be placed identically on either side of the central axis of dual-gauge turntables (and six rails on triple-gauge turntables) so that they match the configuration of the fixed rails leading to and from the turntable, regardless of the direction in which the turntable is facing.
The following table shows localities where triple gauge has been necessary.
To cost and inefficiency was added, in the case of passengers, considerable inconvenience. In 1896, at Albury station on the Sydney–Melbourne railway, famed American writer Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) had to change trains in the middle of a "biting-cold" night in 1896 and there formed his pungent view of "the paralysis of intellect that gave that idea birth".
In some locations, an alternative to building long lengths of dual-gauge track has been to change the wheels on railroad car, either by dropping and changing wheelsets from Train wheel vehicles or exchanging bogies (US: trucks) under eight-wheeled vehicles. With this arrangement, a short length of dual-gauge track is only needed within the facility. A benefit is that the contents of fully loaded cars are not disturbed. The scheme was first adopted on the French–Spanish border and in Poland. It introduces delay into transit times compared with dual-gauge operation, but is much quicker than trans-shipping: when introduced in 1962 in Melbourne, Australia, on the route between Sydney and Adelaide, the freight handling time per train dropped from five days to less than two. The process involved disconnecting the Railway brake and bogie centre pins have to be disconnected before the vehicle is lifted and new bogies are wheeled underneath.
In Europe, a similar principle embodies low-profile, small-wheeled transporter wagons, which carry vehicles built for one gauge on a line with a different gauge. A variant is the rollbock, used under two-axle standard-gauge vehicles: each wheelset is carried on a small four-wheeled narrow-gauge trolley. The entire train is converted in minutes at a slow walking pace, each rollbock being automatically matched to its wheelset from underneath.
A further variant is "train on train", in which an entire narrow-gauge train is carried on standard-gauge on which continuous rail has been fitted.
Differences in gauge are also accommodated by variable gauge, which were installed under some passenger vehicles on international links between Spain and France, Sweden and Finland, Poland and Lithuania, and Poland and Ukraine. In Spain, change-over facilities are extensive, since although track predominates, and high-speed lines are laid to standard gauge, there are many lines with narrower gauges ( metre gauge and others).
At Albury railway station, New South Wales, a and dual-gauge line was in place until 2011. A dual-gauge line was within Tocumwal railway station until 1988, when the standard gauge component was put out of use.
In 1900, in South Australia, a three-rail dual-gauge system was proposed in order to avoid a break of gauge. However, designing turnouts was considered to be difficult due to the difference of only between the and the broad gauge. After twenty years, the proposal was abandoned. Much later, the South Australian Railways successfully adopted dual-gauge turnouts. Civil track engineering ARTC pdf.
In Western Australia, and of double-track dual-gauge extends for of the main line from East Perth to Northam. Dual-gauge track is also used from the triangle at Woodbridge to Cockburn Junction, then to Kwinana Beach on one branch and North Fremantle on the other. The signalling system detects the gauge of the approaching train and puts the signals to stop if the route is set for the wrong gauge.
In Queensland, there is a section of and dual-gauge track between the rail freight yards at Acacia Ridge and Park Road station, which is utilised by both passenger and freight trains. Freight trains to the Port of Brisbane utilise the dual gauge Fisherman Islands line that runs parallel to the Cleveland railway line from Park Road to Lindum. Passenger trains use the dual-gauge section of the Beenleigh railway line running parallel to the electric suburban narrow gauge of the Queensland Rail city network over the Merivale Bridge into platforms 2 and 3 at Roma Street Station. This is used by standard gauge interstate NSW TrainLink XPT services to Sydney. In 2012, a dual-gauge line was installed between Acacia Ridge and Bromelton to serve a new freight hub at Bromelton.
The long Inland Railway, under construction in 2022, will have about of dual gauge.
In Krefeld on Ostwall, tram lines are dual gauge so that standard Rheinbahn U76 Stadtbahn cars and gauge trams may share the lines. At the north end of the route, at the junction with Rheinstraße, the trams reverse. There, the standard gauge line ends, while the metre gauge lines continue. At the Hauptbahnhof, on Oppumer Straße, dual gauge track continues. At the ends of Oppumer Straße, the two tracks diverge.
In Mülheim there is a similar situation. The Duisburg tram line 901 meets the local line 102. The tram system in Duisburg uses gauge track while the tram route from Witten to Mülheim uses gauge tracks. Two lines share a tunnel section between the Mülheim (Ruhr) Hauptbahnhof and Schloss Broich then diverge at street level.
The tram network between Werne to Bad Honnef is large with various operators and gauges. The trams in Wuppertal used gauge track on eastwest lines and gauge track on northsouth lines. Trams in Duisburg used gauge track on lines south of the Ruhr and gauge tracks on lines north of the Ruhr. The north lines closed in the 1960s and 1970s. Duisburg's three routes were converted to gauge track.
In 1942 and 1943 in Java, under Japan, conversion took place from to on the BrumbungKedungjatiGundih main line and the KedungjatiAmbarawa branch line.
Until the 1970s, a short section of dual gauge and line existed in North Sumatra on a joint line of the Deli Railway and the Atjeh Tram.
Some sugar mill railways in Java have dual-gauge sections.
In Douro Line with Corgo Line, between Régua railway station and Corgo bifurcation, over a length of 1,100 m. The Corgo Line is currently closed for operation.
In Minho Line between Trofa and Famalicão the meter gauge Guimarães line run inside the 1,668 m iberian gauge in an extension of 10 km. This section has been dismantled in 2004 with the regauging of Guimarães Line and duplication and electrification of the Minho line between Ermesinde and Braga.
The port authority in Derry, Northern Ireland, used a dual-gauge line in a street-level network to transfer freight. Two of the city's stations were on a narrow gauge. The other two city stations were on broad gauge.
The Fairbourne Railway in Gwynedd, Wales, has a section of dual gauge track from Fairbourne station to Car Park crossing installed in the late 2010s to allow visiting gauge trains to run on part of the line, which was converted to gauge in 1986, usually as part of special events.
From 1880 to 1902, the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (standard gauge) and the Burlington and Northwestern Railway (narrow gauge) shared a dual-gauge mainline from Burlington, Iowa, to Mediapolis, to the north.
The early operational years of the State Belt Railroad in San Francisco featured dual-gauge tracks to accommodate regional railroads of the time, which interchanged via ferry.
Until 1941, the Colorado and Southern Railway used both standard-gauge and narrow-gauge tracks, and had a dual-gauge line between Denver and Golden, Colorado.
Until the 1960s, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's Alamosa–Durango Line from Alamosa, Colorado, to Antonito was dual-gauge ( and ).
Previously, in its yard at Mount Union, Pennsylvania, the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company used dual-gauge tracks.
1435 / 1000 mm
(4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 338 in).
In the foreground, the narrow gauge diverges via a fixed-rail configuration.1520 / 1435 mm
(4 ft 1127/32 / 4 ft 81/2 in).
The gauges of this track are as follows (numbering the rails from left to right). 1520 mm gauge: rails 1 and 3; standard gauge: rails 2 and 4.1524 / 1435 mm
(5 ft 0 / 4 ft 81/2 in).
A line comprising European standard gauge and "Russian" gauge, a legacy of the former of the Soviet Union. The 89 mm difference between the two gauges is too small to allow a three-rail configuration.
Triple gauge
In rare situations, three different gauges may converge on to a rail yard and triple-gauge track is needed to meet the operational needs of the break-of-gauge station – most commonly where there is insufficient space to do otherwise. Construction and operation of triple-gauge track and its signalling, however, involves immense cost and disruption, and is undertaken when no other alternative is available.
1600 / 1435 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in).
Turnout, 4-rail triple-gauge both ways, from the points end.1600 / 1435 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in).
Turnout, 4-rail triple-gauge both ways, from the crossing end.
1600 / 1435 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in). Three-rail dual-gauge track is joined by four-rail triple-gauge.1600 / 1435 / 1067mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 in / 3 ft 6 in).
Standard-gauge car on 4-rail triple-gauge track. Narrow gauge track is two central rails; broad gauge is far left rail and second from right.
1600 / 1435 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in).
A six-rail triple-gauge turntable. It must always present the same positioning of rails at both ends, so all four rails must be symmetrical to the central axis. This is made possible only by reducing the profile of the middle rail on either side.1600 / 1435 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in).
When the Sydney–Perth rail corridor was converted to standard gauge in the late 1960s, dual-gauge track in the Gladstone yard had to be replaced by all-new triple-gauge track. The result was an inordinately complex marshalling yard.Växjö, Sweden Until 1974 or later Triple gauge at Växjö, click on Treskensspår at the left Barcelona, Spain Approach to Port of Barcelona, still in use as of September 2024 Gladstone, South Australia 1968–1983
(Some has been reconstructed at the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.)Peterborough, South Australia 1968–1983. (Some has been preserved at the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre in Peterborough.) Toronto, Canada Reported as impending in 1872. Subsequently converted to gauge. 1600 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 3 ft 6 in).
A dual-gauge centraliser that directs narrow-gauge livestock cars to the centre of the broad gauge so that they can be shunted without snagging the platforms.1600 / 1435 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 in).
A simple dual-gauge common-rail change-over device. It directs standard-gauge rolling stock from the common rail in the left foreground to the right-hand rail in readiness for the turnout in the distance.1600 / 1435 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in).
Triple-gauge common-rail change-over device: from one common rail (right foreground) to narrow gauge in the middle (in the distance).1600 / 1435 / 1067 mm
(5 ft 3 / 4 ft 81/2 / 3 ft 6 in).
A four-rail triple-gauge track that joins a three-rail dual-gauge track. The change-over device in the foreground directs standard-gauge rolling stock into a four-rail configuration.
More than three gauges
Three gauges are the maximum found on operating railway lines and in railway yards, but some rolling stock manufacturers collocate more than three lines in their works, depending on the particular gauges of their customers.
Alternatives
Transfer of freight and passengers between different gauges does not necessarily involve dual-gauge track: there may simply be two tracks that approach either side of a platform without overlapping. In Australia, 13 break-of-gauge stations existed by 1945 as a result of longstanding interstate rivalries: three different gauges had persisted since the 1850s and the five mainland state capitals were not linked by standard gauge until 1995. Huge costs and long delays were imposed by Transshipment of freight at break-of-gauge stations, whether manually, by gantry crane or by wheelset or bogie exchange. During World War II, breaks of gauge in Australia added immense difficulty to the war effort by needing extra locomotives and rolling stock, and more than 1600 service personnel and a large pool of civilians, at transfer points for an annual average transfer of about 1.8 million tonnes of freight.Philip Laird (2025). 086840411X, University of New South Wales Press. 086840411X
Alberto García Álvarez (2025). 9788489649569, Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles. . ISBN 9788489649569
Dual-gauge railways by nation
In Victoria, there are sections of and dual-gauge track between Southern Cross station and West Footscray, Sunshine and Newport, Albion and Jacana, North Geelong and Gheringhap, Maryborough and Dunolly, and in various goods yards and industrial sidings. Until 2008, there was a dual-gauge line between Wodonga and Bandiana.
The Bangladesh Railway uses three rails to avoid breaks of gauge between its broad-gauge and metre-gauge lines. The Jamuna Bridge and Padma Bridge, which link the east–west and north–south rail systems respectively, have four-rail dual-gauge tracks. Of the Bangladesh Railway system, about has four-rail dual-gauge.
Tram tracks in Brussels once combined lines for Vicinal tramway and lines for urban trams in a three-rail layout. In 1991, the interurban trams went out of service and then the network used only standard-gauge track.
The Sofia tramway uses a mixture of narrow and standard gauge. A section of track between Krasna polyana depot and Pirotska street is dual-gauge shared by route 22 and route 11.
The new port of Kribi may serve 1000mm gauge bauxite traffic as well as 1435mm gauge iron ore traffic.
In the Czech Republic, there is 2 km of dual gauge and track near Jindřichův Hradec. In 1985, its original four rails were converted to three rails. In 2004, in Jindřichův Hradec at a switch where a dual gauge railway bifurcates, a Junák express from Plzeň to Brno derailed due to a signalling error. The standard gauge train had been switched on to the narrow gauge track.
The Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme in France is dual gauge between Noyelles-sur-Mer and Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. The line has four rails with metre gauge laid within standard gauge. There are some dual-gauge (standard and Iberian) sidings at Cerbère on the Spanish border.
In the 1970s, the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen tram lines underwent a gauge conversion from gauge to standard gauge. This was part of an upgrade to the Stuttgart Stadtbahn. In 1981, and dual-gauge track was constructed so that new DT-8 Stadtbahn cars and old trams could share the network. In 2008, a further gauge conversion was completed. The Stuttgart Straßenbahn Museum operates gauge trams on weekends and special occasions.
Ghana is converting its narrow gauge to standard gauge, and is installing dual-gauge sleepers as an intermediate stage.
In Greece, the line between Athens and Elefsis (now closed) was dual gauge in order to allow the gauge trains of the Peloponnese rail network to pass. It also allowed standard gauge trains to reach the Elefsis shipyards. In Volos, a short section of track between the main station and the harbour used an unusual triple gauge, to accommodate standard gauge trains from Larissa, metre gauge trains from Kalabaka, and the gauge trains of the Pelion railway.
In 1899, in the Dutch East Indies, dual gauge track was installed between Yogyakarta and Surakarta. The track was owned by the Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij, a private company, which in 1867 had built the gauge line. The third rail was installed to allow passengers and goods travelling over the gauge Staatsspoorweg (state railway) a direct connection. At a later date, the government constructed new tracks to allow greater capacity and higher speeds. In 1940, a third rail was installed between Solo and Gundih on the line to Semarang, allowing gauge trains to travel between Semarang, Solo and Yogyakarta via Gambringan, on the line to Surabaya instead of on the original line via Kedungjati.
Ireland's Ulster Railway underwent a gauge conversion from 1880mm to the new Irish standard of . The Dublin & Drogheda Railway underwent a gauge conversion because the gauges were too close to allow a dual-gauge line.
The Potenza Avigliano Lucania line in Italy is a dual gauge rail with and tracks.
In Japan, the national standard is narrow gauge. Dual gauge is used where the Shinkansen (bullet train) lines join the main network. For example, part of the Ōu Main Line became part of the Akita Shinkansen and was converted to dual gauge in a limited section. The longest () dual gauge section in Japan is near, and in, the Seikan Tunnel. Sections of the Hakone Tozan Line are among a number of other dual-gauge lines.
Mexico previously had and dual gauge track.
The first railway lines in the Netherlands were constructed with a track gauge of . For the 1939 centennial celebration, an exact replica of the country's first locomotive "De Arend" was built using the original blueprints. Since 1953, the locomotive is housed at the Dutch National Railway Museum, where in recent years, a dual-gauge track has been constructed in the rail yard, allowing for the locomotive to drive back and forth on special occasions.
In Poland, there is of and dual-gauge track in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, linking Pleszew with a nearby mainline station. It is served by narrow-gauge passenger trains and standard-gauge freight trains.
In Portugal there were sections of dual gauge railways
Between 2008 and 2012, a dual-gauge cross-border track was rebuilt between Khasan, Russia, and Rajin-guyok, North Korea; its gauges were the Russian and Korean . Russian Railways : Demonstration train makes run between Rajin and Khasan RZD news
Similar arrangements exist on the approach to Kaliningrad, where track extends from the Polish border with some sections of dual gauge.
In Spain, there is of dual gauge in the AVE line from Zaragoza to Huesca, usable for both standard-gauge high-speed trains and Spanish network trains. Some dual-gauge sidings are at Port Bou on the French border. In 2009, Adif called for tenders for the installation of a third rail for standard-gauge trains on the between Castellbisbal and the Can Tunis freight terminal in Barcelona.
The bridges at the borders of Sweden and Finland, between Haparanda and Tornio have of dual gauge, and track. At each end of the dual-gauge section are yards with standard and Finnish gauge areas to allow for transshipment. Four rails are used because the gauges are close and the Structure gauge is wider than normal to allow for the offset from the centreline of each gauge. A Rafil variable gauge is at the Tornio yard.
Between Västervik and Jenny, Sweden, there is a and dual-gauge line and dual-gauge track in the Västervik station area.
In Switzerland, dual-gauge track and track exists between Lucerne and Horw of the Zentralbahn, between Niederbipp and Oberbipp of the Oberaargau-Jura Railways and between Chur and Domat/Ems of RhB. All three allow narrow-gauge passenger trains and standard-gauge freight trains to operate. A ″non-stop″ scheme (albeit with a pause to change locomotives) on the Montreux-Interlaken route was inaugurated in December 2022. The former Zollikofen-Worblaufen-Stettlen dual gauge was cut back to Papiermühle when the factory in Deisswil closed.
The railway tracks between the border with Slovakia at Solomonovo and the border with Romania at Nevetlenfolu are dual-gauge, and . This is in part due to the Austro-Hungarian heritage of the Zakarpattia Oblast, but also has military and political importance, as it allows standard-gauge trains to run between Romania and Slovakia by bypassing Hungary, otherwise impossible due to the break-of -gauge between the Russian-gauge network of Ukraine and standard-gauge networks of Romania and Slovakia.
The Great Western Railway in Britain was originally built to a broad gauge of 2134 mm (7 ft 0 in), subsequently widened to 2140 mm (7 ft 0 in). After a "gauge war", the gauge was converted to . A dual-gauge system was easily installed as the gauges were well separated and the line had wooden railroad tie. A short section of broad and standard gauge is at the Great Western Society site at Didcot.
In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Railway and Pacific Electric Railway ran on dual gauge track on some downtown streets.
In Vietnam, near the border with China, there is and dual-gauge track between Hanoi and Đồng Đăng. Other smaller dual-gauge sections exist elsewhere in the north-east of the country. The length of Vietnam railway network
See also
Notes
Notes to gallery photos
Further reading
External links
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