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This entry states the total route length of the railway network and of its component parts by gauge, which is the measure of the distance between the inner sides of the load-bearing rails. The four typical types of gauges are: broad, standard, narrow, and dual. Other gauges are listed under note. Some 60% of the world's railways use the standard gauge of 1.4 m (4.7 ft). Gauges vary by country and sometimes within countries. The choice of gauge during initial construction was mainly in response to local conditions and the intent of the builder. Narrow-gauge railways were cheaper to build and could negotiate sharper curves, broad-gauge railways gave greater stability and permitted higher speeds. Standard-gauge railways were a compromise between narrow and broad gauges.
total: 36,966 km
broad gauge: 26,475 km 1.676-m gauge (94 km electrified)
standard gauge: 2,780 km 1.435-m gauge (42 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 7,711 km 1.000-m gauge (2010)
total: 38,445 km
broad gauge: 3,355 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 21,674 km 1.435-m gauge (650 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 9,539 km 1.067-m gauge (2,067 km electrified); 3,877 km 1.000-m gauge (2010)
total: 6,399 km
standard gauge: 5,927 km 1.435-m gauge (3,853 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 384 km 1.000-m gauge (15 km electrified); 88 km 0.760-m gauge (10 km electrified) (2010)
total: 28,538 km
broad gauge: 5,627 km 1.600-m gauge (467 km electrified)
standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge
narrow gauge: 22,717 km 1.000-m gauge (2010)
total: 8,598 km
standard gauge: 8,322 km 1.435-m gauge (124 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 276 km 1.000-m gauge
note: 4,533 km of the track is used by sugar plantations; 4,257 km is standard gauge; 276 km is narrow gauge (2009)
total: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway)
narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway is under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but is largely inoperable (2010)
total: 283 km
narrow gauge: 283 km 0.600-m gauge
note: railways have been inoperable since 2005 because of disuse and high costs that led to a lack of maintenance (2010)
total: 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the 781 km Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge: 681 km 1.000-m gauge
note: railway is under joint control of Djibouti and Ethiopia but is largely inoperable (2008)
total: 597 km
narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge
note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during the harvest season, which runs from May to December (2008)
total: 41,981 km
standard gauge: 41,722 km 1.435-m gauge (20,053 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 220 km 1.000-m gauge (75 km electrified); 39 km 0.750-m gauge (24 km electrified) (2009)
total: 9,208 km
broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 7,802 km 1.435-m gauge (2,911 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 219 km 0.760-m gauge (2009)
total: 63,974 km
broad gauge: 54,257 km 1.676-m gauge (18,927 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 7,180 km 1.000-m gauge; 2,537 km 0.762-m gauge and 0.610-m gauge (2010)
total: 3,237 km
broad gauge: 1,872 km 1.600-m gauge (37 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briquetting plants) (2008)
total: 63 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.076-m gauge (6 km electrified); 57 km 0.914-m gauge (29 km electrified)
note: primarily summer tourist attractions (2008)
total: 20,254 km
standard gauge: 18,611 km 1.435-m gauge (12,662 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (123 km electrified); 1,290 km 0.950-m gauge (151 km electrified); 231 km 0.850-m gauge (2010)
total: 26,435 km
standard gauge: 3,978 km 1.435-m gauge (3,978 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 96 km 1.372-m gauge (96 km electrified); 22,313 km 1.067-m gauge (15,235 km electrified); 48 km 0.762-m gauge (48 km electrified) (2009)
total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m gauge
note: rail system unusable because of the damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2008)
total: 429 km
standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge
note: most sections of the railways were inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil wars from 1980 to 2003, but many are being rebuilt (2010)
total: 10,784 km
broad gauge: 57 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 10,645 km 1.435-m gauge (4,002 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 5 km 1.000-m gauge (2010)
total: 87,157 km
broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)
note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serve industries (2006)
total: 3,622 km
broad gauge: 99 km 1.520-m gauge
standard gauge: 3,473 km 1.435-m gauge (1,577 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 50 km 1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge (2008)
total: 15,288 km
broad gauge: 11,919 km 1.668-m gauge (6,950 km electrified)
standard gauge: 1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (1,054 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,949 km 1.000-m gauge (815 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2008)
total: 4,888 km
standard gauge: 3,397 km 1.435-m gauge (3,142 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,481 km 1.000-m gauge (1,378 km electrified); 10 km 0.800-m gauge (10 km electrified) (2008)
total: 1,482 km
standard gauge: 340 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,085 km 1.067-m gauge; 57 km 0.762-m gauge
note: the 0.762 gauge track belong to three entities, Taiwan Cement, TaiPower, and the Forestry Bureau (2009)
total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2008)
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