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Track width in Russia and other countries

Railway transportation is one of the most leading types of transportation of passengers and cargo. Few people think about the width of the track, taking a train. Even fewer people know what these parameters were dictated by. For various reasons, the track gauge in different countries has significant differences.

A bit of history

A science fiction writer from England, Herbert George Wells, tells us that the size of the rut was selected based on the distance between the wheels of an ordinary horse cart. This can be found in his book "Foresight."

The development of rail transport falls on the middle of the 19th century. At the same time, giants in this industry maximize their influence in business circles. Of course, at the same time, a significant increase in industry is recorded.

The first locomotives were perceived as an alternative to horsepower. Their parameters fully corresponded to the size of the crews. This is what dictated the dimensions of the first railway transport and the width of the track (1435 mm).

Not all the first ways were laid on the basis of the generally accepted norm. Thus, for example, the width of the railway gauge on the road from Dublin to Drogheda (Ireland) was 1600 mm.

Struggle for gauge

Engineer Isambart Brunel, who lived in 1806-1859, always spoke in favor of widening the track. In 1835 the construction of the Great Western Road was completed. The distance between the rails was 2135 mm.

The disagreement on the question of which width of the railway should be taken as standard was continued until 1845. During the time of disputes, the operational characteristics of roads of various types were carefully studied. For the adoption of the only correct decision in England, a special parliamentary commission was created, which was to establish the uniform dimensions of the railway gauge. Thus, in 1845, there was a law on the construction of railways with a gauge of 1435 mm. And the existing ways that did not comply with these data, had to be reconstructed. Violators faced a fine of 10 pounds sterling for every mile for 1 day of the existence of the illegal road.

Special conditions for Ireland

The Great Western road was forced to lay another, third, rail. For Ireland, the government of England made an exception (the track width is here and still is 1600 mm). In the country in the 40s of the 19th century, the ruts of the six standards coexisted safely. In order for the problem to be solved fairly, the government defined a single standard, calculating the average result.

US Railways

In the US, before the civil war, the states sought to isolate themselves. Of course, this could not but affect the transport. The first roads were very different from the distance between the rails. In New York, a law was approved that forbade other branches to connect with roads (the width of their track was 1524 mm).

From 1865 to 1886, there was a unification of American highways. States begin to find ways of interaction, the English standard is gaining more and more supporters.

Only in February 1886, the "Convention" was adopted, which consolidated the introduction of a single gauge in the United States. The length of the 21,000 km line was changed in just two days. And the training took 79 days. The width of the railway gauge in the USA was reduced to 1435 mm. The same size at the Canadian railway.

European Railways

The English gauge (1435 mm) was common on the European continent. Legislatively, this size was approved in different countries at different times: in Bavaria in 1836, in Prussia in 1837, on the territory of the entire German TS - in 1850.

Since then, the breadth of railways in Europe, adopted in England, is taken as the basis and is the most common.

However, the origins of these parameters should be sought in ancient Rome. In those distant times, in order to prevent permanent breakdowns of chariots, it was decided to create wagons with the same distance between the wheels (and it was equal to 1435 mm).

Wide gauge

In addition to Ireland, the wide track (1600 mm) is also used in countries such as Australia (partly since 1854) and Brazil. A wider (1676 mm) was introduced in Spain in 1848, in Portugal in 1854, in Argentina in 1857, and even later in India, Chile, and Ceylon.

In all these countries, the width of the track adopted at that time has so far remained predominant.

And what about Russia?

The width of the railway track in Russia was more English. From the figure of 1829 mm, introduced on the Tsarskoye Selo road, the country moved to a size of 1524 mm. It was typical for the Moscow-Petersburg road. Later this parameter became the norm. Apparently, Russian engineers borrowed the figure from the United States. At that time, consultants from America took an active part in paving new paths.

The width of 1524 mm was justified by economic calculations. When creating such a rut, the government carried less unnecessary costs. Perhaps this was also a strategic decision. As neighboring countries could not invade the country through railroads.

In the late 60s of the last century, the gauge was reduced to 1520 mm. This was done for convenience of calculations. For today, transport routes with tracks of 1520 and 1524 mm occupy the second place in the world along the length of roads (their total duration).

The width of the railway in Russia and Europe was taken as standard at different times. For whatever reasons, the regions did not come to a common indicator, for certain it is not known.

Russian subways

The width of the railway in Russia in all subways is the same as on most of the country's railways. This also applies to all CIS countries. Tram lines of Russia have a similar distance between rails - 1520 mm. There are several cities that differ in this respect. In Rostov-on-Don, for example, the European track is paved. Its width is 1435 mm. In some Russian subjects and settlements of the CIS, a narrow track of 1000 mm width is used for the movement of trams. These are cities such as Kaliningrad (Russia), Pyatigorsk (Russia), Lviv (Ukraine), Zhytomyr (Ukraine), Vinnitsa (Ukraine) and others.

Countries with Russian track

The width of the track with the indicators 1520 and 1524 mm takes place in a number of countries. Basically it is the countries of the former USSR and bordering on it: Finland, Mongolia, Afghanistan. Of course, this does not mean that there are no other gauge used.

There are such options, when several railway canvases are used, the width of which differs from the accepted standard. For example, in Bulgaria there is a small section of the road in Varna on the ferry. In Germany - in the port of Sassnitz. The width of the railroad gauge in China at border crossings with Russia also has a corresponding size. In the DPRK in 2011, restored the site at the border crossing Hassan-Tumangan. Romania has a line that connects the metallurgical plant and Moldova. Also, there are such shortcuts in Slovakia, Sweden, and Iran.

Despite the fact that the width of the railway track in Europe differs from our parameters, the sections with the Russian track allow us to save money with frequent transportation of goods from factories, plants and with a large stable passenger traffic.

Narrow gauge application

When only started to lay rails, in England there was a road with a gauge of 590 mm. Then such a railway bed was laid in France, Belgium, Scandinavia. In Russia, a narrow gauge railway was also introduced (in 1871).

In some countries, such roads are still used. So, for example, in the Cape Colony their extent is so great (112 thousand kilometers) that they remained unchanged. The road is called - "Cape gauge", its width - 1067 mm.

In South Africa and Central Africa, the Philippines, New Zealand, Japan and Australia, there are also such narrow railways. The width of the railway gauge on Sakhalin also had a size of 1067 mm. Since 2004, Russian Railways has been reconstructing to increase the volume of cargo flow.

In Japan, highways are built for high-speed trains with a distance between rails of 1435 mm.

The width of the railway in Russia on the border with Poland and to Kaliningrad is the same. Now several such ways are arranged at the Southern Railway Station of this city.

In the USSR, a gauge width of 750 mm was also used. These paths ranked second in popularity and were used until 1980. At present, they are either crossed to the generally accepted standard, or simply shut down.

In some European countries , 1000 mm paths were used.

Disadvantages of narrow-gauge lines

The narrow gauge was always chosen for reasons of economy. On them only light compositions could move freely. This helped reduce the cost of building railroads. Calculations showed that the road in Festignog would cost three times as much if it had a normal track.

Unfortunately, this width did not allow to satisfy all needs. At the end of the 19th century, countries began to actively move to larger sizes.

Despite the confidence of the narrow gauge supporters and their desire to prove the feasibility and practicality of such paintings, these views were not accepted by the majority. And 1435-millimeter tracks spread with great speed on roads of different significance.

Now narrow gauge is used for industrial transportation inside large plants and combines, for tourist routes, in mines, on some lines inland for the transportation of passengers.

Some statistics and oddities

Roads with a gauge of 1435 mm are the most common. Their share is 75% of all railways. The wider range is within 11%, and the narrow gauge is 14%.

The length of railways around the world is 1.2 million km. Most roads are laid in the USA (almost 240 thousand km). On the second place Canada (90 thousand km). The third place belongs to Russia (86 thousand km).

The narrowest gauge (0 mm) can boast a part of the railway in Germany, where one rail was used. This path was of an experimental nature.

The widest track of the railway (3000 mm) was proposed by Hitler's General Staff in order to export raw materials and materials from occupied Ukraine and other European countries. The victory over the fascists made this plan impossible. The three-meter width of the railway in Ukraine remained only on paper.

The most common gauge

Track gauge (mm) Length (km) Name of road Countries where used
1676 42300 Indian India, Chile, Pakistan, Argentina
1668 14300 Iberian Spain and Portugal
1600 9800 Irish Ireland, Brazil and Australia (in part)
1524 7000 Russian Estonia and Finland
1520 220000 Russian In the CIS countries, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Mongolia (partially)
1435 720000 European Europe, Canada, USA, China, Australia, Korea, North Africa, Middle East, Cuba, Panama, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay
1067 112,000 Cape South Africa, Central Africa, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Sakhalin (Russia)
1000 95,000 Metro Asia (southeast), India, Bolivia, Brazil, Uganda, Chile, Kenya

Difficulties in using a gauge with different widths

The use of canvasses with different track widths in different countries of the world creates a number of inconveniences when transporting goods and transporting passengers. On the place of "meeting" of such ways it is necessary to transplant people (move the goods). Also, technology is used to rearrange wagons to other trolleys.

The width of the railway in Russia and Europe differs by 85 mm. Therefore, all crossings of the border are associated with additional difficulties. The most used standards are European and Russian ruts.

The largest number of docking points (15 pieces) is concentrated on the border areas with Ukraine. These are nodes in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. The width of the railway track in Russia and Ukraine is the same. Nevertheless, all cars have to be rearranged. This operation takes at least two hours for passenger transport. Freight personnel can stand weeks in line for a reshuffle.

Back in 1968, the technology of automatic change in track width was developed. This happens at a low speed without the participation of railway workers.

Of course, considering all these factors, many prefer to send their goods by sea. The Baltic ports are fully loaded. Representatives of the European railway companies and the management of the Russian railway are constantly discussing the possibility of improving the docking of tracks in an automatic mode.

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