Rapid transit track gauge

Track gauge

By transport mode
Tram Rapid transit Miniature Scale model
By size (list)
Minimum   Minimum   Fifteen inch 381 mm (15 in) Narrow   600 mm Two foot Two foot three inch 600 mm 610 mm 686 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) (2 ft) (2 ft 3 in)   750 mm Bosnian gauge Two foot six inch 750 mm 760 mm 762 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) (2 ft 6 in)   Swedish three foot 900 mm Three foot Italian metre 891 mm 900 mm 914 mm 950 mm (2 ft 11+3⁄32 in) (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in) (3 ft) (3 ft1+13⁄32 in)   Metre 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)   Three foot six inch 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)   Four foot 1,219 mm (4 ft)   Four foot six inch 1,372 mm (4 ft 6 in)   1432 mm 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)   Standard 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Broad   Italian broad gauge Dresden gauge 1,445 mm 1,450 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in) (4 ft 9+3⁄32 in)   Leipzig gauge 1,458 mm (4 ft 9+13⁄32 in)   Toronto gauge 1,495 mm (4 ft 10+7⁄8 in)   1520 mm Five foot 1,520 mm 1,524 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) (5 ft)   Pennsylvania gauge Pennsylvania gauge Five foot three inch 1,581 mm 1,588 mm 1,600 mm (5 ft 2+1⁄4 in) (5 ft 2+1⁄2 in) (5 ft 3 in)   Baltimore gauge 1,638 mm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)   Iberian gauge Five foot six inch 1,668 mm 1,676 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) (5 ft 6 in)   Six foot 1,829 mm (6 ft)   Brunel 2,140 mm (7 ft 1⁄4 in)   Breitspurbahn 3,000 mm (9 ft 101⁄8 in)
Change of gauge
Break-of-gauge Dual gauge Conversion list Bogie exchange Variable gauge
By location
North America South America Europe Australia

Rapid transit track gauge is often 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, but also 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm), 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in), 1,524 mm (5 ft), and 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in).

Broad gauge

Indian gauge

Delhi Metro uses Indian gauge, but new lines are built to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in).

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) uses Indian gauge, though most railroad lines in the United States are built to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge.

Irish gauge

• Brasília Metro
• Belo Horizonte Metro
• Porto Alegre Metro
• Rio de Janeiro Metro
• São Paulo Metro - new lines use standard gauge

Pennsylvania trolley gauge

• Market–Frankford Line

Finnish gauge

• Helsinki Metro 21 km

Russian gauge

• Moscow Metro (312 km) uses 1,524 mm (5 ft).

Madrid gauge

Madrid Metro (293 km) uses 1,445 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in).

Toronto TTC Gauge

The Toronto Subway (68.3 km) uses 1495 mm.

Standard gauge usage

Standard gauge usage for all lines

Some of the largest subway systems in the world use standard gauge in agreement with the country wide dominant usage for track gauge, e.g.:

• Asia: Seoul Metropolitan Subway, Beijing Subway, Shanghai Metro, Mass Rapid Transit, Tehran Metro
• Americas: New York City Subway, Mexico City Metro.
• Europe: London Underground, Paris Métro.

Some networks use standard gauge while the country wide standard for track gauge is different, e.g.:

• Buenos Aires Underground - country uses Indian gauge
• Santiago Metro - country uses Indian gauge
• RapidKL Rail - country standard is Meter gauge
• Manila Light Rail Transit System - country uses 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge
• Mumbai Metro (planned) - country standard is Indian gauge
• Ho Chi Minh City Metro (planned) - country standard is Meter gauge
• Bogotá Metro (planned) - country standard is three foot gauge
• Train for the vicinities of the city of Bogotá (planned) - country standard is three foot gauge

Standard gauge usage for new lines

In some networks new lines are built to standard gauge while old lines in the network use another gauge, e.g.:

• Delhi Metro - old lines use Indian gauge
• São Paulo Metro - old lines use Irish gauge, country standard is Meter gauge

Narrow gauge

4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) gauge

• Tokyo (Toei Shinjuku Line)

4 ft (1,219 mm) gauge

• Glasgow Subway

3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge

• Majority of Tokyo Metro, and Toei Mita Line
• Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit

Meter gauge

• Metrovalencia
• Metro Bilbao
• Metro de Palma
• Barcelona Metro line 8

Multiple sizes in one network

In some networks multiple gauges are used even amongst lines that are built around the same time, like the Toei Subway which uses three gauges:

• 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge (Toei Mita Line)
• 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) (Toei Shinjuku Line)
• Standard gauge (Toei Asakusa Line, Toei Oedo Line)

The Tokyo Metro uses two gauges: standard gauge for the Ginza and Marunouchi Lines, and 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) for all other lines.

In other networks, very similar track gauges may be used, as is the case with the Hong Kong MTR (1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in) and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)).

See also

• List of track gauges