BREAK-OF-GAUGE : Comprehensive Encyclopedia

With railways, a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded. Either way, a break-of-gauge adds delays, cost and inconvenience to traffic that must pass from one gauge to another.

Bogies exchange operation in Ussurisk (near Vladivostok) at the Chinese–Russian border.

Transloading of freight from cars of one gauge to cars of another is very labour intensive, and increases the risk of damage to goods. If the capacity of freight cars on each system does not match, additional inefficiencies arise. Technical solutions to avoid transloading include variable gauge axles, replacing the trucks of cars, and the use of transporter cars that can carry a car of a different gauge.

Between standard gauge and broad gauges or standard gauge and narrow gauges axles or bogies (trucks) are exchanged at break-of-gauge points. This happens in Argentina, on the Spanish border and the Russian borders. Talgo and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles have developed dual gauge axles (variable gauge axles) which permit through running.

In some cases, breaks of gauge are avoided by installing dual gauge track, either permanently or as part of a changeover process to a single gauge.

Another form of break-of-gauge occurs where there is a difference in loading gauge between railroads. This is the case between Great Britain and continental Europe. Since the British loading gauge is much smaller, European-sized cars cannot enter most of the British rail network, even though the rail gauge is the same. So British rail cars go, by train ferry or the Channel Tunnel to the continent and are loaded there, instead of the French cars traveling into the UK.

One solution to the break-of-gauge problem - the transporter car.

Major breaks of gauge

Major breaks of gauge between large systems include:

Africa

many missing links where railways between and within countries do not link up.
rail lines links by ferries on convenient rivers or lakes. See portage railways.
countless potential break-of-gauge stations where missing links to be completed.

Asia

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has decided to resolve most of its break of gauge problem by adding a third rail to most of its broad and narrow gauge tracks so as to convert them to dual gauge.

China

China (standard gauge) on one hand, Mongolia and Russia (1520 mm) on the other.

China (standard gauge), Vietnam (metre gauge)

India

India has decided that towns on the narrow gauge system get a second class service, and has decided to convert a significant proportion of the narrow gauge system to broad gauge.

Iran

Iran with its standard gauge has break-of-gauge services at the borders to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and will soon have a new break-of-gauge with Pakistan.

Thailand

Several countries bordering Thailand use metre gauge track, but there are missing links between Thailand and Vietnam via Cambodia.

Vietnam

See China above.

Australia

Queensland (1067 mm) and New South Wales (1435 mm)
New South Wales (1435 mm) and Victoria (1600 mm)
Southern South Australia uses broad gauge the same as Victoria. Northern South Australia had a number of narrow gauge 1067 mm lines, leading to several break-of-gauge stations at various times including Hamley Bridge, Terowie, Peterborough, Gladstone and Port Pirie.
In the latter part of the 20th century, all mainland capital cities were connected to a standard gauge (1435 mm) network, leading to more breaks of gauge (or branchline closures) in states where this is not the norm.
Perth's railway system is narrow gauge, while the Indian Pacific is standard gauge. The line between East Perth and Midland, the eastern suburban terminus, and inland to the major rail junction at Northam is dual gauge. All rail after this is standard gauge.

Europe

France (1435 mm) and Spain (1668 mm)
Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania (1435 mm) and former Soviet Union countries: Russia (Kaliningrad), Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova (1520 mm)
Great Britain and Europe - track gauge is the same 1435 mm, but the British loading gauge is much smaller. The Channel Tunnel itself has a much larger loading gauge than either England or France. See "Inconvenience" (last paragraph) above.
Finland (1524 mm) and Sweden (1435 mm), between Tornio and Haparanda. Railway ferries between Finland and Sweden or Germany.

Switzerland, see "Minor breaks of gauge" below.

North America

The United States of America had broad, narrow and standard gauge tracks in the 19th Century, but is now almost entirely 1435 mm. Similarly the adjacent countries of Canada and Mexico.

Minor breaks of gauge

Wherever there are narrow gauge lines that connect with a standard gauge line, there's technically a break-of-gauge. However, if the amount of traffic transferred between lines is small, this might be a small inconvenience only. In Austria and Switzerland there are numerous breaks-of-gauge between standard gauge main lines and narrow gauge mountain railways.

Also, the line between Finland and Russia has a minor break-of-gauge. Finnish gauge is 1524 mm and Russian 1520 mm, but this does not stop through-running.

A minor break-of-gauge could be operationally avoided by placing it at the point where a cargo must be removed from cars anyway. An example of this would be the East Broad Top Railroad which had a coal wash and preparation plant located at their break-of-gauge in Mount Union in the United States of America. The coal would be unloaded from the narrow gauge cars of the EBT, but after processing were loaded into the standard gauge cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Other issues

While track gauge is the most important factor preventing through running between adjacent systems, other issues can also be a hindrance, including loading gauge, couplings, brakes, electrification, signalling systems, rules and regulations and language.

BREAK-OF-GAUGE

Contents

Inconvenience