
Track gauge conversions include
List of existing/underway conversions[]
Target (mm) | Original (mm) | Date | Location | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
600 | ||||
1067 | 1435 | 1972 | Australia | New South Wales. The Lithgow Zig Zag was preserved as a tourist railway, known as the Zig Zag railway. To save money the line was regauged from standard gauge to narrow gauge 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm) |
1067 | 1600 | 1979 | Australia | Victoria. The line from South Geelong to Queenscliff was closed and the section from Queenscliff to Drysdale was retained for use as a tourist railway while the rest of the line was ripped up and converted to a rail trail. The retained section was converted from broad gauge to narrow gauge (similar to a privately owned cement works at Fyansford near Geelong) |
1435 | 1067 | 1968 | Australia | Western Australia. As part of the Sydney-Perth standard gauge line, the railway between Perth and Kalgoorlie was converted to standard gauge (1435 mm) from narrow gauge (1067 mm). The line between Kalgoorlie and Southern Cross was built on a new alignment via Koolyanobbing and a new route between Perth and Northam via the Avon Valley was built as a double track dual gauge (1435/1067 mm) as well as a freight rail line built from Midland to Kwinana via Forrestfield and Kewdale. The Midland line as far as East Perth was converted to dual gauge.
The railway between Leonora and Esperance via Kalgoorlie was converted to standard gauge from narrow gauge several years later, with some minor rerouting to go via Kalgoorlie |
1435 | 1067 | 1969 | Australia | South Australia and New South Wales. As part of the Sydney-Perth standard gauge line, the railway between Broken Hill and Port Pirie was converted to standard gauge (1435 mm) from narrow gauge (1067 mm), as this was the final non-standard guage link between Sydney and Perth. The line west of Broken Hill was realigned to a straighter and more direct alignment than the old Silverton tramway route and a new deviation around Peterborough that was straighter and flatter than the old route |
1435 | 1067 | 1980 | Australia | South Australia and Northern Territory. The Adelaide to Alice Springs railway line was rerouted to a less flood prone alignment via Tarcoola, replacing the old narrow gauge (1067 mm) Central Australian Railway |
1435 | 1600 | 1982 | Australia | South Australia. The national network was extended to Adelaide, converting the Port Pirie to Adelaide line to standard gauge on a deviation to make Crystal Brook the triangular junction, bypassing several towns |
1435 | 1600 | 1995 | Australia | Victoria and South Australia. The Melbourne-Adelaide line was converted to standard gauge, as the last interstate line to be converted to standard gauge (ironically this was the first intercapital link to be built to a single gauge in the country). The route included a new parallel standard gauge line between Melbourne and Geelong, dual gauging of the Geelong-Gheringhap line (1600/1435 mm), conversion of the Gheringhap-Maroona line and the Maroona-Ararat line to standard gauge, where it rejoined the interstate line west of Ararat. A new route through the Adelaide Hills was proposed, but had to be abandoned due to overwhelming cost, however one track of the Belair line was converted to standard gauge, resulting in two parallel gauges.
To prevent gauge orphans, several Victorian and South Australian main and branch lines were converted to standard gauge. In South Australia the Loxton, Pinnaroo and Sedan lines were standardised and in Victoria the Portland, Hopetoun, Yaapeet and Ararat-Maryborough lines were standardised, and the Maryborough-Dunolly section of the Mildura line was converted to dual gauge. However the Mt Gambier lines and the direct line to Ballarat were mothballed. The broad gauge privately owned from Mt Barker to Victor Harbor was left as an isolated tourist railway |
1435 | 1600 | 2008-2010 | Australia | Victoria and New South Wales. The North East Line between Seymour and Albury was converted from broad to standard gauge, creating a double track railway between Seymour and Albury. To prevent gauge isolation, the Oaklands branch line was converted to standard gauge to allow grain transportation to Geelong and Appleton Dock to continue (ironically, Oaklands was a former break of gauge between the Victorian and New South Wales systems) |
1435 | 1067 | 2010 | Australia | Western Australia. The rail network that serves the port of Geraldton is still narrow gauge, however the rail lines have been massively upgraded to interstate standards with dual gauge (1435/1067 mm) concrete sleepers allowing for easy conversion from narrow to standard gauge.
The future 580 km railway connecting the the Geraldton network and servicing the proposed deepwater port at Oakajee is to be built to dual gauge (1435/1067 mm) |
1435 | 1600 | 2012 | Australia | South Australia. The Adelaide Metro network has been relaid with gauge convertible sleepers to allow for easy conversion from broad (1600 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm) as part of the electrification of Adelaide's suburban network. One advantage is that it'd allow for the Belair line to once again become a double track line
However, gauge conversion and electrification has been suspended due to lack of federal funding and not expected to resume until 2018 at the earliest |
1435 | 1600 | 2016-2018 | Australia | Victoria. As part of the Murray Basin Rail Project, the Mildura-Gheringhap, Dunolly-Manangatang, Korong Vale-Sea Lake and Ouyen-Murrayville lines will be converted from broad to standard guage as well as upgraded to heavier axle loads, to allow interoperability between North Western Victoria with Western Victoria, the Port of Portland and South Australia, all of which are standard gauge (the main focus being on grain and mineral sands).
The upgrade also involves reopening Ararat-Maryborough line with a new triangle at Ararat to allow trains to directly move between the Maryborough and Maroona lines, dual gauge (1600/1435 mm) between Geelong, Ballarat and Maryborough as well as eliminating dual gauge between Dunolly and Maryborough |
1435 | 1067 | 1881 | Canada | Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway, converted from narrow gauge (1067 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm), which was decided to be the Canadian standard gauge. By the decade, the entire Canadian network was converted to standard gauge |
1435 | 1067 | 1883 | Canada | Toronto to Nipissing Railway, converted from narrow (1067 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm), decided to be the Canadian standard gauge |
1435 | 1676 | 1880's | Canada | Numerous provincial railways across the country converted from broad (1676 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm) to allow for interoperability with the standard gauge railroads of the United States |
1435 | 1880's | United States | Various different broad, near standard and narrow gauges across the entire USA converted to standard gauge (1,435 mm) after the construction of the first Transcontinental railroad to standard gauge. Within the decade the entire USA and Canadian networks were converted to standard gauge | |
1435 | 1881 | United States | Denver to Pueblo converted from narrow (914 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm) on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. Various other lines converted to standard gauge across Colorado wherever traffic justified | |
1435 | 1473 | 1886 | United States | Morris and Essex converted from 4 ft 10 in (1473 mm) to 4 ft 8.5 in (1435 mm) in the course of 12 days |
1435 | 1524 | 1886 | United States | After extensive preparation, the entire southern USA rail network is converted from broad (1524 mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm) over the course of two days to allow interoperability with the rest of the country's railroads |
1524 | 1829 | 1897 | Russia | The first railway in Russia converted from 6 ft (1829 mm) gauge to 5 ft (1524 mm) gauge, decided to be the Russian standard gauge. |
1524 | 1067 | Russia | The Sakhalin Island Railways are to be converted from Japanese narrow gauge (1067 mm) to Russian broad gauge (1524 mm). As the conversion is to be done in sections, the line is to be temporarily built with a third rail to allow both Japanese and Russian gauge engines to utilize the line. Once the entire network is converted to Russian gauge, the third rails will be removed | |
1600 | 1067 | 1950 | Australia | South Australia. The Mt Gambier rail network to Bordertown and Millicent was converted from narrow to broad gauge to allow interoperatibility with the rest of South Australia and Victoria (which already had a broad gauge line from Mt Gambier to Heywood on the Portland line). The sleepers were designed to be converted to standard gauge in the distant future, which has yet to occur |
1676 | 1996–present | India | Conversion of all 17,000 kilometers of non-heritage railways from meter gauge and narrower gauges (762 and 610 mm) to 1676 mm gauge under project Unigauge to allow for interoperability of the whole system and greater capacity of former/existing </meter gauge lines |
Proposed[]
Origin (mm) | Target (mm) | Year | Location | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1067 | 1435 | Australia | New South Wales. The Casino-Murwillimbah railway line is currently disused, some proposals exist for the line to be converted from standard to narrow gauge (1067 mm) and become part of the Queensland network, though this would require the line to be extended back to Tweed Heads and a new railway built between Tweed Heads and Murwillimbah prior | |
1435 | 1600 | 2000 | Australia | Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. In 2000, the Victorian Government announced the gauge conversion of over 2000 kilometers of broad gauge freight rail lines to standard gauge
Lines to be standardised were the Mildura-Geelong, Dunolly-Robinvale, Korong Vale-Kulwin, Murrayville-Pinnaroo, Seymour-Albury, Benalla-Oaklands, Seymour-Tocumwal, Dookie, Toolamba-Echuca-Deniliquin, Barnes-Moulamien, the Maryborough-Moolort section of the Maryborough-Castlemaine line and the Heywood-Mt Gambier line Other infrastructure involved standard gauge access to the Port of Geelong, improved standard gauge access to the Port of Melbourne, a triangular junction at Tottenham in Melbourne, a triangular junction at Ararat and a bypass of Wodonga However due to inability to come to an agreement with the track owners, this never occurred in full. However the North East line to Albury along with the spur line to Oaklands and associated works were completed in 2010 and the assocated infrastructure in Melbourne and Geelong was completed. The North West network branching off the Mildura line and associated works is underway with works expected to be completed by 2018. However the Mt Gambier line and Goulburn Valley network are still yet to see any money allocated for standardisation |
1435 | 1067 | Australia | Western Australia. The Perth to Bunbury rail line was proposed to be upgraded and converted to standard gauge, replacing the Australind with a higher speed DMU service. | |
1435 | 1067 | Australia | Queensland. The proposed Surat Basin railway between Toowoomba and Gladstone, connecting the proposed Inland Railway between Melbourne and Brisbane via western NSW to the Port of Gladstone. The line is proposed to be initially narrow gauge (1067 mm), with the line to be future proofed to allow for conversion to standard gauge (1435 mm) and with 25kv AC overhead wiring | |
1435 | 1067 | Australia | Queensland and Northern Territory. The proposed railway connecting the Mt Isa to Tennant Creek on the Adelaide-Darwin railway will be built to standard gauge. To bolster this the Townsville-Mt Isa railway line will be upgraded to dual gauge (1435/1067 mm) and a new cross country line to Bowen on the North Coast line built, as part of the long term goal for an Inland Railway between Melbourne and Darwin | |
1435 | Australia | Eastern Seaboard. The proposed Inland Railway between Melbourne and Brisbane via western NSW (bypassing Sydney and Newcastle) will be built to standard gauge, with dual gauge (1435/1067 mm) between Inglewood and Brisbane, via a new alignment through the Toowoomba and Little Liverpool Ranges, as well as a more direct alignment through South West Queensland
All new sections (Illabo-Stockinbingal, Narromine-Narribri via the Gwabegar line, North Star-Inglewood) will be built to standard gauge. Bypasses of Toowoomba, Parkes and Moree will be built (under the NTR PPP scheme, all urban centers would be bypassed outright Potentially the line could go via Shepparton, Tocumwal, Narrandera and Forbes, which would involve converting the line from Seymour to Tocumwal from broad (1600 mm) to standard gauge, reopening the Tocumwal to Narrandera line with a new alignment between Finley and Jerilderie and a new line between Forbes (on the Cootamundra-Parkes line) and Narrandera | ||
1435 | 1600 | Australia | South Australia and Victoria. The Mt Gambier network to Heywood (on the Portland line), Millicent and Bordertown is currently broad gauge and is gauge isolated during the One Nation standardization project. However the steel sleepers allowed for east conversion to standard gauge and the rail remains in the event the network were to reopen | |
1435 | 1524 | United States/Russia | The proposed Bering Strait Crossing between the USA and Russia would require the rail line to be standard gauge to allow a break of gauge from the Russian broad gauge. Of course, at $100 billion USD, it's questionable if such a project will happen anytime soon | |
1524 | 1435 | Russia/Korea | A proposed railway between Moscow and Seoul, spurring off the Trans-Siberian railway for the movement of freight between Russia and Korea would require the rail line be either broad (1524 mm) or standard gauge (1435 mm), as the different gauges would be incapable of having a third rail due to the extremely small size disparity (89 mm) |