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Country Comparison :: Railways
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.
Download Data
Rank
 country (km) Date of Information
1 United States
224,792
2010
2 Russia
87,157
2010
3 China
86,000
2009
4 India
63,974
2010
5 Canada
46,552
2009
6 Germany
41,981
2009
7 Australia
38,445
2010
8 Argentina
36,966
2010
9 France
29,640
2009
10 Brazil
28,538
2010
11 Japan
26,435
2009
12 Ukraine
21,684
2010
13 Italy
20,254
2010
14 South Africa
20,192
2010
15 Poland
19,428
2010
16 Mexico
17,166
2010
17 United Kingdom
16,454
2010
18 Spain
15,293
2010
19 Kazakhstan
15,079
2010
20 Sweden
11,633
2010
21 Romania
10,784
2010
22 Czech Republic
9,632
2010
23 Hungary
9,208
2009
24 Turkey
8,699
2010
25 Cuba
8,598
2009
26 Iran
8,442
2008
27 Pakistan
7,791
2010
28 Chile
7,082
2010
29 Austria
6,399
2010
30 Sudan
5,978
2010
31 Finland
5,919
2009
32 Belarus
5,537
2010
33 Korea, North
5,242
2009
34 Egypt
5,083
2010
35 Indonesia
5,042
2009
36 Burma
5,031
2010
37 Switzerland
4,876
2010
38 Mozambique
4,787
2010
39 Norway
4,169
2010
40 Bulgaria
4,151
2009
41 New Zealand
4,128
2010
42 Thailand
4,071
2010
43 Congo, Democratic Republic of the
4,007
2010
44 Algeria
3,973
2008
45 Tanzania
3,689
2010
46 Bolivia
3,652
2010
47 Uzbekistan
3,645
2010
48 Slovakia
3,622
2010
49 Nigeria
3,505
2010
50 Zimbabwe
3,427
2010
51 Korea, South
3,381
2008
52 Serbia
3,379
2010
53 Portugal
3,319
2010
54 Ireland
3,237
2008
55 Belgium
3,233
2010
56 Turkmenistan
2,980
2010
57 Azerbaijan
2,918
2009
58 Netherlands
2,896
2010
59 Angola
2,764
2010
60 Croatia
2,722
2009
61 Denmark
2,667
2008
62 Namibia
2,626
2010
63 Bangladesh
2,622
2010
64 Greece
2,548
2009
65 Vietnam
2,347
2010
66 Iraq
2,272
2008
67 Latvia
2,239
2010
68 Tunisia
2,165
2010
69 Zambia
2,157
2010
70 Morocco
2,067
2010
71 Kenya
2,066
2010
72 Syria
2,052
2010
73 Peru
2,020
2010
74 Mongolia
1,908
2010
75 Malaysia
1,849
2010
76 Lithuania
1,767
2010
77 Uruguay
1,641
2010
78 Georgia
1,612
2009
79 Taiwan
1,580
2010
80 Sri Lanka
1,449
2010
81 Saudi Arabia
1,378
2010
82 Uganda
1,244
2010
83 Slovenia
1,228
2009
84 Estonia
1,196
2010
85 Moldova
1,190
2010
86 Guinea
1,185
2009
87 Philippines
995
2010
88 Cameroon
987
2010
89 Israel
975
2010
90 Ecuador
965
2010
91 Ghana
947
2009
92 Senegal
906
2010
93 Botswana
888
2010
94 Congo, Republic of the
886
2010
95 Colombia
874
2010
96 Armenia
869
2010
97 Madagascar
854
2010
98 Venezuela
806
2010
99 Malawi
797
2010
100 Macedonia
699
2010
101 Cambodia
690
2010
102 Ethiopia
681
2008
103 Tajikistan
680
2010
104 Cote d'Ivoire
660
2010
105 Gabon
649
2009
106 Burkina Faso
622
2010
107 Bosnia and Herzegovina
601
2009
108 Fiji
597
2008
109 Mali
593
2010
110 Togo
568
2010
111 Jordan
507
2010
112 Kyrgyzstan
470
2010
113 Benin
438
2010
114 Kosovo
430
2007
115 Liberia
429
2010
116 Lebanon
401
2008
117 Albania
339
2010
118 Guatemala
332
2009
119 Eritrea
306
2010
120 Swaziland
301
2008
121 El Salvador
283
2010
122 Costa Rica
278
2010
123 Luxembourg
275
2010
124 Montenegro
250
2010
125 Dominican Republic
142
2010
126 Djibouti
100
2010
127 Panama
76
2010
128 Honduras
75
2009
129 Isle of Man
63
2008
130 Nepal
59
2010
131 Saint Kitts and Nevis
50
2008
132 Paraguay
36
2010
133 Christmas Island
18
2010
134 Liechtenstein
9
2011
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