The CIA World Factbook Edition 1996 Transportation

Railways In 36 editions of 36.

Railways was published in 36 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2025. The 1996 edition carries it in 238 entries, in its Transportation section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.

entries in the 1996 edition
238
the first edition with it
1990
the latest edition with it
2025

Published as “Railways” (1996 to 2025) and “Railroads” (1990 to 1995).

the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Railways, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.

Entries with Railways in each edition

19902000201020202025

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World

1 entry

World

total:
  • 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America;
  • note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line
broad gauge:
251,153 km
standard gauge:
710,754 km
narrow gauge:
239,430 km

Africa

56 entries

Algeria

total:
4,772 km
standard gauge:
3,616 km 1.435-m gauge (301 km electrified; 215 km double track)
narrow gauge:
1,156 km 1.055-m gauge

Angola

total:
2,952 km (1995 est.); note - limited trackage in use because of landmines still in place from the civil war
narrow gauge:
2,798 km 1.067-m gauge; 154 km 0.600-m gauge

Benin

total:
578 km (single track) (1995 est.)
narrow gauge:
578 km 1.000-m gauge

Burkina Faso

total:
622 km (1995 est.)
narrow gauge:
622 km 1.000-m gauge (517 km Ouagadougou to Cote d'Ivoire border and 105 km opened in 1993 from Ouagadougou to Kaya)

Burundi

0 km

Cape Verde now Cabo Verde

0 km

Cameroon

total:
1,104 km (1995 est.)
narrow gauge:
1,104 km 1.000-m gauge

Central African Republic

0 km

Chad

0 km

Comoros

0 km

Zaire now Democratic Republic of the Congo

total:
5,138 km (1995); note - severely reduced trackage in use because of civil strife
narrow gauge:
  • 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified);
  • 125 km 1.000-m gauge;
  • 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge

Congo now Republic of the Congo

total:
795 km (1995 est.)
narrow gauge:
795 km 1.067-m gauge (includes 285 km that are privately owned)

Cote d'Ivoire

total:
660 km (1995 est.)
narrow gauge:
660 km 1.000-meter gauge; 25 km double track

Djibouti

total:
97 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge:
97 km 1.000-m gauge

Egypt

total:
4,751 km
standard gauge:
4,751 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 951 km double track)

Equatorial Guinea

total:
0 km

Eritrea

total:
  • 307 km;
  • note - nonoperational since 1978 except for about 5 km that was reopened in Massawa in 1994;
  • rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way;
  • links Ak'ordat and Asmara (formerly Asmera) with the port of Massawa (formerly Mits'iwa)
narrow gauge:
307 km 0.950-m gauge (1995 est.)

Swaziland now Eswatini

total:
297 km; note - includes 71 km which are not in use
narrow gauge:
297 km 1.067-m gauge (single track)

Ethiopia

total:
681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
narrow gauge:
681 km 1.000-m gauge

Gabon

total:
649 km Gabon State Railways (OCTRA)
standard gauge:
649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994)

The Gambia

0 km

Ghana

total:
953 km; note - undergoing major renovation (1995 est.)
narrow gauge:
953 km 1.067-m gauge; 32 km double track

Guinea

total:
1,086 km
standard gauge:
279 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
807 km 1.000-m gauge; note - includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry

Juan de Nova Island

total:
NA km; short line going to a jetty

Kenya

total:
2,652 km
narrow gauge:
2,652 km 1.000-m gauge

Lesotho

total:
2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge:
2.6 km 1.067-m gauge

Liberia

total:
  • 490 km (single track);
  • note - three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with Liberian Government;
  • one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased;
  • the other two have been shut down by the civil war
standard gauge:
345 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
145 km 1.067-m gauge

Libya

note: Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been no progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion set for mid-1994; no progress has been reported

Madagascar

total:
883 km
narrow gauge:
883 km 1.000-m gauge (1994)

Malawi

total:
789 km
narrow gauge:
789 km 1.067-m gauge

Mali

total:
641 km; note - linked to Senegal's rail system through Kayes
narrow gauge:
641 km 1.000-m gauge (1995)

Mauritania

total:
704 km (single track); note - owned and operated by government mining company
standard gauge:
704 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Mauritius

0 km

Mayotte

0 km

Morocco

total:
1,907 km
standard gauge:
1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1003 km electrified; 246 km double track) (1994)

Mozambique

total:
3,131 km
narrow gauge:
2,988 km 1.067-m gauge; 143 km 0.762-m gauge (1994)

Namibia

total:
2,382 km (1995)
narrow gauge:
2,382 km 1.067-m gauge; single track

Niger

0 km

Nigeria

total:
3,557 km (1995)
narrow gauge:
3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
standard gauge:
52 km 1.435-m gauge

Reunion

0 km

Rwanda

0 km

Saint Helena now Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

0 km

Sao Tome and Principe

0 km

Senegal

total:
904 km
narrow gauge:
904 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track) (1995)

Seychelles

0 km

Sierra Leone

total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed
narrow gauge:
84 km 1.067-m gauge

Somalia

0 km

South Africa

total:
21,431 km
narrow gauge:
20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)

Sudan

total:
5,516 km
narrow gauge:
4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line

Tanzania

total:
3,569 km (1995)
narrow gauge:
  • 2,600 km 1.000-m gauge;
  • 969 km 1.067-m gauge note:: the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), which operates 1,860 km of 1.067-m narrow gauge track between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri M'poshi in Zambia is not a part of Tanzania Railways Corporation;
  • 969 km are in Tanzania and 891 km are in Zambia;
  • because of the difference in gauge, this system does not connect to Tanzania Railways

Togo

total:
525 km (1995)
narrow gauge:
525 km 1.000-m gauge

Tunisia

total:
2,260 km
standard gauge:
492 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
1,758 km 1.000-m gauge
dual gauge:
10 km 1.000-m and 1.435-m gauges (1993 est.)

Uganda

total:
1,241 km single track
narrow gauge:
1,241 km 1.000-m gauge note:: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (1995)

Western Sahara

0 km

Zambia

total:
2,164 km (1995)
narrow gauge:
2,164 km 1.067-m gauge (13 km double track)

note: the total includes 891 km of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), which operates 1,860 km of 1.067-m narrow gauge track between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri M'poshi where it connects to the Zambia Railways system; TAZARA is not a part of Zambia Railways

Zimbabwe

total:
2,759 km (1995)
narrow gauge:
2,759 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified; 42 km double track) (1995 est.)

Arctic Region

3 entries

Greenland

0 km

Iceland

0 km

Svalbard

0 km

Asia

23 entries

Afghanistan

total:
24.6 km
broad gauge:
  • 9.6 km 1.524-m gauge from Gushgy (Turkmenistan) to Towraghondi;
  • 15 km 1,524-m gauge from Termiz (Uzbekistan) to Kheyrabad transshipment point on south bank of Amu Darya

Armenia

total:
825 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 825 km 1.520-m gauge (1992)

Azerbaijan

total:
2,125 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:
2,125 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (1993)

Bangladesh

total:
2,892 km
broad gauge:
978 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge:
1,914 km 1.000-m gauge (1992)

Bhutan

0 km

British Indian Ocean Territory

0 km

China

total:
58,399 km
standard gauge:
54,799 km 1.435-m gauge (7,174 km electrified; more than 11,000 km double track)
narrow gauge:
3,600 km 0.762-m gauge local industrial lines (1995)

Georgia

total:
1,570 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:
1,570 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

India

total:
62,462 km (11,793 km electrified; 12,617 km double track)
broad gauge:
37,824 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge:
20,653 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,985 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m gauge (1995 est.)

Japan

total:
26,506 km
standard gauge:
3,233 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)
narrow gauge:
  • 72 km 1.372-m gauge (72 km electrified);
  • 23,154 km 1.067-m gauge (13,835 km electrified);
  • 47 km 0.762-m gauge (47 km electrified) (1994)

Kazakstan now Kazakhstan

total:
13,841 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:
13,841 km 1.520-m gauge (3,299 km electrified) (1992)

Korea, North now North Korea

total:
4,915 km
standard gauge:
4,250 km 1.435-m gauge (3,397 km electrified; 159 km double track)
narrow gauge:
665 km 0.762-m gauge (1989)

Korea, South now South Korea

total:
3,101 km
standard gauge:
3,081 km 1.435-m gauge (560 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
20 km 0.762-m gauge

Kyrgyzstan

total:
370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:
370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Maldives

0 km

Mongolia

total:
1,928 km
broad gauge:
1,928 km 1.524-m gauge (1994)

Nepal

total:
101 km; note - all in Terai close to Indian border
narrow gauge:
101 km 0.762-m gauge

Pakistan

total:
8,163 km
broad gauge:
7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (293 km electrified; 1,037 km double track)
narrow gauge:
445 km 1.000-m gauge; 661 km less than 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.)

Russia

total:
  • 154,000 km;
  • note - 87,000 km in common carrier service (38,000 km electrified);
  • 67,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use
broad gauge:
154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)

Sri Lanka

total:
1,484 km
broad gauge:
1,459 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge:
25 km .762-m gauge (1995)

Tajikistan

total:
480 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines (1990)

Turkmenistan

total:
2,120 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:
2,120 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Uzbekistan

total:
3,460 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:
3,460 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)

Central America and the Caribbean

31 entries

Anguilla

0 km

Antigua and Barbuda

total:
77 km
narrow gauge:
64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane)

Aruba

0 km

The Bahamas

0 km

Barbados

0 km

Belize

0 km

British Virgin Islands

0 km

Cayman Islands

0 km

Costa Rica

total:
950 km
narrow gauge:
950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified)

note: the entire system was scheduled to be shut down on 31 June 1995 because of insolvency

Cuba

total:
4,677 km
standard gauge:
4,677 km 1.435-m gauge (132 km electrified)

note: a large amount of track is in private use by sugar plantations

Dominica

0 km

Dominican Republic

total:
757 km
standard gauge:
375 km 1.435-m gauge (Central Romana Railroad)
narrow gauge:
142 km 0.762-m gauge (Dominica Government Railway); 240 km operated by sugar companies in various gauges (0.558-m, 0.762-m, 1.067-m gauges) (1995)

El Salvador

total:
602 km (single track; note - some sections abandoned, unusable, or operating at reduced capacity)
narrow gauge:
602 km 0.914-m gauge

Grenada

0 km

Guadeloupe

total:
NA km; privately owned, narrow-gauge plantation lines

Guatemala

total:
884 km (102 km privately owned)
narrow gauge:
884 km 0.914-m gauge (single track)

Haiti

total:
40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line)-closed in early 1990's
narrow gauge:
40 km 0.760-m gauge

Honduras

total:
595 km
narrow gauge:
  • 190 km 1.067-m gauge;
  • 128 km 1.057-m gauge;
  • 277 km 0.914-m gauge

note: in 1993, there was a total of 988 km of track (1995)

Jamaica

total:
272 km
standard gauge:
  • 272 km 1.435-m gauge;
  • note - 207 km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation which were in common carrier service are no longer operational;
  • the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite

Martinique

0 km

Montserrat

0 km

Netherlands Antilles

0 km

Nicaragua

total:
0 km
narrow gauge:
0 km 1.067-m gauge; note - part of the previous 376 km system was closed and dismantled in 1993 and, in 1994, the remainder was closed, the track and rolling stock being sold for scrap

Panama

total:
355 km
broad gauge:
76 km 1.524-m gauge
narrow gauge:
279 km 0.914-m gauge

Puerto Rico

total:
96 km
narrow gauge:
96 km 1.000-m gauge, rural, narrow-gauge system for hauling sugarcane; no passenger service

Saint Kitts and Nevis

total:
58 km
narrow gauge:
58 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations (1995)

Saint Lucia

0 km

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

0 km

Trinidad and Tobago

note: minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; railway service was discontinued in 1968

Turks and Caicos Islands

0 km

Virgin Islands

0 km

Europe

45 entries

Albania

total:
670 km
standard gauge:
670 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Andorra

0 km

Austria

total:
5,624 km
standard gauge:
5,269 km 1.435-m gauge (3,263 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
355 km 1.000-m and 0.760-m gauge (86 km electrified) (1995)

Belarus

total:
5,488 km
broad gauge:
5,488 km 1.520-m gauge (873 km electrified) (1993)

Belgium

total:
3,396 km (2,363 km electrified; 2,563 km double track)
standard gauge:
3,396 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

total:
1,021 km (electrified 795 km)
standard gauge:
1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1991)

Bulgaria

total:
4,292 km
standard gauge:
4,047 km 1.435-m gauge (2,650 km electrified; 917 double track)
other:
245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)

Croatia

total:
2,699 km
standard gauge:
2,699 km 1.435-m gauge (1213 km electrified)

note: disrupted by territorial dispute with Serbia (1994)

Czech Republic now Czechia

total:
9,413 km
standard gauge:
9,316 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2640 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
97 km several narrow gauges (1995)

Denmark

total:
2,848 km (499 km privately owned and operated)
standard gauge:
2,848 km 1.435-m gauge (326 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1995)

Estonia

total:
1,018 km common carrier lines only; does not include dedicated industrial lines
broad gauge:
1,018 km 1.520-m gauge (132 km electrified) (1995)

Faroe Islands

0 km

Finland

total:
5,895 km
broad gauge:
5,895 km 1.524-m gauge (1,993 km electrified; 480 km double- or more-track) (1995)

France

total:
33,891 km
standard gauge:
  • 33,524 km 1.435-m gauge;
  • 32,275 km are operated by French National Railways (SNCF);
  • 13,741 km of SNCF routes are electrified and 12,132 km are double- or multiple-tracked
narrow gauge:
367 km 1.000-m gauge

note: includes Corsica; does not include 33 tourist railroads, totalling 469 km, many being of very narrow gauge (1995)

Germany

total:
43,966 km
standard gauge:
  • 43,531 km 1.435-m;
  • 40,355 km are owned by Deutsche Bahn AG (DB);
  • 17,015 km of the DB system are electrified and 16,941 km are double- or more-tracked
narrow gauge:
  • 389 km 1.000-m gauge (DB operates 146 km of 1.000-m gauge);
  • 7 km 0.900-m gauge;
  • 39 km 0.750-m gauge

note: in addition to the DB system there are 54 privately-owned industrial or excursion railways, ranging in route length from 2 km to 632 km, with a total length of 3,465 km (1995)

Gibraltar

total:
NA km; 1.000-m gauge system in dockyard area only

Guernsey

0 km

Holy See (Vatican City)

total:
862 meters; note - connects to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station
narrow gauge:
862 meters 1.435-m gauge

Hungary

total:
7,685 km
broad gauge:
35 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge:
7,474 km 1.435-m gauge (2,162 km electrified; 1,236 km double track)
narrow gauge:
176 km mostly 0.760-m gauge (1995)

note: Hungry and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway between Gyor, Sopron, Ebenfurti, and Vasut, a distance of about 100 km

Ireland

total:
1,944 km
broad gauge:
1,944 km 1.600-m gauge (37 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1995)

Man, Isle of now Isle of Man

total:
52 km (27 km electrified)

Italy

total:
18,961 km
standard gauge:
17,981 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 16,118 km of the total standard gauge routes (10,560 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 867 km 0.950-m gauge (144 km electrified)

Jersey

0 km

Latvia

total:
2,412 km
broad gauge:
2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992)
narrow gauge:
33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994)

Liechtenstein

total:
18.5 km; note - owned, operated, and included in statistics of Austrian Federal Railways
standard gauge:
18.5 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified)

Lithuania

total:
2,002 km
broad gauge:
2,002 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) (1994)

Luxembourg

total:
275 km standard gauge: 275 km 1.435-m gauge (262 km electrified; 178 km double track) (1995)

Malta

0 km

Moldova

total:
1,328 km
broad gauge:
1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992)

Monaco

total:
1.7 km standard gauge: 1.7 km 1.435-m gauge

Netherlands

total:
2,891 km
standard gauge:
2,891 km 1.435-m gauge; 2857 km are in common carrier service (1,991 km electrified) and 34 km serve tourists

Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of now North Macedonia

total:
699 km
standard gauge:
699 km 1.435-m gauge (232 km electrified) (1995)

Norway

total:
4,027 km
standard gauge:
4,027 km 1.435-m gauge (2422 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1995)

Poland

total:
25,166 km
broad gauge:
656 km 1.520-m gauge
standard gauge:
22,655 km 1.435-m gauge (11,496 km electrified; 8,978 km double track)
narrow gauge:
1,855 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1995)

Portugal

total:
3,068 km
broad gauge:
2,761 km 1.668-m gauge (464 km electrified; 426 km double track)
narrow gauge:
307 km 1.000-m gauge

note: in 1992, Portugal had 3,588 km of track of which 464 km were electrified

Romania

total:
11,374 km
broad gauge:
60 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge:
10,887 km 1.435-m gauge (3,866 km electrified; 3,060 km double track)
narrow gauge:
427 km 0.760-m gauge (1994)

San Marino

0 km; note - there is a 1.5 km cable railway connecting the city of San Marino to Borgo Maggiore

Serbia and Montenegro

total:
3,960 km
standard gauge:
3,960 km 1.435-m gauge (1,341 km electrified) (1992)

Slovakia

total:
3,660 km
broad gauge:
102 km 1.520-m gauge
standard gauge:
3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1378 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (1995)

Slovenia

total:
1,201 km
standard gauge:
1,201 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 499 km) (1994)

Spain

total:
14,343 km
broad gauge:
12,139 km 1.668-m gauge (6,510 km electrified; 2,295 km double track)
standard gauge:
488 km 1.435-m gauge (488 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
1,716 km (privately owned: 1,669 km 1.000-m gauge, 489 km electrified; 28 km 0.914-m gauge, 28 km electrified; government
owned:
19 km 1.000-m gauge, all electrified)

Sweden

total:
12,624 km (includes 953 km of privately-owned railways)
standard gauge:
11,767 km 1.435-m gauge (7,320 km electrified and 1,152 km double track)
other:
857 km NA-m gauge (1995)

Switzerland

total:
5,719 km (1,432 km double track)
standard gauge:
3,283 km 1.435-m gauge (99% electrified; 310 km nongovernment owned)
narrow gauge:
1,255 km 1.000-m gauge (99% electrified; 1,181 km nongovernment owned)
other:
1,181 km NA-m gauge (1995)

Ukraine

total:
23,350 km
broad gauge:
23,350 km 1.524-m gauge (8,600 km electrified)

United Kingdom

total:
17,561 km
broad gauge:
434 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 357 km is in common carrier use, is in Northern Ireland
standard gauge:
  • 16,892 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track);
  • note - 16,532 km of 1.435-m routes are in common carrier service;
  • the remaining 360 km are operated by a total of 40 tourist or other private companies
narrow gauge:
  • 235 km 0.260-m, 0.311-m, 0.381-m, 0.600-m, 0.610-m, 0.686-m, 0.760-m, 0.762-m, 0.800-m, 0.825-m, 0.914-m and 1.067-m gauges;
  • note - these short, narrow-gage lines are operated by a total of 25 tourist and other private firms (1995)

Middle East

17 entries

Bahrain

0 km

Cyprus

0 km

Gaza Strip

total:
  • NA km;
  • note - one line,
  • abandoned and in disrepair,
  • little trackage remains

Iran

total:
5,093 km
broad gauge:
96 km 1.676-m gauge
standard gauge:
4,997 km 1.432-m gauge (146 km electrified) (1995)

Iraq

total:
2,032 km
standard gauge:
2,032 km 1.435-m gauge

Israel

total:
526 km
standard gauge:
526 km 1.435-m gauge

Jordan

total:
676 km
narrow gauge:
676 km 1.050-m gauge; note - an additional 110 km stretch of the old Hedjaz railroad is out of use

Kuwait

0 km

Lebanon

total:
222 km
standard gauge:
222 km 1.435-m (from Beirut to the Syrian border)

Oman

0 km

Qatar

0 km

Saudi Arabia

total:
1,390 km
standard gauge:
1,390 km 1.435-m gauge (448 km double track) (1992)

Syria

total:
1,998 km
broad gauge:
1,766 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
232 km 1.050-m gauge

Turkey now Turkiye

total:
10,386 km
standard gauge:
10,386 km 1.435-m gauge (1,088 km electrified)

United Arab Emirates

0 km

West Bank

0 km

Yemen

0 km

North America

5 entries

Bermuda

0 km

Canada

total:
70,176 km; note - there are two major transcontinental
freight railway systems:
  • Canadian National (privatized November 1995) and Canadian Pacific Railway;
  • passenger service provided by government-operated firm VIA, which has no trackage of its own
standard gauge:
70,000 km 1.435-m gauge (63 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
176 km 0.914-m gauge (1995)

Mexico

total:
20,567 km
standard gauge:
20,477 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
90 km 0.914-m gauge (1994)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

0 km

United States

total:
240,000 km mainline routes (nongovernment owned)
standard gauge:
240,000 km 1.435-m gauge (1989)

Oceania

28 entries

American Samoa

0 km

Australia

total:
38,563 km (2,914 km electrified; 172 km dual gauge)
broad gauge:
6,083 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge:
16,752 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
15,728 km 1.067-m gauge

Cook Islands

0 km

Fiji

total:
597 km; note - belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation
narrow gauge:
597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)

French Polynesia

0 km

Guam

0 km

Johnston Atoll

0 km

Kiribati

0 km

Marshall Islands

0 km

Micronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia

0 km

Midway Islands

0 km

Nauru

total:
3.9 km; note - used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast

New Caledonia

0 km

New Zealand

total:
3,973 km
narrow gauge:
3,973 km 1.067-m gauge (504 km electrified)

Niue

0 km

Norfolk Island

0 km

Northern Mariana Islands

0 km

Palau

0 km

Papua New Guinea

0 km

Pitcairn Islands

0 km

Western Samoa now Samoa

0 km

Solomon Islands

0 km

Tokelau

0 km

Tonga

0 km

Tuvalu

0 km

Vanuatu

0 km

Wake Island

0 km

Wallis and Futuna

0 km

South America

14 entries

Argentina

total:
37,910 km
broad gauge:
24,124 km 1.676-m gauge (142 km electrified)
standard gauge:
2,765 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
11,021 km 1.000-m gauge (26 km electrified)

Bolivia

total:
3,691 km (single track)
narrow gauge:
3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995)

Brazil

total:
27,418 km (1,750 km electrified)
broad gauge:
5,730 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge:
194 km 1.440-m gauge
narrow gauge:
20,958 km 1.000-m gauge; 13 km 0.760-m gauge
dual gauge:
523 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges

Chile

total:
6,782 km
broad gauge:
3,743 km 1.676-m gauge (1,653 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
116 km 1.067-m gauge; 2,923 km 1.000-m gauge (40 km electrified) (1995)

Colombia

total:
3,386 km
standard gauge:
150 km 1.435-m gauge (connects Cerrejon coal mines to maritime port at Bahia Portete)
narrow gauge:
3,236 km 0.914-m gauge (1830 km in use) (1995)

Ecuador

total:
965 km (single track)
narrow gauge:
965 km 1.067-m gauge

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

0 km

French Guiana

0 km (1995)

Guyana

total:
88 km
standard gauge:
40 km 1.435-m gauge (dedicated to ore transport)
narrow gauge:
48 km 0.914-m gauge (dedicated to ore transport)

Paraguay

total:
971 km
standard gauge:
441 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
60 km 1.000-m gauge
other:
470 km various gauges (privately owned)

Peru

total:
2,041 km
standard gauge:
1,726 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
315 km 0.914-m gauge (1994)

Suriname

total:
166 km (single track)
standard gauge:
80 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
86 km 1.000-m gauge

Uruguay

total:
2,070 km (461 km closed; additional 460 km only partially operational)
standard gauge:
2,070 km 1.435-m gauge

Venezuela

total:
584 km (336 km single track; 248 km privately owned) standard gauge: 584 km 1.435-m gauge

Southeast Asia

15 entries

Brunei

total:
13 km private line
narrow gauge:
13 km 0.610-m gauge

Burma now Burma (Myanmar)

total:
3,569 km
narrow gauge:
3,569 km 1.000-m gauge (1995)

Cambodia

total:
603 km
narrow gauge:
603 km 1.000-m gauge

Christmas Island

24 km to serve phosphate mines

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

0 km

Hong Kong

total:
35 km
standard gauge:
35 km 1.435-m gauge

Indonesia

total:
6,458 km
narrow gauge:
5,961 km 1.067-m gauge (101 km electrified; 101 km double track); 497 km 0.750-m gauge (1995)

Laos

0 km

Macau

0 km

Malaysia

total:
1,806 km (Peninsular Malaysia 1,672 km; Sabah 134 km; Sarawak 0 km)
narrow gauge:
1,806 km 1.000-m gauge (Peninsular Malaysia 1,672 km; Sabah 134 km)

Philippines

total:
499 km
narrow gauge:
499 km 1.067-m gauge (1993)

Singapore

total:
38.6 km
narrow gauge:
38.6 km 1.000-m gauge

Taiwan

total:
4,600 km; note - 1,075 km in common carrier service and about 3,525 km is dedicated to industrial use
narrow gauge:
4,600 km 1.067-m

Thailand

total:
4,623 km
narrow gauge:
4,623 km 1.000-m gauge (99 km double track)

Vietnam

total:
2,835 km (in addition, there are 224 km not restored to service after war damage)
standard gauge:
151 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge:
2,454 km 1.000-m gauge
other gauge:
230 km NA-m dual gauge (three rails)

Cite this page

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 1996, “Railways”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/railways/1996.

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