The CIA World Factbook Edition 1999 Transportation
Railways In 36 editions of 36.
Railways was published in 36 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2025. The 1999 edition carries it in 236 entries, in its Transportation section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.
- entries in the 1999 edition
- 236
- the first edition with it
- 1990
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Railways” (1996 to 2025) and “Railroads” (1990 to 1995).
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World
1 entryWorld
- 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
58 entriesAlgeria
- 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 (limited trackage in use because of land mines still in place from the civil war) (1997 est.)
- narrow gauge:
- 2,798 km 1.067-m gauge; 154 km 0.600-m gauge
Burkina Faso
- total:
- 622 km (517 km from Ouagadougou to the Cote d'Ivoire border and 105 km from Ouagadougou to Kaya)
- narrow gauge:
- 622 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the now Democratic Republic of the Congo
- total:
- 5,138 km (1995); note--severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by 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, Republic of the now Republic of the Congo
- total:
- 795 km (includes 285 km private track)
- narrow gauge:
- 795 km 1.067-m gauge (1995 est.)
Djibouti
- total:
- 97 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
- narrow gauge:
- 97 km 1.000-m gauge
note: in April 1998, Djibouti and Ethiopia announced plans to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals
Egypt
- total:
- 4,751 km
- standard gauge:
- 4,751 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 951 km double track)
Eritrea
- total:
- 307 km
- narrow gauge:
- 307 km 0.950-m gauge (1995 est.)
note: nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 km stretch 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)
Swaziland now Eswatini
- total:
- 297 km; note--includes 71 km which are not in use
- narrow gauge:
- 297 km 1.067-m gauge
Ethiopia
- total:
- 681 km (Ethiopian segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad)
- narrow gauge:
- 681 km 1.000-m gauge
note: in April 1998, Djibouti and Ethiopia announced plans to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals
Gabon
- total:
- 649 km Gabon State Railways (OCTRA)
- standard gauge:
- 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994)
Ghana
- total:
- 953 km (undergoing major rehabilitation)
- narrow gauge:
- 953 km 1.067-m gauge (32 km double track) (1997 est.)
Guinea
- total:
- 1,086 km
- standard gauge:
- 279 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 807 km 1.000-m gauge (includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry)
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 (1995)
Liberia
- total:
- 480 km (328 km single track);
- note--three rail systems owned and operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with the Liberian Government;
- one of these, the Lamco Railroad, closed in 1989 after iron ore production ceased;
- the other two were shut down by the civil war;
- large sections of the rail lines have been dismantled;
- approximately 60 km of railroad track was exported for scrap
- standard gauge:
- NA km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- NA 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
Mali
- total:
- 641 km; (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)
Morocco
- total:
- 1,907 km
- standard gauge:
- 1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,003 km electrified; 246 km double track) (1994)
Nigeria
- total:
- 3,557 km
- narrow gauge:
- 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge
- standard gauge:
- 52 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)
note: years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway
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
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)
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 Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia (of which 969 km are in Tanzania and 891 km are in Zambia) is not a part of Tanzania Railways Corporation; because of the difference in gauge, this system does not connect to Tanzania Railways
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 (three rails) (1993 est.)
Uganda
- total:
- 1,241 km
- narrow gauge:
- 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge
note: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (1995)
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 Kapiri Mposhi 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 entriesAsia
22 entriesAfghanistan
- 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:
- 2,745 km
- broad gauge:
- 923 km 1.676-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (1998 est.)
China
- total:
- 64,900 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails)
- standard gauge:
- 61,300 km 1.435-m gauge (12,000 km electrified; 20,000 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 3,600 km 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.)
note: a new total of 68,000 km has been estimated for early 1999
Georgia
- total:
- 1,583 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
- broad gauge:
- 1,583 km 1.520-m gauge (1993)
India
- total:
- 62,915 km (12,307 km electrified; 12,617 km double track)
- broad gauge:
- 40,620 km 1.676-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 18,501 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,794 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m gauge (1998 est.)
Japan
- total:
- 23,670.7 km
- standard gauge:
- 2,893.1 km 1.435-m gauge (entirely electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 89.8 km 1.372-m gauge (89.8 km electrified);
- 20,656.8 km 1.067-m gauge (10,383.6 km electrified);
- 31 km 0.762-m gauge (3.6 km electrified) (1994)
Kazakhstan
- total:
- 14,400 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
- broad gauge:
- 14,400 km 1.520-m gauge (3,299 km electrified) (1997)
Korea, North now North Korea
- broad gauge:
- NA km
- total:
- 5,000 km
- standard gauge:
- 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified; 159 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 665 km 0.762-m gauge
- dual gauge:
- 240 km 1.435-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) (1996 est.)
Korea, South now South Korea
- total:
- 6,240 km
- standard gauge:
- 6,240 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) (1998 est.)
Kyrgyzstan
- total:
- 370 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
- broad gauge:
- 370 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
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 (1996 est.)
Russia
- total:
- 150,000 km;
- note--87,000 km in common carrier service;
- 63,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use
- broad gauge:
- 150,000 km 1.520-m gauge (January 1997 est.)
Sri Lanka
- total:
- 1,501 km
- broad gauge:
- 1,442 km 1.676-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1995)
Uzbekistan
- total:
- 3,380 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
- broad gauge:
- 3,380 km 1.520-m gauge (300 km electrified) (1993)
Central America and the Caribbean
30 entriesAntigua 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)
Cuba
- total:
- 4,807 km
- standard gauge:
- 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified)
note: a large amount of track is in private use by sugar plantations
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
Haiti
- total:
- 40 km (single track; privately owned industrial line)--closed in early 1990s
- 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
Jamaica
- total:
- 370 km
- standard gauge:
- 370 km 1.435-m gauge;
- note--207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no longer operational;
- the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite
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)
Trinidad and Tobago
minimal agricultural railroad system near San Fernando; railway service was discontinued in 1968
Europe
46 entriesAustria
- total:
- 5,849 km (there is also 594 km of private tracks)
- standard gauge:
- 5,470 km 1.435-m gauge (3,418 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 379 km 1.000-m and 0.760-m gauge (84 km electrified) (1997)
Belgium
- total:
- 3,380 km (2,459 km electrified; 2,563 km double track)
- standard gauge:
- 3,380 km 1.435-m gauge (1996)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- total:
- 1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired)
- standard gauge:
- 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1995); note--some segments still need repair and/or reconstruction
Bulgaria
- total:
- 4,292 km
- standard gauge:
- 4,047 km 1.435-m gauge (2,650 km electrified; 917 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)
Croatia
- total:
- 2,296 km
- standard gauge:
- 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (796 km electrified)
note: some lines remain inoperative or not in use; disrupted by territorial dispute (1997)
Czech Republic now Czechia
- total:
- 9,440 km
- standard gauge:
- 9,344 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,743 km electrified at three voltages; 1,885 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 96 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (1996)
Denmark
- total:
- 3,323 km (458 km privately owned and operated)
- standard gauge:
- 3,323 km 1.435-m gauge (440 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1996)
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)
Finland
- total:
- 5,859 km
- broad gauge:
- 5,859 km 1.524-m gauge (2,073 km electrified; 480 km double- or more-track) (1996)
France
- total:
- 32,027 km ( 31,940 km are operated by French National Railways (SNCF); 13,803 km of SNCF routes are electrified and 12,132 km are double- or multiple-tracked)
- standard gauge:
- 31,928 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 99 km 1.000-m gauge
note: does not include 33 tourist railroads, totaling 469 km, many being of very narrow gauge (1996)
Germany
- total:
- 46,300 km including 18,866 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1996)
note: since privatization in 1994, Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG) no longer publishes details of the tracks it owns; in addition to the DBAG system there are 102 privately owned railway companies which own an approximate 3,000 km to 4,000 km of the total tracks
Greece
- total:
- 2,548 km
- standard gauge:
- 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge (36 km electrified; 23 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge (a rack type railway for steep grades)
Holy See (Vatican City)
- total:
- 862 m; note--connects to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station
- narrow gauge:
- 862 m 1.435-m gauge
Hungary
- total:
- 7,606 km
- broad gauge:
- 36 km 1.524-m gauge
- standard gauge:
- 7,394 km 1.435-m gauge (2,207 km electrified; 1,236 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 176 km 0.760-m gauge (1996)
note: Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway between Gyor, Sopron, Ebenfurt (Gyor-Sopron-Ebenfurti Vasut Rt) a distance of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria
Ireland
- total:
- 1,947 km
- broad gauge:
- 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (38 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1996)
Italy
- total:
- 19,272 km
- standard gauge:
- 17,983 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 15,942 km of the total standard gauge routes (10,889 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 112 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified); 1,177 km 0.950-m gauge (19 km electrified) (1996)
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)
Luxembourg
- total:
- 275 km
- standard gauge:
- 275 km 1.435-m gauge (262 km electrified; 178 km double track) (1995)
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of now North Macedonia
- total:
- 922 km
- standard gauge:
- 922 km 1.435-m gauge (232 km electrified) (1997)
Norway
- total:
- 4,012 km
- standard gauge:
- 4,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,422 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1996)
Poland
- total:
- 24,313 km
- broad gauge:
- 652 km 1.520-m gauge
- standard gauge:
- 22,243 km 1.435-m gauge (11,648 km electrified; 8,978 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 1,418 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1996)
Portugal
- total:
- 3,072 km
- broad gauge:
- 2,769 km 1.668-m gauge (528 km electrified; 426 km double track)
- narrow gauge:
- 303 km 1.000-m gauge (1996)
Romania
- total:
- 11,376 km
- broad gauge:
- 60 km 1.524-m gauge
- standard gauge:
- 10,889 km 1.435-m gauge (3,723 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:
- 3,987 km
- standard gauge:
- 3,987 km 1.435-m gauge (1,377 km partially electrified since 1992) (1998)
Slovakia
- total:
- 3,660 km
- broad gauge:
- 102 km 1.520-m gauge
- standard gauge:
- 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1424 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (1996)
Spain
- total:
- 15,079 km
- broad gauge:
- 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,355 km electrified; 2,295 km double track)
- standard gauge:
- 525 km 1.435-m gauge (480 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 1,773 km 1.000-m gauge (594 km electrified) (1996)
Sweden
- total:
- 13,415 km (includes 3,594 km of privately-owned railways)
- standard gauge:
- 13,415 km 1.435-m gauge (7,917 km electrified and 1,152 km double track) (1996)
Switzerland
- total:
- 4,479 km (1,564 km double track)
- standard gauge:
- 3,304 km 1.435-m gauge (3,288 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 1,165 km 1.000-m gauge (1,057 km electrified); 10 km 0.750-m or 0.800-m gauge (1996)
United Kingdom
- total:
- 16,878 km
- broad gauge:
- 342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note--all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 342 km is in common carrier use, is in Northern Ireland
- standard gauge:
- 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track) (1996)
Middle East
17 entriesNorth America
5 entriesCanada
- total:
- 67,773 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:
- 67,773 km 1.435-m gauge (183 km electrified) (1996)
Mexico
- total:
- 31,048 km
- standard gauge:
- 30,958 km 1.435-m gauge (246 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 90 km 0.914-m gauge (1998 est.)
United States
- total:
- 240,000 km mainline routes (nongovernment owned)
- standard gauge:
- 240,000 km 1.435-m gauge (1989)
Oceania
25 entriesAustralia
- total:
- 38,563 km (2,914 km electrified)
- 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
- dual gauge:
- 172 km NA gauges
Fiji
- total:
- 597 km; note--belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation
- narrow gauge:
- 597 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)
Nauru
- total:
- 3.9 km; note--used to haul phosphates from the center of the island to processing facilities on the southwest coast
South America
14 entriesArgentina
- total:
- 37,830 km
- broad gauge:
- 23,992 km 1.676-m gauge (167 km electrified)
- standard gauge:
- 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 11,073 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:
- 28,862 km (1,187 km electrified)
- broad gauge:
- 4,123 km 1.600-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 24,390 km 1.000-m gauge; 13 km 0.760-m gauge
- dual gauge:
- 336 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails)
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:
- 3,380 km
- standard gauge:
- 150 km 1.435-m gauge (connects Cerrejon coal mines to maritime port at Bahia de Portete)
- narrow gauge:
- 3,230 km 0.914-m gauge (1,830 km in use) (1995)
Guyana
- total:
- 88 km (all dedicated to ore transport)
- standard gauge:
- 40 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 48 km 0.914-m gauge
Paraguay
- total:
- 971 km
- standard gauge:
- 441 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 60 km 1.000-m gauge
note: there are 470 km of various gauges that are privately owned
Suriname
- total:
- 166 km (single track)
- standard gauge:
- 80 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 86 km 1.000-m gauge
Southeast Asia
15 entriesIndonesia
- 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)
Singapore
- total:
- 38.6 km
- narrow gauge:
- 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge
note: there is a 67 km mass transit system with 42 stations
Taiwan
- total:
- 4,600 km (519 km electrified); note--1,108 km belongs to the Taiwan Railway Administration and the remaining 3,492 km is dedicated to industrial use
- narrow gauge:
- 4,600 km 1.067-m
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
- dual gauge:
- 230 km NA-m gauges (three rails)
Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 1999, “Railways”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/railways/1999.