The CIA World Factbook Edition 2001 Transportation

Railways In 36 editions of 36.

Railways was published in 36 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2025. The 2001 edition carries it in 236 entries, in its Transportation section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.

entries in the 2001 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).

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

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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

58 entries

Algeria

total:: 4,820 km standard gauge: 3,664 km 1.435-m gauge (301 km electrified; 215 km double track) narrow gauge: 1,156 km 1.055-m gauge (1996)

Angola

total:: 2,771 km (inland, much of the track is unusable because of land mines still in place from the civil war) narrow gauge: 2,648 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2000)

Benin

total:: 578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000)

Botswana

total:: 888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000)

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.)

Burundi

0 km

Cape Verde now Cabo Verde

0 km

Cameroon

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

Central African Republic

0 km

Chad

0 km

Comoros

0 km

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 (2000)

Congo, Republic of the now Republic of the Congo

total:: 894 km narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2000)

Cote d'Ivoire

total:: 660 km narrow gauge: 660 km 1.000-meter gauge;
25 km double track note: an additional 600 km of this railroad extends into Burkina Faso, ending at Kaya, north of Ouagadougou (2000)

Djibouti

total:: 100 km (Djibouti segment of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad) narrow gauge: 100 km 1.000-m gauge note: Djibouti and Ethiopia plan to revitalize the century-old railroad that links their capitals by 2003

Egypt

total:: 4,955 km standard gauge: 4,955 km 1,435-m gauge (42 km electrified; 1,560 km double track) (2000)

Equatorial Guinea

total:: 0 km

Eritrea

total:: 317 km narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge (1999) note: links Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa;
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

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;
since May 1998 Ethiopia has expended considerable effort to repair and maintain the lines

Gabon

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

Gambia, The now The Gambia

0 km

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)

Guinea-Bissau

0 km

Juan de Nova Island

total:: NA km; short line going to a jetty

Kenya

total:: 2,778 km narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge note: the line connecting Nairobi with the port of Mombasa is the most important in the country

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:: 490 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: 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 little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001)

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:: 729 km (linked to Senegal's rail system through Kayes) narrow gauge: 729 km 1.000-m gauge

Mauritania

total:: 750 km (single track); note - owned and operated by government mining company standard gauge: 750 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

total:: 1,907 km standard gauge: 1,907 km 1.435-m gauge (1,003 km electrified; 540 km double track)

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

Niger

0 km

Nigeria

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

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:: 906 km narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track)

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:: 5,311 km narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge;
716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line note: the main line linking Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic

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

Togo

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

Tunisia

total:: 2,168 km standard gauge: 471 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,687 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 10 km 1.000-m and 1.435-m gauges (three rails)

Uganda

total:: 1,241 km 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 Kapiri Mposhi where it connects to the Zambia Railways system;
TAZARA is not a part of the Zambia Railways system;
Zambia Railways assets are scheduled for concessioning in 2001

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

Asia

22 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:: 852 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 852 km 1.520-m gauge (779 km electrified) (2001)

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 (2000)

Bhutan

0 km

China

total:: 67,524 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails) standard gauge: 63,924 km 1.435-m gauge (13,362 km electrified; 20,250 km double track) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m and 1.000-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.) note: a new total of 68,000 km was estimated for early 1999 to take new construction programs into account (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

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 (four rails interlaced) (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)

Maldives

0 km

Mongolia

1,815 km broad gauge: 1,815 km 1.524-m gauge (2001)

Nepal

total:: 59 km; note - all in Kosi close to Indian border narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2000)

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.) (2000)

Russia

total:: 149,000 km note: 86,000 km are in common carrier service;
63,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use;
40,000 km of the railway in common carrier use are electrified broad gauge: 149,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1998)

Sri Lanka

total:: 1,463 km broad gauge: 1,404 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (1996)

Tajikistan

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

Turkmenistan

total:: 2,187 km broad gauge: 2,187 km 1.520-m gauge (1996 est.)

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 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

Bahamas, The now The Bahamas

0 km

total:: 950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000)

Cuba

total:: 11,969 km standard gauge: 4,807 km 1.435-m gauge (147 km electrified) note: in addition to the 4,807 km of standard gauge track in public use, 7,162 km of track is in private use by sugar plantations;
about 90% of the private use track is standard gauge and the rest is narrow gauge (2000)

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 (Dominican Republic Government Railway) note: 240 km operated by sugar companies in various gauges (0.558-m, 0.762-m, 1.067-m gauges) (2000)

El Salvador

total:: 562 km narrow gauge: 562 km 0.914-m gauge note: length of route which is operational is reduced to 283 km by disuse and lack of maintainance (2001)

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 1990s narrow gauge: 40 km 0.760-m gauge

Honduras

total:: 595 km narrow gauge: 349 km 1.067-m gauge; 246 km 0.914-m gauge (1999)

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

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)

Europe

46 entries

Albania

total:: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001)

Andorra

0 km

Austria

total:: 6,095.2 km (3,643.3 km electrified) standard gauge: 5,564.2 km 1.435-m gauge (3,521.2 km electrified) narrow gauge: 497.1 km (33.9 km 1.000-m gauge - 28.1 km electrified, 497.1 km 0.760-m gauge - 94 km electrified) (2001)

Belarus

total:: 5,523 km broad gauge: 5,523 km 1.520-m gauge (875 km electrified) (2000)

Belgium

total:: 3,437 km (2,446 km electrified; 2,563 km double track) standard gauge: 3,437 km 1.435-m gauge (1998)

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;
note - many segments still need repair and/or reconstruction (2000)

Bulgaria

total:: 4,294 km standard gauge: 4,049 km 1.435-m gauge (2,710 km electrified; 917 km double track) narrow gauge: 245 km 0.760-m gauge (1998)

Croatia

total:: 2,296 km standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2000)

Czech Republic now Czechia

total:: 9,444 km standard gauge: 9,350 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double track) narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (2000)

Denmark

total:: 2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated) standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1998)

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:: 5,865 km broad gauge: 5,865 km 1.524-m gauge (2,192 km electrified; 480 km double or multiple track) (1998)

France

total:: 31,939 km (31,939 km are operated by French National Railways (SNCF); 14,176 km of SNCF routes are electrified and 12,132 km are double- or multiple-tracked) standard gauge: 31,840 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 99 km 1.000-m gauge (1998)

Germany

total:: 40,826 km including at least 14,253 km electrified and 14,768 km double- or multiple-tracked (1998) 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

Gibraltar

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

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)

Guernsey

0 km

Holy See (Vatican City)

total:: 862 m; note - a spur of the Italian Railways system, serving Rome's Saint Peter's station standard gauge: 862 m 1.435-m gauge (1999)

Hungary

total:: 7,606 km broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 7,394 km 1.435-m gauge (2,270 km electrified; 1,236 km double track) narrow gauge: 176 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) note: Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway connecting Gyor, Sopron, and Ebenfurt (Gysev railroad) 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) (1998)

Man, Isle of now Isle of Man

total:: 68.5 km (43.5 km electrified)

Italy

total:: 19,394 km standard gauge: 18,071 km 1.435-m gauge;
Italian Railways (FS) operates 16,014 km of the total standard gauge routes (11,322 km electrified) narrow gauge: 112 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified);
1,211 km 0.950-m gauge (153 km electrified) (1998)

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:: 274 km standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified; 178 km double track) (1998)

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:: 2,739 km standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge; (1,991 km electrified) (1998)

Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of now North Macedonia

total:: 699 km standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified) note: a 56-km extension of the Kumanovo-Beljakovci line to the Bulgarian border at Gyveshevo is under construction (2001)

Norway

total:: 4,012 km standard gauge: 4,012 km 1.435-m gauge (2,530 km electrified; 96 km double track) (1998)

Poland

total:: 23,420 km broad gauge: 646 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 21,639 km 1.435-m gauge (11,626 km electrified; 8,978 km double track) narrow gauge: 1,135 km various gauges including 1.000-m, 0.785-m, 0.750-m, and 0.600-m (1998)

Portugal

total:: 2,850 km broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double track) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (1998)

Romania

total:: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified) standard gauge: 10,898 km narrow gauge: 487 km (1996)

San Marino

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

Yugoslavia now Serbia and Montenegro

total:: 4,095 km standard gauge: 4,095 km 1.435-m gauge (1,377 km partially electrified since 1992) note: during to the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the Serbian rail system suffered significant damage due to bridge destruction;
many rail bridges have been rebuilt, but the bridge over the Danube at Novi Sad was still down in early 2000;
however, a by-pass is available;
Montenegrin rail lines remain intact

Slovakia

total:: 3,660 km broad gauge: 102 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1,505 km electrified; 1,011 km double track) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (1998)

Slovenia

total:: 1,201 km standard gauge: 1,201 km 1.435-m gauge (489 km electrified) (1999)

Spain

total:: 13,950 km broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,358 km electrified; 2,295 km double track) standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) narrow gauge: 644 km 1.000-m gauge (438 km electrified) (1998)

Sweden

total:: 12,821 km (includes 3,594 km of privately owned railways) standard gauge: 12,821 km 1.435-m gauge (7,918 km electrified and 1,152 km double track) (1998)

Switzerland

total:: 4,492 km (1,564 km double track) standard gauge: 3,317 km 1.435-m gauge (3,288 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,165 km 1.000-m gauge (1,165 km electrified); 10 km 0.800-m gauge (1998)

Ukraine

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

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, and 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 entries

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

Iran

total:: 5,600 km broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 5,506 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) note: broad gauge track is employed at the borders with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan which have broad-gauge rail systems (2001)

Iraq

total:: 2,032 km standard gauge: 2,032 km 1.435-m gauge note: rail link between Iraq and Syria restored in 2000 after 19 years

Israel

total:: 610 km standard gauge: 610 km 1.435-m gauge (1996)

Jordan

total:: 677 km narrow gauge: 677 km 1.050-m gauge (2000)

Kuwait

0 km

Lebanon

total:: 399 km (mostly unusable because of damage in civil war) standard gauge: 317 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km (1999)

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

Syria

total:: 2,750 km standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2000)

Turkey now Turkiye

total:: 8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (1,524 km electrified) (1999)

North America

5 entries

Bermuda

0 km

Canada

total:: 36,114 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: 36,114 km 1.435-m gauge (156 km electrified) (1998)

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.)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

0 km

United States

total:: 225,750 km mainline routes standard gauge: 225,750 km 1.435-m gauge (1999)

Oceania

25 entries

American Samoa

0 km

Australia

total:: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999)

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)

Micronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia

0 km

Nauru

total:: 5 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:: 3,913 km narrow gauge: 3,913 km 1.067-m gauge (519 km electrified) (1999)

South America

14 entries

Argentina

total:: 33,744 km (167 km electrified) broad gauge: 20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified) standard gauge: 2,739 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified) narrow gauge: 10,154 km 1.000-m gauge; 257 km 0.750-m gauge (2000)

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:: 30,539 km (2,129 km electrified); note - excludes urban rail broad gauge: 5,679 km 1.600-m gauge (1199 km electrified) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 24,666 km 1.000-m gauge (930 km electrified) dual gauge: 336 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) (1999 est.)

Chile

total:: 6,701 km broad gauge: 2,831 km 1.676-m gauge (1317 km electrified) narrow gauge: 117 km 1.067-m gauge (28 km electrified);
3,754 km 1.000-m gauge (37 km electrified) (2000)

Colombia

total:: 3,304 km standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge (connects Cerrejon coal mines to maritime port at Bahia de Portete) narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (major sections not in use) (2000)

Ecuador

total:: 965 km narrow gauge: 965 km 1.067-m gauge (2000)

total:: 187 km (all dedicated to ore transport) standard gauge: 139 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

Peru

total:: 1,988 km standard gauge: 1,608 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 380 km 0.914-m gauge

Suriname

total:: 166 km (single track) standard gauge: 80 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 86 km 1.000-m gauge note: Suriname railroads are not in operation (2000)

Uruguay

total:: 2,073 km standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge (2000)

Venezuela

total:: 584 km (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:: 3,991 km narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge

Cambodia

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

total:: 34 km standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (all electrified) (1996 est.)

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)

total:: 1,801 km narrow gauge: 1,801 km 1.000-m gauge (148 km electrified) (2000)

Philippines

total:: 492 km (an additional 405 km are not in operation) narrow gauge: 492 km 1.067-m gauge (1996)

Singapore

total:: 38.6 km narrow gauge: 38.6 km 1.000-m gauge note: there is a 83 km mass transit system with 48 stations

Taiwan

total:: 4,600 km (519 km electrified) narrow gauge: 4,600 km 1.067-m note: only 1,108 km of route length (including the electrified part) is used in common carrier service by the Taiwan Railway Administration;
the remaining 3,492 km is dedicated to industrial use (1999)

Thailand

total:: 3,940 km narrow gauge: 3,940 km 1.000-m gauge (99 km double track)

Vietnam

total:: 2,652 km standard gauge: 166 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,249 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 237 km NA-m gauges (three rails) (1998)

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 2001, “Railways”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/railways/2001.

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