Why more than two rails?

Why do some railway lines have three, four or five rails? A very quick look at dual gauge and check rails.
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#australia #melbourne #trains #railways

[@NynZhan]

These facts are so cool despite never having been interested in trains before 😂

[@TransportMan777]

Trains are awesome

[@NynZhan]

@@TransportMan777 hell ye

[@larry365]

Welcome

[@jpro6413]

​@@TransportMan777 yeeees

[@AreilKnight]

I grew up with a train obsessed dad and brother and while I admired their passion I couldn't even fake interest, I found trains so boring. My first real job was in the giftshop/ticket counter of the Newport railway museum, (I was recovering from a stroke and hip surgery in my late teens, my disability support worker found me the gig, and they were the most supportive team!) At the time I was obsessed with Edwardian fashion, so the 8M carriage was my ticket in. My passion was domestic history, and I realised while I found the "engineering talk" my dad and brother engaged in dull, I did love trains because I loved learning about the daily lives of people 100 years ago, and trains were always a big part of that. Learning how different lines changed as populations moved around, learning how electrification changed the way we travelled, and even helping contextualise events I lived through. (eg: the split during early privatisation, I remember how awkward it was, but at 15 had no context for *why* the system ran that way) Now I'm train obsessed all around and I owe a lot of that to Taitset for combining the history, the day to day context, and the technical details in such an entertaining way! Even just something simple like my co-worker lamenting that the city loop never runs in the direction we want it to, once upon a time I'd say "yeah it sucks" but now I think about how the junctions and cross overs are laid out and can appreciate how much time and management goes into those decisions. It's brought me closer to my brother and father because now I love hearing them talk about the technical aspects of gauges, switches, horsepower and engine output, and they love hearing me talk about how Rockbank appears on the Siemens seat covers and is the only V-line station on the design.

[@ALouisae]

When you said check rails, I thought to myself “Czech rails? Why are there Czech trains in Australia?” Took me a second lol

[@subirmajumdar4493]

Yup, my mind also went tubelight mode and took a few seconds to light up.

[@briansmith8967]

We call them guard rails in the U.S. (and crossties instead of sleepers)

[@trainnerd3029]

Hey, thanks for the laugh. I just caught that! Lol!

[@paulsven7923]

There are some Czech made turnouts here though

[@Mika-85]

I prefer Czech Streets

[@mahuhude]

In Germany we also had different main line gauges, but for efficiency reasons the larger ones (1600mm, Badische Breitspur) were narrowed to have one standard. It came with a cost but was worth it in the long run.

[@Skasaha_]

This isn't being considered in Victoria since the vast majority of the broad gauge track is on the mostly self-contained suburban network and won't actually ever need to run standard gauge rolling stock. Some regional lines that run towards other states have been converted further out of Melbourne, connecting to the dual gauge lines shown in the video (which area all relatively close to Melbourne and in particular Southern Cross Station, the terminus for regional/intercity/interstate trains).

[@dominooo6658]

Very interesting, I learnt something new!

[@bettyschnauber8238]

Check, check rails. Thanks I've always wondered about it.

[@jinyuliu2871]

Dual gauge between standard and 1520mm Russian gauge isn't possible with 3 rails because the gauges are too close together. In border crossings between China and Russia/Mongolia/Kazakhstan/etc, dual gauge track uses 4 rails with no rail shared between the 2 gauges.

[@KasabianFan44]

Even more interesting is the dual tracks between the Russian gauge (1520mm) and Finnish gauge (1524mm). Despite the discrepancy, it is actually possible for some wheelsets to run on either gauge, so that’s what they do. They run cross-border trains with an axle gauge of about 1522mm so that they can run in both countries, albeit often at a lower speed for safety reasons.

[@xpehkto]

​@@KasabianFan44 The nominal gauge is specified for a straight track, in curves it can change. Russian standards say that 1520 mm is for straight track and for curves with radius more than 350 m, 1530 mm for radius between 300 and 350 m, and 1535 mm for radius smaller than 300 m. An imprecision is specified as up to 8 mm wider or 4 mm narrower. And these specs are for new tracks, older ones can be ever less precise, standard mandates that everything between 1512 mm and 1548 mm is considered safe. So all wheelsets can adapt to 1524 mm! In practice most of cross-border freight trains were unmodified Russian, and most of cross-border passenger trains were purpose built Finish, because that was simpler to setup politically. Allegro high speed train service operated with speed up to 220 km/h on both sides of the border. 2020 pandemic killed night trains, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine killed rest of the passenger service and almost all of the freight between Russia and Finland.

[@osasunaitor]

​@@xpehkto the 2020 pandemic also killed night trains over here in Spain. Sad to see the same story being repeated :(

[@AL5520]

@@osasunaitor The pandemic was only the excuse. Night trains in Spain were in a decline long before the pandemic and renfe wanted to get read of them regardless of the pandemic. It's just like they took advantage of the new HSR line to Paris to cancel the night train, even though it could have continued to run along side the high speed line. The fact that even now, when it's more popular, they refuse to reinstate this service shows that it would have happened regardless.

[@osasunaitor]

@@AL5520 yes, I know. The pandemic was just an excuse but it will be remembered as the moment when Spain lost its last night train nevertheless. Our high-speed-only obsessed politicians don't care about providing the services that people actually demand, they only care about filling their pockets with multi-billion contracts for high speed trains to nowhere.

[@Jerram89]

In Australian parlance generally check rails reside within points - the rails that protect bridge and tunnel structures etc. as shown are called guard rails, although more broadly the terms seem to be used interchangeably, much like “catch” and “trap” points.

[@beakytwitch7905]

Thank you for explanation of the check rails. Barmouth Viaduct in Wales also has such check rails and I had figured out that their purpose is to keep the train from falling off the bridge of it were to derail.

[@timothyteo4602]

Here in SA, 4 rails also means there are 3 gauges involved on the same track: 1,067 mm narrow, 1,435 mm standard, and 1,600 mm broad gauge. We used to have this sort of system up in the north but they’ve all closed down and only a few places have these remnants, if you know where to look. However a perfect example of this layout is preserved by the National Railway Museum in Port Adelaide, though this track may have been torn up as the line connecting the museum directly onto the suburban rail network is currently under upgrades for the future Port Dock railway line, for better connectivity to Port Adelaide compared to the current one sited above Commercial Road.

[@mfungyz]

I saw the check rails at the new Deer Park station recently and wondered what they were for. Thanks for making this video to help explain it ​@Taitset

[@sirBrouwer]

You can also see them at rail crossings. As in where two rail tracks cross. For the same reason.

[@WizardOfOss]

Looks pretty cool with 5 tracks! Those check rails (or guard rails) are pretty common around the world, but it is unusual to see them this narrow. Usually they're much closer to the actual rails, and often just on the inside of the curve. Also, these seem like actual tracks, while at least here in Europe it's more common to see a much simpler (and lighter) profiles. After all, they ar just there to guide the wheels, not bear any weight.

[@Skasaha_]

They're all recycled rails from elsewhere.

[@oldsguy354]

I've never seen dual gauge rails before (I live in The USA) but I've often wondered what the the rails in the middle were for. Thanks for the heads up:)

[@truegemuese]

The US went all in on standard gauge after the civil war. In fact, incompatible gauges all over the south were a huge deal during the war for both sides and f'd up logistics.

[@curtisbarrow7650]

@@truegemuese There is still some dual gauge rails in the US, but it is limited to the interfaces between narrow gauge tourist railroads and standard gauge mainlines. So it is almost all in stations.

[@tron.44]

Thanks for clearing that up, i suspected this to be the case but that confirms it!

[@TheOlis000]

Sometimes they have two separate rails for each gauge because the one shared rail is being used more often and has to be serviced more often

[@Taitset]

It's called 'gauntlet' track when it's done like that. The reason is usually just to make the pointwork more simple though, I'm not that uneven wear is a major consideration.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

We use gauntlet track on many bridges in America & at certain stations. Mainly to keep frieghts away from platforms.

[@Zhilinjain]

Note: The middle two are also called Guard Rails in some places.

[@QuadMochaMatti]

As a railfan for most of my life - although admittedly more of casual one that prefers to study the history of railroads or occasionally travel on them, rather than go out "in the field" and spend hours trackside - and as a Yank, it's possible that I know a bit more about European railroading (very minimal) than I do of Australian practices. I definitely learned something new today, thank you!

[@Comeng_]

I knew about the standard and broad thing but not the ones in the middle

[@sirBrouwer]

For me it was more the opposite. You see the guide rails in more places across the globe. However the double rail feature abit less. I do think it could be useful for international trains that would go in and out of Spain. (Spain uses a different gauge then the European standard do to their history with Franco)

[@Comeng_]

​@@sirBrouwerok

[@The_Gamer_66]

in Switzerland more specifically in Zweisimmen there are 4 rail tracks where the inner 2 are for metergauge and the other two for standart gauge. 2 tracks even feature a gauge changing mechanism for gauge changing trains.

[@BrizzysTrains]

In qld, there are some trains between lindum and coopers plains that have the 3 rails, it’s the rail in the inside that’s the narrow guage (our guage) and the outside rail is the standard guage, now we have this because of the standard guage Aurizon service (K833 I think) to port of Brisbane and the QUBE steel shunts to rocklea from acacia ridge and they’re standard guage for some reason also there’s tracks from acacia ridge too nsw that are just standard guage

[@carisi2k11]

The Standard Guage goes all the way to Roma Street.

[@BrizzysTrains]

@@carisi2k11I forgot about that

[@matthewgray5420]

And lets not forget the gaunlet tracks with standard gauge on one set and narrow on the other, plus the guard rails on the merrivale

[@bgold2007]

Are you misspelling gauge or is this a thing,?

[@rubywright2249]

I have often wondered this! Thank you

[@vogel6554]

I’ve been wondering for ten years about the two extra rails in the middle that appear in curves and on bridges. Thank you!

[@mbwyatt1978]

Regardless of the semantics in comments about check or guard rails. Thank you for the simplest and concise explanation of their purpose.

[@bw1227]

good to see that those check rails are all rusty

[@Saint_Dan132]

thats very well informed of you thanks

[@sgt.gunslinger1532]

There is a spot in between france and spain where passanger trains have this specialized axel that actually moves when ran through a certain building. The train cars actually change their guage. It works kinda like those automated car washes that roll cars through on a belt.

[@intubungamer6173]

In Germany there used to be curves that use 3 rails for tighter curves. The train is running on the flange on one side, while the other side has 2 rails for guiding the flange on the inner side.

[@ratedpz9461]

I’ve been wondering about this forever, thank you for this video

[@Mecrom]

I have never even considered the existence of dual-gauge, that's really cool!

[@antonylawrence7266]

The ‘points’ must be very interesting !

[@CancelMeNow]

The picture of the Southern and South Western train is taken just past Clapham Junction heading into central London. I know this as that is the train I get into the city lol

[@10C45E]

I've heard of dual gauge, but I've never actually seen it before, it look super useful.

[@tylerfb1]

Can’t say I have ever wondered that. Nice info, none-the-less.

[@matthewhaywood7411]

That explains the question I had about the ones in Port of Melbourne

[@ethanspaziani1070]

That's pretty cool

[@RUMBALman4downunder]

A slang word for the check rails in NZ is torpedo rails

[@Testtestnotest]

thank you

[@antigod8385]

did not expect to be jumpscared by a southern 455 xD

[@thegardensentinel]

I honestly thought this was for other reasons,,, one being that there were special trains that used all 5 rails intermittently and secondly,, the track laying machine was being generous and just kept "laying track"

[@brucekellett2269]

what about gantlet track

[@Taitset]

Thiis is just a 1 minute video covering the most common examples seen in Victoria today.

[@CarpeNoctum95]

Just once, i'd like someone to give the reason for the close inner rails to be for a secret mini train.

[@jayvonnoelsmith8445]

That facts are so awesome

[@cantfindclips]

Thank you! I’ve always wondered what those rails on the bridge was for.

[@michaelskinn9673]

Thank u sir

[@muncherofpizza]

We’ve got check rails as well, I always wondered what they were for

[@Thomas_TdK]

Check rails are also used on place where the ground is not to solid.

[@egay86292]

completely efficient.

[@_yannis2707]

It's nice to have my assumption, that the additional rails are used to keep the train on the tracks in case of derailment, confirmed.

[@stevenn1940]

Ahh.. in the US, but where I live, we have a raised commuter light rail, which has 4 rails. The inner ones must be the check rails. Makes sense, it's basically all bridge

[@dudeistpriestman]

I have never wondered that, no. Not once, ever. I'm glad I know now, though.

[@GARILENA]

Kinda reminds me of the ttte standard and narrow gauge compatible track.

[@boar7153]

Would be nice if Australia brought back full operation to the rail and fixed what the trucks have done to the roads.

[@Raildealer1]

Finally learnt what check rails mean… only took a few years hahahaha

[@terrylm235]

Good!

[@commanderbluy]

How do check rails actually work?

[@Taitset]

If a train derails, the wheels will drop down to ground level between the running rail and the check rail, limiting how far the train can wander off to the side.

[@NeoDerGrose]

Those check rails seam to be quiet far away from the running rails. We mount them way closer over here.

[@twelfthmoon3323]

The UK does this too with the tube in London (runs on 4 rails)

[@Taitset]

That's for a different reason, the tube uses 4-rail electrification, with the live rail outside the running rails and the current return rail in the middle.

[@EastBayTransit]

Pretty cool 👍

[@tspoon772]

How do switches work with dial gauge tracks?

[@Onkaparinga_Garb]

let's just say that there a LOT of frog points

[@J3zzaG]

Dual nose frogs and in some designs, 5 switch blades

[@Skasaha_]

If you go to platform 1 and 2 at Southern Cross Station you should be able to find them. Those platforms are dual gauge to accommodate interstate arrivals.

[@dozog]

I have seen trains running on ONE multipurpose rail.

[@TurissChin]

I've never counted rail lines but now I definitely will

[@ariadnepyanfar1048]

Nifty.

[@bennetfox]

How do you power your trains if you don't have a third rail for power? Are they diesel electric?

[@Taitset]

All our electrification is overhead wire, which is the best and most common type of electrification!

[@scottwilliam8088]

Billy has narrow gage.

[@Taitset]

Yes, I said mainline gauges.

[@_muppelpuppel_9773]

Yeah in my hometown we had to have two different tracks As it turns out, Victoria is the only state in Australia without "Broad" trains being the default

[@Taitset]

Broad gauge certainly is (or at least was) the default in Victoria.

[@_muppelpuppel_9773]

@@Taitset In Albury, a border town, we have Victoria and NSW tracks intersecting While NSW are what you'd call broad, Victoria are the slimmer ones (or atleast were, the train station there has been under going renovations for 5 or 6 years now)

[@Taitset]

@@_muppelpuppel_9773 Other way around mate, Victoria was Broad gauge 1600mm, NSW Standard gauge 1435mm. The Victorian side was converted to Standard gauge just over a decade ago, so there's no broad gauge in Albury any more.

[@twistedyogert]

It seems weird that there are multiple railway gauges in use. I would think that since Australia was once a British colony, they would've used standard gauge.

[@Taitset]

1600mm Broad Gauge is also a British gauge, used in Ireland/Northern Ireland.

[@markfryer9880]

Great video unfortunately I couldn't read the red writing, partiality colour blind and red on dark background gets sort of lost. Mark from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺

[@YukariAkiyamaTanks]

Ive read if you go to Peterborough (Australia not the uk) you can see a mixture lf all of this stuff plus narrow gauge

[@Taitset]

Correct, the National Railway Museum in Adelaide also has a lot of dual and triple-gauge trackage, much of operational.

[@jekanyika]

Are check rails just an Australian thing? I don't think I have seen them in the UK, but maybe I just haven't noticed

[@Taitset]

Not sure how common they are in the UK, but I've definitely seen them in some places. (They're sometimes just a single rail on the inside of a curve, rather than two like shown here)

[@jameslaidler2152]

I like trains.

[@HamiltonSurrey]

It's because they couldn,t organise a piss up in a brewery. Other countries had the amazing thought = "Wouldn't it be a good idea if we had just one guage of track and train?"

[@Taitset]

It wasn't one country when the gauges were chosen.

[@dkbmaestrorules]

They did try! Multiple colonists asked London what gauge to use and got the answer "we don't care as long as you're all the same". The chief engineer in NSW at the time was Irish, so he chose 5'3"/1600mm as used in Ireland, AND told the authorities in Victoria about it and they were fine. Unfortunately, before construction started, he was then replaced by a Scottish engineer, who decided that NSW's railways should be 4'8.5"/1435mm gauge as used in Scotland. He didn't tell anyone in Victoria, and by the time they found out it was too late to change. And then colonists in Queensland just went ahead and used 3'6"/1067mm gauge because they assumed that their railway would never possibly link up with those further south, and so gauge wouldn't matter!

[@HamiltonSurrey]

Thanks for the info. Only goes to show you shouldn't post comments before you have all the facts. My apologies.@@dkbmaestrorules

[@acesretroonline]

@@dkbmaestrorules This is such an interesting question. I guess 1435mm or 4 foot 8.5 in those days was new and they had no idea the scale of its use 100 years later.

[@Priyodarsono]

Just got an additional info from this video that the common rail at the 3 rail dual gauge will be the one that must be the most frequently changed because it run over more than the other 2. Because the other 2 only run-over by the correlated gauge train. You can see the common rail is shiner than the other 2.

[@Taitset]

That's probably just the lighting, the common rail isn't visibly more shiny than the most commonly used other rail (which is different depending on where you are)

[@Priyodarsono]

@@Taitset aaahhh I see. But still, the common rail is run over by 2 different gauge train wheels & the other 2 are not. In this case take example there are 6 train with 1435 mm gauge & 4 train with 1600mm gauge. The common rail will be run over by 10 trains, the 1435 mm & 1600 mm gauge. That's mean the worn are high at the common rail. So it's need to be replaced sooner than the other 2.

[@Taitset]

@@Priyodarsono Correct, although I honestly don't know how it would translate into different wear patterns, rail can last decades without needing replacement. It's possible in some places they might be able to swap two of the rails to to extend the life too.

[@jonathanVN1864]

Love safety!

[@g7_829]

Neat

[@Braveplantt]

btw, broad gauge is also called brunel gauge

[@Taitset]

That's a different gauge, Brunel's broad gauge was 7', ours is Irish broad gauge which is 5'3".

[@Braveplantt]

@@Taitset OHHH thanks :D

[@astoneuk]

Dual gauge question: Can you get a train with both gauges running in one line for example a larger gauge train pulling smaller gauge carriages?

[@Taitset]

There's no theoretical reason why not, and it's possibly been done in some shunting situations. But the dual gauge sections are all quite short, so there's no real reason to do it.

[@a_wazza]

How did I end up getting shorts of Victorian rail? I live in Sydney!

[@WhiffTheRubbishEngine1869]

Ever thought of tri gauge? Like Broad, Standard and Narrow all in one

[@Taitset]

Yes, it happened in South Australia and there are some preserved examples at the National Railway Museum and at the Peterborough roundhouse.

[@ValentineFarm]

You and Brad from 2aussietgrifters sound identical! 🤔

[@nicolepowell3121]

I love that you educate me on Victorian trains, but can you tell me why I've been sitting on the Cranbourne line for almost two hours but am only at South Yarra!?? 🥴🤯 Just traveled from Dandenong to Ballarat and back in (what felt like) less time.

[@Taitset]

"Equipment fault in the Clayton area" is all I can see! Probably a signalling fault.

[@nicolepowell3121]

@@Taitset oh dude you're so sweet! I was SO not expecting a reply to my comment, nor was I expecting one faster than it took to actually get home! You're the BEST!! 😁😁😁

[@nicolepowell3121]

@@Taitset AND you're right! I had earphones in listening to you while my boyfriend tells me NOW, yep, that's what they said over the loud speaker, signal fault, he's right!

[@Taitset]

@@nicolepowell3121 Haha, you were lucky I just happened to open up the new comments right when you posted. 😄

[@nicolepowell3121]

@@Taitset you're my new Melbournian super hero! ❤️😁👍🏻

[@user-ss9ph6ou9n]

It was explained that Australia has three sized railroads, Standard and Broad Sized. What is the third kind of railroad used in Victoria? Does Melbourne have three sized railroads?

[@Taitset]

The third mainline gauge is 1067mm narrow gauge, which is not found in Victoria (other than on one heritage line). More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge_in_Australia#:~:text=The%20three%20main%20railway%20gauges,taken%20place%20since%20the%201930s.

[@JoeSmith-bz9to]

Does Melbourne Rail still have the problem on very hot days I think over 45 degrees C the rail buckles? I remember this was the case around 15 years ago in 2009 because the Rails had wood sleepers whereas in Sydney they used concrete sleepers so the rail is going nowhere in hot temps!

[@TheLostProbe]

much of Melbourne's wooden sleepers have been replaced by concrete ones and they continue to replace more and more of them every so often. you can see lots in this video!

[@Bananacrusherpvp]

The 1600mm gauge is the Irish gauge which is so strange to think yous use it over there

[@SennLensPlus]

I remember that West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, some parts of the train tracks are using 4 rail lines instead of 2 because one is for KTM ETS and another is for KTM Komuter or KTM Intercity (non electric). Sometimes E&O trains from Singapore use the same train track as KTM Intercity because it is running on diesel instead of electric.

[@olekzajac5948]

Why would a single country use different railway gauges?

[@jdillon8360]

because Australia began as 6 separate colonies. Each one chose their own gauge.

[@olekzajac5948]

@@jdillon8360 But they were all British. Why different gauges then? Private owned railway and proprietary stock?

[@jdillon8360]

@@olekzajac5948 All British yes. But at the time of the first railway construction in Australia, standard gauge was not the dominant gauge in Britain that it is now. They had only recently legislated that standard gauge become the official gauge. So the officials in each state of Australia could not have foreseen how dominant standard gauge would come to be. Furthermore, as each colony was absolutely isolated from all the others, there was no need to worry as the various systems didn't meet anywhere. In the mid 1800s all transport between each colony was by ship, not by rail. So, each colony picked what they thought was best due to the demands of money, time and local geography.

[@BlackGateofMordor]

@@olekzajac5948 No, because NSW (and QLD) were dumb. Britain was asked which gauge Australia should use and told the colonies they didn't care as long as it was the same. NSW's Irish engineer told Victoria they were going to use broad gauge, so off Victoria went. Then NSW replaced the engineer with a Scottish one, who changed the gauge to standard and didn't bother telling Victoria. Queensland then did their own thing because they thought they were too far away for it to ever matter. By the time the separate systems started meeting it was too late to swap, so now all states have small standard gauge connections direct to NSW's network but otherwise largely use whatever they started with.

[@nootypenguino]

Interesting

[@tredworthngaugemodel2753]

Why are the check rails so far from the running rails on curves they are much closer

[@patrickchim4791]

Thank you for explaining ivermectin always wanted to know what it was for

[@cloudedarctrooper]

(Guess) Dual gauge? Edit: Dual gauge.

[@jahu35]

huh, I've see a kind of 4 rails in one direction on warsaw's tram tracks, and not on a bridge or in a tunnel

[@Taitset]

I'm not very familiar with Warsaw, but it could be gauntlet track - where two tracks overlap but don't actually join up.

[@mrtbts]

always thought check rails were to prevent derailing so all they do is make the derailing not cause any trouble and not be so severe?

[@Taitset]

Could be both. The ones shown in the video are clearly too far in to prevent a derailment. The ones hard up against the inner rail on a curve probably help prevent derailment.

[@mrmoomooface1662]

I don't think I've seen those check rails in the UK before, or indeed anywhere else I've been, is there any reason we don't use them over here?

[@Taitset]

They're certainly around, not necessarily in the same style as shown here. The Glenfinnan Viaduct has one.

[@i3_i9]

In the United States we have something similar to this..

[@BrokenIET]

Imagine having 3rd rail as well swea😅

[@davidlorenz54]

Cheers. But now I'm wondering why we can't connect all the way to Brisbane from NSW.

[@Taitset]

Brisbane is already connected to the NSW system.

[@davidlorenz54]

@Taitset Sorry about that, I just checked with Chatgpt, and apparently, the one and only time I travelled on the xpt, which was October 2012, the line was closed for maintenance until the end of 2013 which is why I had to get off at the border. I thought it was a different gauge track.

[@leehale5828]

And all this time I just thought Australia had some really really good rail track salesmen.

[@isheamongus811]

Or dual gage: 1 and 3 and 2 and 4 (maybe not in AUS).

[@Taitset]

We do have some sections of dual gauge like that (called gauntlet track) but not in use in Victoria any more. South Australia also had some triple gauge, with a 4 rail gauntlet track spaced in such a way that two of the rails were 3'6" narrow gauge apart. There is an operational example in the National Railway Museum in Adelaide.

[@Transport11233]

Third rail: deadly Forth rail: good and deadly Fifth rail 💀💀

[@LucyJrts]

Wonder why we didn’t do this in Adelaide when converting the Overland to standard gauge… really ruined the commuter line that runs alongside it, since it effectively became single-track for much of its length Is the plan to use dual-gauge track to facilitate switching to standard gauge on Victoria’s commuter lines?

[@Taitset]

I certainly agree the Belair line should have been made dual gauge and remained double track. There are only a few small patches of dual gauge in Victoria, none of them on suburban lines. Most of Victoria is still broad gauge and likley to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

[@LucyJrts]

@@Taitset interesting. Do you know how difficult it is to convert broad gauge railcar units to standard? Like, is it a relatively simple conversion, or a more involved process? I’m wondering how much Adelaide and Victoria’s choices of rolling stock are limited by having to select broad gauge units…

[@Taitset]

@@LucyJrts It's pretty simple to convert, you can just swap the bogies over. That would still involve a very large order of new bogies of course. A bigger problem would be how disruptive it would be closing every part of the network bit by bit to convert the track. It would be a hard thing to sell to the public I think, because most of the benefit would be for freight rather than passenger.

[@robertgift]

Are broad gauge rail cars wider? More comfortable ride?

[@Taitset]

The external proportions of the train are dictated by loading gauge, which has no direct relationship with track gauge. There's no measurable difference in ride quality.

[@richard1493]

So instead of standardizing the rail system, they just doubled up on rail lines?

[@Taitset]

No instead of, no. Dual gauge just exists in the handful of places where both gauges are in use, and is a cheap thing to implement. There are 1000s of kilometres of broad gauge still, full standardisation won't happen any time soon.