Asia has many narrow-gauge railways. The railways of Japan (except for high-speed lines), Indonesia and the Philippines are predominantly 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge. Those in mainland Southeast Asia, which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia, are predominantly metre gauge.
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Is Japan narrow gauge?
Asia has many narrow-gauge railways. The railways of Japan (except for high-speed lines), Indonesia and the Philippines are predominantly 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge. Those in mainland Southeast Asia, which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia, are predominantly metre gauge.
Why Japan uses narrow gauge?
Clearly, it is safe to assume that Japan’s choice of the 3’6″ narrow gauge was based more on the cheaper construction cost than on the demands of topography. Norway gradually replaced its narrow gauge track with standard gauge but Japan did not take this road because of economic and military considerations.
What rail gauge Does Japan use?
Japanese national network operated by Japan Railways Group employs narrow gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) and has maximum width of 3,000 mm (9 ft 10 in) and maximum height of 4,100 mm (13 ft 5 in); however, a number JR lines were constructed as private railways prior to nationalisation in the early 20th century, and feature …
Is narrow gauge better?
The narrow-gauge railway proves its worth The narrower gauge enables tighter curves to be taken, especially in valleys and in generally difficult terrain. It is also shorter than normal railways, thus requiring less space at train stations.
What is the narrow gauge distance in railway?
The narrow-gauge railway is the railway track, in which the distance between two tracks is 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) and 2 ft (610 mm). In 2015, there was a 1,500 km narrow gauge rail route, which is considered to be about 2% of the total Indian rail network.
Why is Japanese rail so good?
Japan’s raiways are known for their safety and reliability and the Shinkansen is well known for his punctuality. The average delay of trains is less than one minutes every year. The Shinkansen runs along dedicated lines, which allows to have only one technology and identical missions.
Why Japanese trains are never late?
The Japanese build slack into the schedule and they run trains at less than the maximum safe speed possible on any given section of track. This allows many delays to be made up if necessary.
Is Japan Rail private?
Japanese National Railways was privatized in 1987 and broken into six regional rail companies and one freight company. Currently, five of those companies – JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Kyushu, and JR Freight – are in the black. JR East, West, Central, and Kyushu are publicly traded.
What is the standard gauge of the Japanese railways?
Japan adopted 762 mm ( 2 ft 6 in) as a standard narrow gauge for small, forestry and industrial lines. Most of these narrow-gauge lines were abandoned, and only four remain in operation: the Kintetsu Utsube Line, Kintetsu Hachioji Line, Sangi Railway and Kurobe Gorge Railway .
Which countries in Southeast Asia have narrow gauge railways?
Asia has many narrow-gauge railways. The railways of Japan (except for high-speed lines ), Indonesia and the Philippines are predominantly 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge. Those in mainland Southeast Asia, which includes Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia, are predominantly metre gauge.
What are the dimensions of a narrow gauge railway?
Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm ( 1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) and 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ). Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structure gauges, and lighter rails, they can be less costly to build, equip, and operate than standard- or broad-gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain).
What are the main lines of the Japanese railways like?
The main lines, however, were well-built, well ballasted lines, with many tunnels, with maximum grades of 5 percent and with 42-inch gauge, the standard gauge for Japan and Formosa. This means that logs could not be shipped to their destination without reloading. [4]