Rail transport in Australia
Rail transport in Australia is a component of the Australian transport system. Australian railways, unlike those in North America for example, are not all on the same track gauge. In the mid-19th century, when Australia consisted of six colonies, decisions were made with little concern for the consequences when the respective railways would be joined up. They were built to three track gauges: 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge, 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, and 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge. Despite standardising the rail gauge between the mainland capital cities, completed only in 1982, many of the consequences of the 19th-century folly remain and to a large extent, Australian railways remain state-based. As delineated in the infobox, total route-kilometres of these gauges as of December 2024 were respectively about 8%, 56% and 35% of the grand total of 31,212 kilometres (19,394 mi). Less than 1% was dual gauge and about 11% was electrified. About 87% of the network is single...
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