Railways of the world: by continent

Detail

1. Beginnings and basic ideas

• Stockton and Darlington Railway (1825) was probably the first public railway. A public railway is a line open to anyone who pays, not just a private line for one mine or factory.
• It ran in north-east England, between the towns of Stockton and Darlington in County Durham.

• It came out of the Industrial Revolution. It was built to move coal from the mines to the River Tees.

• Why railways spread in the 19th century:

• They were the fastest form of transport of that century, and the most popular.
• In the USA they opened the continental interior (the land deep inside the continent, far from the coast) to grain farming, mining and manufacturing.

• They suit bulky goods (heavy, low-value cargo such as coal, ore and grain) and passengers over long distances.

• World railway length: about 13 lakh km (NCERT figure).

2. Gauges

• A gauge is the distance between the two rails of a track. When two lines use different gauges, trains cannot run from one onto the other. Goods must be unloaded and loaded again, which wastes time and money.

Gauge	Width	Where used / note
Broad	More than 1.5 m	India's broad gauge is 1.676 m
Standard	1.44 m (more precisely 1.435 m)	United Kingdom, and most of Europe and North America
Metre	1 m	Older, lighter lines
Narrow	Less than 1 m	Hill and mountain lines

3. Commuter and underground railways

• Commuter trains are short-distance trains that carry daily workers between the suburbs (outer areas of a city) and the city centre. They carry millions of people every day in the UK, USA, Japan and India. The best Indian example is the Mumbai suburban railway.
• An underground railway (also called the metro or tube) runs in tunnels below a city, so it avoids crowded streets.
• London (1863) has the oldest underground railway. Its trains are called "Tube Trains" (NCERT Fig. 7.4).
• Paris and Moscow also have underground railways.
• India: Kolkata Metro (1984) was India's first metro.

4. Europe

• Size and density
• The network is about 4,40,000 km long (NCERT figure). It is one of the densest in the world.
• Most lines are double or multiple track, so trains in both directions can run at the same time.

• Belgium has the highest density: 1 km of railway for every 6.5 sq km of land.

• Railheads: a railhead is a city where many lines meet and from which traffic spreads out. Europe's main railheads are London, Paris, Brussels, Milan, Berlin and Warsaw.

• Passenger traffic matters more than freight in Europe. North America is the opposite.
• Trans-continental railways cross a whole continent and join its two coasts or ends. They have lost importance because air and road transport took over much of their traffic.

5. The Channel Tunnel

• Location: it runs under the English Channel, the arm of the Atlantic Ocean between Britain and France.
• Ends: Folkestone (Kent, England) and Coquelles near Calais (France). So it links London with Paris and Brussels by rail.
• Length: about 50 km (31 miles) [2].
• Structure: it has three tunnels: two for trains and a central service tunnel used for maintenance and safety [2].
• Opened: 6 May 1994 [2]. It is run by the Eurotunnel group.
• Why it matters:
• Before 1994, Britain's railways had no fixed link with mainland Europe.
• The tunnel joined the British network to Europe's dense network.
• As a result, trains now run directly from London to Paris and Brussels (NCERT exercise 1(v)).

6. Russia

• Railways carry about 90% of all transport in Russia.
• Why railways dominate:
• Russia is very large, so the distances are huge.
• Many rivers freeze in winter or flow north into the Arctic Ocean, so they are poor transport routes.

• As a result, the railway is the main way to move goods and people.

• The network is densest west of the Urals, the mountain range at about 60°E that divides European Russia from Asian Russia. Most of Russia's people and industry are in this western part.

• Moscow is the main railhead.

7. North America

• North America has nearly 40% of the world's total railway length (NCERT figure).
• Its railways carry mainly long-distance bulky freight: ores, grain, timber and machinery. Passenger traffic is less important than in Europe.
• The network is densest in the industrial east-central USA and the adjoining parts of Canada, where factories, coalfields and big cities are found.
• Canada: the railways are public (owned by the state). They carry mainly wheat from the Prairies and coal.

8. Australia and New Zealand

• Australia: about 40,000 km (NCERT figure). About 25% of it is in New South Wales, the south-eastern state with Sydney.
• New Zealand: the lines serve mainly the farming areas of North Island.

9. South America

• Densest areas: the Pampas (the flat grasslands of Argentina, a wheat and cattle region) and Brazil's coffee-growing region. Together they have about 40% of the continent's route length.
• Chile: lines link the coast with mines in the interior.
• Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela: only short lines that run from ports to the interior. They do not form a connected network.
• Trans-Andean Railway:
• It links Buenos Aires (Argentina, on the Atlantic side) with Valparaiso (Chile, on the Pacific side). It is South America's only trans-continental railway.
• It crosses the Andes at the Uspallata Pass, a high mountain pass on the Argentina–Chile border. The pass is about 3,900 m high and lies near Aconcagua, the highest peak of the Andes.
• The cross-border section has not run since 1984.

10. Asia

• The densest networks are in Japan, China and India.
• West Asia has the fewest railways.
• Most of the land is desert.
• Few people live there.
• So there is little traffic to support railways.

11. Africa

• Africa has only about 40,000 km of railways. About 18,000 km of this is in South Africa (NCERT figures).
• Why South Africa has the most: its gold, diamond and copper mining needed railways to carry ore to ports and industrial centres.

Route	Links	Key fact
Benguela Railway	Lobito (Atlantic coast of Angola) → Katanga (DR Congo) and Zambia's copper belt	It is Angola's longest railway and runs from Lobito to the Congolese border [3]. Today it is the core of the Lobito Corridor (2023), backed by the US and EU, for moving critical minerals
Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA)	Kapiri Mposhi (Zambia) → Dar es Salaam (Tanzania, Indian Ocean)	About 1,860 km. Built with Chinese aid in 1970-75
Botswana–Zimbabwe line	Through Botswana and Zimbabwe → the South African network	Links the inland north to South African ports
Blue Train	Cape Town ↔ Pretoria (South Africa)	A luxury passenger train

• Critical minerals are minerals that modern industry needs and that could run short, such as copper and cobalt. They are used in batteries, electric vehicles and electronics.
• Why TAZARA was built:
• Zambia is landlocked (it has no coastline). It used to send its copper out through white-ruled southern Africa (Rhodesia and South Africa).
• Zambia wanted to end this dependence, and China provided the money.

• As a result, Zambian copper gained its own outlet to the sea at Dar es Salaam.

• Colonial pattern: in Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia, lines only link ports with the interior. They do not form a network.

• Colonial powers built railways to carry raw materials out to the coast.
• They did not join regions inside Africa to each other.
• As a result, trade between African countries is still weak.

12. Continents compared

Continent	Length / share (NCERT)	Densest area	Main traffic
Europe	~4,40,000 km	Belgium (1 km per 6.5 sq km)	Passengers
North America	~40% of world	East-central USA and nearby Canada	Bulky freight
Russia	~90% of all transport	West of the Urals	Both
Australia	~40,000 km	New South Wales (25%)	Freight and farm goods
South America	Pampas + Brazil coffee region = 40%	Pampas, south-east Brazil	Farm and mine goods
Africa	~40,000 km (18,000 in South Africa)	South Africa	Minerals

Prelims Hooks

• Stockton and Darlington Railway (1825, north-east England) was probably the world's first public railway.
• Standard gauge = 1.435 m (used in the UK). India's broad gauge = 1.676 m.
• Oldest underground railway: London (1863). India's first metro: Kolkata (1984).
• Highest rail density in Europe: Belgium (1 km per 6.5 sq km).
• Channel Tunnel: about 50 km long, three tunnels, opened 6 May 1994. It links Folkestone (England) and Coquelles near Calais (France).
• Trans-Andean Railway: Buenos Aires – Valparaiso via the Uspallata Pass (about 3,900 m, near Aconcagua). Trap: it links the Atlantic to the Pacific and is South America's only trans-continental line.
• TAZARA: Kapiri Mposhi (Zambia) – Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), about 1,860 km, Chinese-built 1970-75. Benguela Railway: Lobito (Angola) – Katanga/Zambian copper belt.
• Blue Train: Cape Town – Pretoria (South Africa).
• North America has nearly 40% of world rail length. Russia moves about 90% of its transport by rail.
• Ordering trap: Europe puts passengers first, while North America puts freight first.

Mains Points

• Distribution pattern: railways are dense where people, industry and flat land are found (west of the Urals, the Belgium–Germany belt, east-central USA, Pampas, Japan, China, India). They are thin in deserts, mountains and forests (West Asia, the Andes, much of Africa). So relief, climate and the economy decide where railways are built (GS-I).
• Colonial legacy in Africa and South America: most lines run from ports into the interior and do not form networks. They were built to take minerals out, not to join regions. This still keeps trade between African countries weak. Corridors such as the Lobito Corridor and the upgrade of TAZARA try to fix this, but they also show competition between the US–EU and China for critical minerals (GS-I, GS-III).
• Fixed links help regional integration: the Channel Tunnel joined Britain to the European network. This shows how tunnels and cross-border lines cut travel time, and is a lesson for India's rail links with neighbours and for corridors like INSTC and IMEC (GS-III infrastructure).
• Gauge differences stop through-trains between networks and raise costs. India's move towards a single broad gauge (uni-gauge) is one response to this problem (GS-III).