GAUGE CONUNDRUM

by

RAJIV KUMAR TYAGI

1.0 Selection of Track Gauge is even now as empirical and questionable as it was at the

starting of Railway System. In UK, Wagon ways were precursor to Rail Transport.

There was no standardization of gauge of these Wagon ways but gauge of 4 feet 8

inch was common. George Stephenson used this gauge for his steam traction from

Stockton to Darlington. Available horse driven wagons were used. The gauge was

widened to 4 feet 8½ inch for section from Liverpool to Manchester commissioned

in September 1930. The additional ½ inch was to prevent binding of wheels on

curves. Stephenson then went on to build several railway lines with this gauge. This

seems to be the main reason for 4 feet 8½ inch becoming the standard.

2.0 Obviously there was no rational merit to the gauge of 4 feet 8½ inch except that it

allowed use of available horse drawn vehicles. That was at the most a short term

advantage. It was left to the ingenuity and boldness of legendry British Engineer IK

Brunel to make radical departure from the practice of providing standard gauge.

Gauge selected by Brunel for Great Western Railway (GWR) founded in 1833 was 7

feet. This was probably also not based on any engineering studies or methods. The

primary purpose of wider gauge was to have wider carriages and wagons. Great

Western Railway earned the reputation of providing luxurious coach services. It was

variously named as “Gods Wonderful Railway” and “Great Way Round”. Brunel also

toyed with the idea of providing larger wheels outside the bodies of the rolling stock,

so that riding at high speeds is smoother.

 It is possible that change of gauge by Brunel was also dictated on grounds of

monopolizing the territories. In any case it led to Gauge Wars and breaking of gauge

at multiple locations in the system. A Royal Gauge Commission was set up in 1845

followed by Railway Regulation Gauge Act of 1846. Standard Gauge was legally

prescribed and gauge of GWR was converted to Standard Gauge in 1892.

3.0 Barring few exceptions, Standard Gauge became norm in most of the countries due

to pre-eminent position of UK in Rail Industry. Russia, Finland and iberian countries

i.e. Portugal and Spain adopted wider gauges on military considerations. Japan

adopted cape gauge (1067 mm). High speed in JAPAN was developed on

Standard Gauge on considerations of stability and marketing of the technology to

other countries.

4.0 Evolution of track gauge in India

4.1 In India, Lord Dalhousie displayed remarkable clarity on the issue. In a Minute

dated 4th July, 1850, written in response to the Court of Directors of the East

India Company forwarding the Report of FW Sims, Consultant Engineer of the

Company, for his views, he expressed as under:

a. Uniformity of gauge is all important in railway development. India should

avoid the mistake made by the United Kingdom where two gauges exist

and where ultimately a Royal Commission had to enquire and the

Parliament to legislate on the issue.

b. 4 feet 8½ inch fixed by Stephenson is a measurement that is haphazard

and an accident of local circumstances.

c. The gauge recommended by the Court of Directors – 4 feet 8½in is not

acceptable. It should be 6 feet .

 4.2 The Court of Directors ultimately passed a resolution adopting a gauge of 5

feet 6 inch for India. Lord Dalhousie mockingly remarked that perhaps the

figure of 5 feet 6 inch was arrived at by averaging 4 feet 8½ inch and 6 feet

suggested by him!

4.3 Meter gauge was introduced during the Viceroyality of Lord Mayo. The

reasons were lower capital costs and easier and faster construction. The first

meter gauge line to be laid was from Delhi to Rewari. The meter gauge

system then expanded rapidly; most of such lines were in Rajasthan, Gujarat,

Bihar, north of Ganges in UP and Sourthern States; the then East Bengal –

now Bangladesh – also laid lines to this gauge. In fact, after independence,

the separate meter gauge systems of the north and the south were

interconnected by building the Khandwa Hingoli railway line.

4.4 The next to come were the 2ft 6 in narrow gauge lines, build mostly by the

princely states and private companies. The then princely states of Vadodara

and Gwalioer were most active. Some were by the Government to connect

hill stations – Shimla, Darjeeling and Matheran. And two of them – the railway

lines to Darjeeling and the Matheran were to a narrow gauge of 2 ft.

5.0 Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART) was commissioned in 1972 in San

Francisoo (USA). Area falls under intense seismic zone. Indian Gauge of 1676 was

adopted after ab initio study on consideration of better lateral stability .

6.0 India along with erstwhile part of British India i.e. Burma, Pakistan and Bangladesh

has the widest gauge in the World. Honours are shared with Argentina. Other

countries in the descending order are Spain and Portugal (1668 mm), Ireland (1600

mm) and Russia and Finland (1520 mm).

7.0 Standard Gauge (1435 mm) is most widely used in the World. All high speed lines

operate on Standard Gauge except in Finland and Russia.

8.0 Indian Railways took a uni gauge policy decision in 1990. This policy has been in

implementation since then. Some quantum would be left over as some of the lines

are in the ‘heritage category’ (example the Darjeeling Railway Line) and some

cannot be converted due to the very nature of topography in which they traverse.

9.0 On Indian Railways, maximum permissible curvature is as under:

Gauge in mm Curvature
In Degree In Meter

1676 (BG) 10 175

1000 (MG) 16 109

762 (NG) 40 44

9.1 Maximum curvature is related to maximum length of rigid wheel base

Gauge Curvature Maximum length of

Rigid Wheel Base in
metres
BG Upto 10 6.1

MG Upto 10 4.875

> 10 3.660

NG Upto 10 3.660

> 10 < 16 3.050

>16 < 30.17 m 2.440

> 30.17 m 1.905

10.0 Following general observations can be made:

 (i) Haulage capacity, Lateral stability and Pay load to Tare weight improves with

increasing gauge.

(ii) Larger the gauge, higher is the Capital cost.

(iii) Technologies related to propulsion, braking, coupling, communications, train

control, signaling are gauge neutral.

(iv) Axle and Bogie design is solely gauge dependent.

(v) On curves, speed and Kinematic envelope of the coaches are gauge neutral.

(vi) Lengths of Turnouts reduce with reduction in gauge.

Bibliography

1.0 Report of Expert Committee for Selection/Choice of Gauge.

2.0 Schedule of Dimensions in 762 mm Gauges 1963

3.0 Schedule of Dimensions in 1000 mm Gauges

4.0 Schedule of Dimensions in 1676 mm Gauges 2004.