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Iberian Gauge
Iberian gauge (, ) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. A broad gauge, it is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world, with only Indian gauge railways, , being wider (by ). As finally established in 1955, the Iberian gauge is a compromise between the similar, but slightly different, gauges adopted as respective national standards in Spain and Portugal in the mid-19th century. The main railway networks of Spain were initially constructed to a gauge of six Castilian feet. Those of Portugal were instead built to a and later railways to a gauge of five Portuguese feet – close enough to allow interoperability with Spanish railways. Standard gauge Since the beginning of the 1990s new high-speed passenger lines in Spain have been built to the international standard gauge of , to allow these lines to link to the European high-speed network. Although the 22 km from Tardienta to Huesca (part of a branch f ...
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Track Gauge
In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges exist worldwide, gauge differences often present a barrier to wider operation on railway networks. The term derives from the metal bar, or gauge, that is used to ensure the distance between the rails is correct. Railways also deploy two other gauges to ensure compliance with a required standard. A ''loading gauge'' is a two-dimensional profile that encompasses a cross-section of the track, a rail vehicle and a maximum-sized load: all rail vehicles and their loads must be contained in the corresponding envelope. A ''structure gauge'' specifies the outline into which structures (bridges, platforms, lineside equipment etc.) must not encroach. Uses of the term The most common use of the term "track gauge" refers to the transverse distance be ...
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Dual Gauge
Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there is not enough room for two single tracks or when tracks of two different gauges meet in marshalling yards or train stations. Background The rail gauge is the most fundamental specification of a railway. Rail tracks and Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets are built within engineering tolerances that allow optimum lateral movement of the wheelsets between the rails. Pairs of rails that become too wide or narrow in gauge will cause derailments, especially if in excess of normal gauge-widening on curves. Given the requirement for gauge to be within very tight limits, when the designed distance between the pair of wheels on a wheelset differs even slightly from that of others on a railway, track must be built to two specific gauges. That is ...
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Ferrocarrils De La Generalitat De Catalunya
(, "Catalan Government Railways"; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad de Cataluña''), or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain. The lines operated include metro and commuter lines in and around the city of Barcelona, tourist mountain railways, and rural railway lines. They include of gauge route, of route, of route, and of iberian gauge, broad gauge route, making the FGC one of the few railway companies to operate on four different gauges. Whilst most lines are conventional adhesion railways, the FGC also operates two rack railways and four funicular, funicular railways. In 2018, the network carried 87.2 million passengers. History FGC was founded on 5 September 1979 to manage lines whose ownership was transferred from the state-owned Ferrocarriles Españoles de Vía Estrecha, FEVE to the Generalitat of Catalonia in 1978 as part of the process of regional devolution under the Spanish Constitut ...
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Adif
ADIF (, an acronym of ) is a Spanish state-owned railway infrastructure manager. This state owned company reports to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. ADIF is charged with the management of most of Spain's railway infrastructure, that is the track, signaling and stations. It was formed in 2005 in response to European Union requirements to separate the natural monopoly of infrastructure management from the competitive operations of running train services. It is the legal successor of Renfe, Feve ( Ferrocarriles de Vía Estrecha), and GIF (Gestor de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias). History ADIF was created as the result of Railway Sector Act, which arises from the transposition of European Directives that required all large European national railways to independently manage the infrastructure and trains on it. The ultimate goal of this legislation was to permit any other rail operator seeking to access the network to do so on equal terms with the incumbent oper ...
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Rail Transport In Spain
Rail transport in Spain operates on four rail gauges and services are operated by a variety of private and public operators. Total railway length in 2020 was 15,489 km (9,953 km electrified). The Spanish high-speed rail network is the longest HSR network in Europe with 3,973 km (2,464 mi) and the second longest in the world, after China's. Most trains are operated by Renfe; metre and narrow-gauge trains are operated by the Renfe Cercanías AM division. Local publicly-owned operators include Euskotren in the Basque Country, FGC in Catalonia and Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. High speed train operators other than Renfe include Ouigo and Iryo. It is proposed and planned to build or convert more lines to standard gauge, including some dual gauging of broad-gauge lines, especially where these lines link to France, including platforms to be raised. Spain is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Spain i ...
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Ponta Delgada (Azores)
Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,287 inhabitants, in an area of . There are 17,629 residents in the three central civil parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro, São Sebastião, and São José. Ponta Delgada became the region's administrative capital under the revised constitution of 1976; the judiciary and Catholic See remained in the historical capital of Angra do Heroísmo while the Legislative Assembly of the Azores was established in Horta. History The origin of the placename Ponta Delgada (Portuguese for ''delicate or thin point'') was elaborated by the famous Portuguese chronicler, Father Gaspar Frutuoso, who wrote: In around 1450, Pêro de Teive established a small fishing village that eventually grew into the urban agglomeration in Sant ...
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Rail Transport In Portugal
Rail transport in Portugal is provided mainly by Comboios de Portugal (CP), Portugal's national carrier, but also other operators. It includes High-speed rail in Portugal, high speed trains and rapid transit networks in Lisbon and Porto. Portugal is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Portugal is 94. There are rail links with Spain, which uses the same Iberian-gauge railways, Iberian broad gauge. Some lines are in meter gauge. Operators Several railway companies operate in Portugal: * Comboios de Portugal * Fertagus * Lisbon Metro * Porto Metro * Metro Transportes do Sul (light rail) Train categories Network Infraestruturas de Portugal is the rail network administrating company, taking over control from Rede Ferroviária Nacional, REFER on 1 June 2015. The length of Portugal's railway system is as follows: * Total: ** : , of which are electrified ** : (as of 2006) See also *History of rail transport in Portugal *List of Port ...
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Train Wheel
A train wheel or rail wheel is a type of wheel specially designed for use on railway tracks. The wheel acts as a rolling component, typically press fitted on to an axle and mounted directly on a railway carriage or locomotive, or indirectly on a bogie () or truck (). The powered wheels under the locomotive are called driving wheels. Wheels are initially cast or forged and then heat-treated to have a specific hardness. New wheels are machined using a lathe to a standardised shape, called a profile. All wheel profiles are regularly checked to ensure proper interaction between the wheel and the rail. Incorrectly profiled wheels and worn wheels can increase rolling resistance, reduce energy efficiency and may even cause a derailment. The International Union of Railways has defined a standard wheel diameter of , although smaller sizes are used in some rapid transit railway systems and on ro-ro carriages. Wheel geometry and flange The running surface ("tread" or "rim ...
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Wheelset (rail Transport)
A wheelset is a pair of railroad car, railroad vehicle Train wheel, wheels mounted rigidly on an Axle#Vehicle axles, axle. Wheelsets are often mounted in a bogie ("List of railroad truck parts, truck" in North America) – a pivoted frame assembly holding at least two wheelsets – at each end of the vehicle. Most modern goods wagon, freight cars and Railroad car#Passenger cars, passenger cars have bogies each with two wheelsets, but three wheelsets (or more) are used in bogies of freight cars that carry heavy loads, and three-wheelset bogies are under some passenger cars. Four-wheeled goods wagons that were once near-universal in Europe and Great Britain and their colonies have only two wheelsets; in recent decades such vehicles have become less common as trainloads have become heavier. Conical wheel-tread Most train wheels have a cone (mathematics), conical taper of about 1 in 20 to enable the wheelset to follow Civil engineering#Surveying, curves with less ...
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Rail Transport In Argentina
The Argentine railway network consisted of a network at the end of the Second World War and was, in its time, one of the most extensive and prosperous in the world. However, with the increase in highway construction, there followed a sharp decline in railway profitability, leading to the break-up in 1993 of Ferrocarriles Argentinos (FA), the state railroad corporation. During the period following privatisation, private and provincial railway companies were created and resurrected some of the major passenger routes that FA once operated. Dissatisfied with the private management of the railways, beginning in 2012 and following the Once Tragedy, the national government started to re-nationalise some of the private operators and ceased to renew their contracts. At the same time, Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (SOFSE) was formed to manage the lines which were gradually taken over by the government in this period and Argentina's railways began receiving far greater inve ...
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