
Gauntlet track or interlaced track, also gantlet track () is an arrangement in which
railway tracks
Railway track ( and UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers (railroad ties in American E ...
run parallel on a single
track bed
The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. Background
According to Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is t ...
and are interlaced (i.e., overlapped) in such a way that only one pair of rails can be used at any time. Since this requires only slightly more
width
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...
than a
single track, all rails can be carried on the same
crossties/sleepers. Trains run on the pair of rails appropriate to their direction,
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 ...
or
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and k ...
.
The term ''
gauntlet'' refers to the expression ''
running the gauntlet'', which means running between two confining rows of adversaries.
Configurations
Frog gauntlet (double-gauntlet-double)
Gauntlet tracks can be used to provide horizontal clearance to a fixed obstruction adjacent to a track such as a
cutting
Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force.
Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the sca ...
,
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
, or
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
. Frog gauntlets are also commonly used when a rail line's capacity is increased by the provision of an additional track, but cost or other factors prevent the widening of the bridges. They are typically used for short stretches of track where it is cheaper to provide extra rails than to provide
switches
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
and reduce the line to single track. This also eliminates the problem of switch/point failures.
In a frog gauntlet, one rail crosses over a rail on the adjacent track. A
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
is used to provide the flangeway for the crossing tracks. The train taking the gauntlet runs over the frog onto the parallel rails, passes through the gauntlet area, and passes over another frog to return to the original line. Since there are no points or other moving parts on a frog gauntlet track, a train operating on one of the tracks cannot be routed onto the other.
Because two trains cannot use the gauntlet at the same time, scheduling and
signalling
A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology.
In ...
must allow for this restriction. A type of frog gauntlet is common in
funicular
A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...
railways, with gauntlet track along the entire route except for a short doubled section halfway up. Frogs eliminate the need for moving points (which require regular maintenance and can break down) and because both trains are connected by a fixed length of cable there is no risk of a collision occurring as long as a
passing loop
A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...
is provided at the halfway point.
File:QC-CP 20020904-172457 VoiesEnOpposition IlePerry.jpg, Gauntlet track on the approach to the Bordeaux Railway Bridge from Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
to Laval, Quebec
File:Interlaced-track-with-frog.svg, Where two tracks converge into gauntlet track, they overlap rather than connect.
File:Splot Lodz Warszawska.jpg, Gauntlet track, Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
Warszawska interlacing, in a narrow road under the tram overpass
Point gauntlet/interlaced loop (single-gauntlet-single)
In a point gauntlet track, the rails for the two tracks do not need to cross, so no frog is required. The train taking the gauntlet runs over a set of switch points onto the parallel rails, passes through the gauntlet area, and passes over another set of switch points to return to the original line. This arrangement is used at the
Roselle Park station referenced below.
Gauntlet tracks are also often used at
weigh scales so that locomotives can bypass the equipment to avoid accidental damage.
At a small number of locations on single track lines in Britain, interlaced loops had been provided where sprung
catch points
Catch points and trap points are types of railroad switch, points which act as railway safety devices. Both work by guiding railroad car, railway carriages and trucks from a dangerous route onto a separate, safer track. Catch points are used to d ...
were required because of the steep gradient. The points at either end of the loop were set according to the train's direction of travel. Trains running uphill were routed via the loop incorporating the sprung catch point. Trains running downhill used the opposite loop, bypassing the catch point.
File:Gauntlet track at New Jersey Transit Union, NJ Station.jpg, Gauntlet track on Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...
Shared Assets Operation Lehigh Line at New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. It ...
's Raritan Valley Line
The Raritan Valley Line is a commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) which serves passengers in municipalities in Union, Somerset, Middlesex, Essex, and Hunterdon counties in the Raritan Valley region, primarily in centra ...
Union Station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
Union station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
. Freight trains run on the outer track so as to clear the platform.
File:Waterloo ION gauntlet track.jpg, Ion rapid transit
Ion, stylized as ION, is an integrated public transportation network in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Keolis and is part of the Grand River Transit (GRT) system, partially replacing GRT's Route 200 ...
gauntlet track
Single-gauntlet-double
Where routes diverge, but it is not practical to locate the physical switch apparatus at the point of divergence (especially on trams, where roads may be in the way), a section of gauntlet track may be provided between where the routes actually diverge and the location of the physical switch.
Dual-gauge track
An arrangement similar to gauntlet track is sometimes used to allow trains of different gauges to use the same track. In that case, the two interlaced tracks will have different gauges, sometimes sharing one of the rails for a total of three rails when the difference between the
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 ...
s is large enough.
Examples
Australia
In
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, broad (1600 mm) and standard
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 i ...
gauntlet track is located within the passenger yard of
Southern Cross station, and in platforms 1 and 2. Those tracks also run on the
Regional Rail Link
Regional Rail Link (RRL) is the name of a project to build a length of railway through the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The name is also colloquially used to refer to the rail alignment constructed as part of the project.
The pro ...
flyover towards
South Dynon yards. The northern section of the
Upfield line, between the Ford sidings and Somerton, is also dual gauge gauntlet track. On the
Western standard gauge line
The Western standard gauge railway line is a standard-gauge railway line in western Victoria, Australia. Completed in 1995, it forms part of the Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor and serves as the principal interstate rail link between Victor ...
from Melbourne towards
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, dual gauge track can be found between the
Geelong Harbour and
Gheringhap, as well as along the
Newport-Sunshine freight line in Melbourne. In
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, standard and narrow (1067 mm) dual gauge gauntlet track is located on platform 2 of
Roma Street station.
Belgium/Germany
The Gemmenich Tunnel (, ) passing under the ' (
Three country point) has a special track layout to enable the passage of wide military loads. The double-track tunnel has a third set of rails interlaced with one of the normal tracks. Active points (
switches
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
) at each end of the tunnel allow a train to divert along the central track, whilst other trains are blocked by signalling. The third track is rarely in use, so there is no limitation of capacity through the tunnel for standard-sized trains.
Close to where the borders of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands come together, the interlaced tunnel section provides an important connection between Germany and the Belgian harbour at Antwerp. After completing the installation in 1991, trains with an oversize
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and k ...
were rerouted over this line, and the lightly used (but tunnel-free) secondary line between Stolberg and Welkenraedt (crossing the border at Raeren) was closed to freight traffic. Electric-hauled trains requiring use of the central track will get their power from the right track's (in travelling direction Germany to Belgium)
overhead rail, which to that purpose is slightly further off-centre than normal.
Canada
Gauntlet track exists on the
Perry Island Canadian Pacific Railway Bridge across the between
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
and
Laval (Parc subdivision, mile 10.0) because the
structure gauge
A structure gauge, also called the minimum structure outline, is a diagram or physical structure that sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. It specifies the height and width of s ...
is not sufficiently wide for
double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...
. This bridge is used by freight trains of
Canadian Pacific Kansas City
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Trade name, doing business as CPKC (known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited until 2023), is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railw ...
, the
Quebec Gatineau Railway and by the
Saint-Jérôme line
Saint-Jérôme (also designated line 12, formerly known as Blainville–Saint-Jérôme and Montreal–Blainville) is a commuter rail service in Greater Montreal, Quebec. It is operated by Exo (public transit), Exo, the organization that operate ...
suburban trains of the .
The
Toronto Streetcar System
The Toronto streetcar system is a network of eleven tram, streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the List of North American light rail systems by ridership, third busiest light-rail s ...
includes a very short section of gauntlet track on
Queen Street East, at
Coxwell Avenue. A loop allowing southbound cars to return northbound on Coxwell Avenue briefly interlaces with the westbound track on Queen Street, due to
turning radius
The turning radius (alternatively, turning diameter or turning circle) of a vehicle defines the minimum dimension (typically the radius or diameter) of available space required for that vehicle to make a semi-circular U-turn without skidding. Th ...
limitations. A switch partially within the gauntlet section allows westbound streetcars from Queen Street to transition to the loop curve, and turn right onto Coxwell Avenue, but streetcars already within the loop cannot switch to the westbound Queen Street track.
Finland

At the border with Sweden where the
Torne separates the cities of
Tornio
Tornio (; ; ; ) is a city and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border Twin cities, twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is wat ...
, Finland and
Haparanda
Haparanda (; Meänkieli and Finnish: ''Haaparanta'', ) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda has a population of 9,166 inhabitants (2024).
Haparanda is ...
, Sweden, a two-kilometre section of
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 i ...
track uses a gauntlet configuration because the gauge used in Finland and used in Sweden are too close for a common rail to be shared. The link, which opened in 1919 with the completion of the
Torne River Railway Bridge, is complemented by a marshalling yard at each end, an arrangement that allows trains from either country to stop in the other for freight to be
transferred to trains of the local gauge.
Russia
The
Moscow tramway network has only one stretch of gauntlet track remaining in place. The five-track railway line just south of
Kursky Terminal is crossed through a narrow tunnel built at the beginning of the 20th century and unsuitable for a two-track tram line. Other similar stretches were removed or re-organised, since according to the standards, gauntlet tracks on tram lines are only permitted as a temporary measure.
Similar arrangements exist on the approach to
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...
, where track extends from the Polish border with some sections of dual gauge.
United States
The
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated Cable car (railway), cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. The system forms part of the Intermodal passenger transport, intermodal urban transport net ...
features three areas with gauntlet tracks where the outer rail of the inner track is shared as the inner rail of the outer track for two sections of tracks: on Washington Street between Mason Street and Powell Street, on Powell Street (north of Washington Street) onto Jackson Street to the point of divergence of the Powell Street lines at Jackson Street and Mason Street, and on Hyde Street between Jackson Street and Washington Street.
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit
Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a commuter rail service and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Clover ...
uses gauntlet tracks at several stations. The pair of rails closer to the platform provides level boarding with the
high-floor
High-floor describes the interior flooring of commuter vehicles primarily used in public transport such as trains, light rail cars and other rail transport, rail vehicles, along with buses and trolleybuses. Interior floor height is generally mea ...
passenger trains, while the pair of rails farther away gives freight trains sufficient
clearance to pass the platform.
Although a monorail cannot strictly speaking have gauntlet track, the nearest equivalent would be when two parallel monorail tracks are too close together to allow two trains to pass. This happens at the southern terminus of the
Seattle Center Monorail
The Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated railway, elevated straddle-beam monorail line in Seattle, Washington, United States. The monorail runs along 5th Avenue between the Seattle Center and Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle, making n ...
at the
Westlake Center in
Downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
,
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
, where the station was rebuilt in 1988 with the dual tracks only about apart in order to allow for a narrower station, which led to a collision in 2005 that suspended monorail service for several months.
See also
*
Funicular
A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...
*
Glossary of rail transport terms
A glossary (from , ''glossa''; language, speech, wording), also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a glossary appears at ...
*
Railway platform
A railway platform is an area in a train station alongside a railway Track (rail transport), track providing convenient access to trains. Almost all stations have some form of platform, with larger stations having multiple platforms.
Grand Cen ...
*
Railway platform height
Railway platform height is the built height – ''above top of rail (ATR)'' – of railway platform, passenger platforms at railway station, stations. A connected term is ''train floor height'', which refers to the ATR height of the floor of ra ...
Notes
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauntlet Track
Permanent way
Railway track layouts