Railway test tracks and their facilities are used for

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

testing and certification. Railway test tracks around the world include:

China

* China Railways test and certification center

Czech Republic

Velim railway test circuit The Velim test centre () is a railway rolling stock testing facility at Cerhenice, close to the town of Kolín in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Perhaps its most notable feature is the Cerhenice railway test circuit, which cons ...

France

* Centre d'essais ferroviaires – Near Alstom Valenciennes factory site in Raismes, includes 2.75 km for testing at 100 km/h, a 1.85 km loop for endurance testing at 80 km/h, and a loop for testing driverless trains.

Germany

Wegberg-Wildenrath Test and Validation Centre The Wegberg-Wildenrath Test and Validation Centre () is a railway test centre owned by Siemens Mobility, Siemens near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History The centre is located on the site of the former RAF Wildenrath British ...

– Near

Wildenrath Wildenrath is a township within the municipality of Wegberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town is situated on the Bundesstraße 221 between Wassenberg and Arsbeck on the edge of Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park and close to the borde ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. Several loops of standard gauge and metre gauge track with various electrification systems.

India

* Construction for Indian Railways' first test track is underway in

Jodhpur division The Indian state of Rajasthan is located in the northwestern part of the country and stretches between 23°03'N and 30°12'N latitude and 69°30'E and 78°17'E longitude. As of 1 January 2025, for administrative purposes the state is divided int ...

, Rajasthan. The 60 km track is being built to conduct tests for Semi-high-speed rail and

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...

(200-250 km/h) and to test the axle loads of up to 32.5 tonnes.

Italy

* Bologna San Donato railway test circuit

Japan

* Yamanashi test track – Maglev technology development for the future Chuo Shinkansen line. * –

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...

test track, since 1962 to 1964. From

Ayase, Kanagawa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 83,709 and a population density of 3800 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ayase is in the plains of north-centra ...

to near Kamonomiya Station (

Odawara, Kanagawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

). About 30 km long. It was incorporated into the main line. * MIHARA Test Center – A railway test centre used by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

to test rolling stock for conventional rail (including

light rail transit Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

automated guideway transit An automated guideway transit (AGT) or automated fixed-guideway transit or automatic guideway transit system is a type of fixed guideway transit infrastructure with a riding or suspension track that supports and physically guides one or more dri ...

(especially the

Mitsubishi Crystal Mover The Crystal Mover is a rubber-tired automated people mover (APM) system for airport and urban rail transit applications manufactured at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Mihara Machinery Works in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The Crystal ...

) and

maglev Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation'') is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance. Compared to conventional railways, maglev trains h ...

High Speed Surface Transport High Speed Surface Transport (HSST) is a Japanese maglev train system which uses electromagnetic levitation technology. The Linimo line in Aichi Prefecture, Japan uses a descendant of HSST technology. File:HSST-Double-Beam.png File:HSST-St ...

Poland

Newag Newag S.A. (pronounced ''"nevag"'') is a Polish company, based in Nowy Sącz, specialising in the production, maintenance, and modernisation of railway rolling stock. The company's products include the 14WE, 19WE, 35WE types electric multiple u ...

– manufacturer's onsite test track. *

Test Track Centre near Żmigród Test Track Centre near Żmigród is located in Węglewo in south-western Poland, some 3 km (2 mi) from Żmigród and some 50 km (30 mi) from Wrocław, near the Wrocław–Poznań_railway, Wrocław–Poznań railway line, with which it is connected ...

– Operated by

Railway Institute The Railway Institute () is a research institute located in Warsaw, Poland. The Railway Institute (formerly Railway Scientific and Technical Centre (CNTK)) is operating under the Polish Ministry of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy (f ...

, Warsaw. 7.7 km standard gauge loop, 160 km/h maximum allowed speed.

Romania

Railway Testing Center Faurei
– Total length of lines: 20,2 km, maximum speed 200 km/h.

Russia

Moscow Monorail The Moscow Monorail (, ) (Line 13) is a monorail line located in the North-Eastern Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. It runs from the Timiryazevskaya via Fonvisinskaya and VDNHa metro stations to Sergeya Eisensteina street. The monorail ...

– 2.8 km operational, experimental monorail line. * :ru:Экспериментальная кольцевая железная дорога ВНИИЖТ – VNIIZhT test range, a circular test track in

Shcherbinka Shcherbinka () is a town, formerly in Moscow Oblast, Russia, and since July 1, 2012 a federal city subject (settlement) of Moscow, Russia. It is located south of the center of Moscow. Population: History It was founded in the late 14th cen ...

, south of Moscow.

Singapore

* Integrated Train Testing Centre – future integrated testing facility for all new and existing MRT lines due to open in stages from end-2022 to 2024.

Spain

* Olmedo - Medina del Campo test track 14.4km in length The test track is built on the site of a closed broad gauge () line.

United Kingdom

Global Centre of Rail Excellence The Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) is a proposed train, railway infrastructure and technology testing facility, located in Onllwyn, Wales, where the site sits on the border between Neath Port Talbot and Powys. The centre is located o ...

Old Dalby Test Track The Old Dalby Test Track is a railway in the United Kingdom which is used for testing new designs of trains and railway infrastructure. It runs between Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and Edwalton, on the course of the Midland Railway's route betw ...

High Marnham Test Track The High Marnham Test Track is a linear railway test track created in 2009 and centred on Lodge Lane, Tuxford, in Nottinghamshire in the United Kingdom. It houses Network Rail's Rail Innovation & Development Centre (RIDC), originally known a ...

United States

Maglev Maglev (derived from '' magnetic levitation'') is a system of rail transport whose rolling stock is levitated by electromagnets rather than rolled on wheels, eliminating rolling resistance. Compared to conventional railways, maglev trains h ...

– AMT Test Track, Powder Springs, Georgia *

Transportation Technology Center The Transportation Technology Center (TTC) is a railroad equipment testing and training facility located northeast of Pueblo, Colorado, owned by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). It was built in 1971 as the High Speed Ground Test Center ...

– Four test tracks, total length , max speed (one of the tracks) , Pueblo, Colorado

References

{{reflist * Test tracks