The gauges of major South American railways as of 2023.
3 ft gauge (914 mm)
Meter gauge (1,000 mm)
3 ft 6 in gauge (1,067 mm)
Standard gauge (1,435 mm)
5 ft 3 in gauge (1,600 mm)
5 ft 6 in gauge (1,676 mm)
Track gauge
By transport mode
Tram
Rapid transit
Miniature
Scale model
By size (list)
Minimum
Minimum
Fifteen inch
381 mm
(15 in)
Narrow
600 mm
Two foot
Two foot three inch
600 mm
610 mm
686 mm
(1 ft 11+5⁄8 in)
(2 ft)
(2 ft 3 in)
750 mm
Bosnian gauge
Two foot six inch
750 mm
760 mm
762 mm
(2 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
(2 ft 5+15⁄16 in)
(2 ft 6 in)
Swedish three foot
900 mm
Three foot
Italian metre
891 mm
900 mm
914 mm
950 mm
(2 ft 11+3⁄32 in)
(2 ft 11+7⁄16 in)
(3 ft)
(3 ft1+13⁄32 in)
Metre
1,000 mm
(3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Three foot six inch
1,067 mm
(3 ft 6 in)
Four foot
1,219 mm
(4 ft)
Four foot six inch
1,372 mm
(4 ft 6 in)
1432 mm
1,432 mm
(4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
Standard
1,435 mm
(4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Broad
Italian broad gauge
Dresden gauge
1,445 mm
1,450 mm
(4 ft 8+7⁄8 in)
(4 ft 9+3⁄32 in)
Leipzig gauge
1,458 mm
(4 ft 9+13⁄32 in)
Toronto gauge
1,495 mm
(4 ft 10+7⁄8 in)
1520 mm
Five foot
1,520 mm
1,524 mm
(4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
(5 ft)
Pennsylvania gauge
Pennsylvania gauge
Five foot three inch
1,581 mm
1,588 mm
1,600 mm
(5 ft 2+1⁄4 in)
(5 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
(5 ft 3 in)
Baltimore gauge
1,638 mm
(5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Iberian gauge
Five foot six inch
1,668 mm
1,676 mm
(5 ft 5+21⁄32 in)
(5 ft 6 in)
Six foot
1,829 mm
(6 ft)
Brunel
2,140 mm
(7 ft 1⁄4 in)
Change of gauge
Break-of-gauge
Dual gauge
Conversion
list
Bogie exchange
Variable gauge
By location
North America
South America
Europe
Australia
In South America, Argentina and Chile use 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) track gauge, as well as 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) or metre gauge.
Brazil uses 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) (known as "Irish gauge", most common for passenger services and a few corridors in the Southeast) and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) (known as "narrow gauge" or "metre gauge", most common for cargo services). Exceptions are the Estrada de Ferro do Amapá north of the Amazon River, which has 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge, and the Lines 4 and 5 of São Paulo Metro, which also use standard gauge.
Argentina (partly), Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Peru use standard gauge. In the past a few lines in Northern Chile also had standard gauge, as the only international railway between Arica (Chile) and Tacna (Peru), slightly more than 60 km, uses standard gauge. The El Cerrejón Coal Railway in Colombia is also 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in).
There are and were also some lines using different narrow gauges; see Narrow-gauge railways in South America.
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