Mountain railway

Brienz Rothorn Bahn ascending Brienzer Rothorn in the Swiss Alps

Vall de Núria Rack Railway, Spain

A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountainous region. It may operate through the mountains by following mountain valleys and through tunnels beneath mountain passes, or it may climb a mountain to provide transport to and from the summit.

Mountain railways often use narrow gauge tracks to allow for tight curves in the track and reduce tunnel size and structure gauge, also lessening the cost of construction. Where mountain railways need to climb steep gradients, they may use steep grade railway technology, or even operate as funicular railways.

Some mountain railways have been named World Heritage Sites, such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

Related pages

• Funicular

Other websites

• Homepage of the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn Archived 2022-02-19 at the Wayback Machine (in English, German, French)
• Narrow gauge railways of Switzerland (in English and German)
• Map of central Peru Archived 2021-09-25 at the Wayback Machine Callao – Huancayo
• Map of south Peru/Bolivia Archived 2008-06-09 at the Wayback Machine Machu Picchu – Lake Titicaca – west coast Pacific Ocean
• Homepage of the Mount Washington Cog Railway (First ever mountain climbing cog railway)