List of highest railways by country

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This is a list of the highest railways by country. It includes the name of the railway, its highest point and highest elevation and its opening year.

Contents

List

CountryRailway lineHighest pointHighest elevationOpened
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Xining-Golmud-Lhasa Tanggula 5,068 m (16,627 ft) [1] 2006
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru Lima-Huancayo Ticlio 4,829 m (15,843 ft) [2] [3] 1893
Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia Rio Mulatos-Potosí Cóndor 4,786 m (15,702 ft) 
Flag of the United States.svg  USA Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway Pikes Peak Summit4,301 m (14,111 ft) [4] 1891
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina Salta–Antofagasta Viaducto La Polvorilla4,220 m (13,845 ft)1948
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador Quito-Guayaquil Urbina3,609 m (11,841 ft)1908
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Lanzhou–Xinjiang High-Speed Railway Qilianshan No.2 Tunnel3,608 m (11,837 ft)2014
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Jungfrau Railway Jungfraujoch 3,454 m (11,332 ft) [5] 1912
Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya Uganda Railway Baringo County 2,785 m (9,137 ft)1930
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Bavarian Zugspitze Railway [6] Schneefernerhaus 2,650 m (8,694 ft)1930
Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan Alishan Forest Railway Chushan2,451 m (8,041 ft)1986
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea Massawa–Asmara Railway Asmara 2,394 m (7,854 ft)1911
Flag of France.svg  France Tramway du Mont-Blanc [7] Nid d'aigle de Bionnassay2,380 m (7,808 ft)1909
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway Addis Ababa 2,293 m (7,523 ft)2018
Flag of India.svg  India Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Ghum 2,257 m (7,405 ft)1880
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan Zhob Valley Railway Kan Mehtarzai Railway Station 2,224 m (7,297 ft)1921
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Vall de Núria [8] Vall de Núria Rack Railway 1,968 m (6,457 ft)1931
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Skitube Bullock Terminal1,905 m (6,250 ft)1987
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Main Line (Sri Lanka) Pattipola 1,892 m (6,207 ft) [9] [10] 1894
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Schneeberg Railway [11] Hochschneeberg 1,792 m (5,879 ft)1897
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia Borjomi-Bakuriani Bakuriani 1,650 m (5,413 ft)1902
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Brenner Line [12] Brenner 1,371 m (4,498 ft)1867
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Tatra Electric Railway Štrbské Pleso 1,350 m (4,429 ft)1896
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Koumi Line Nobeyama 1,346 m (4,416 ft)1935
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Canadian Pacific Railway Mountain Subdivision Rogers Pass 1,330 m (4,364 ft)1889
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Baikal-Amur Mainline Mururin Pass  [ ru ]1,323 m (4,341 ft)1984
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Septemvri-Dobrinishte narrow gauge line [13] Avramovo1,267 m (4,157 ft)1939
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Bergen Line Finse 1,222 m (4,009 ft) [14] 1908
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Snowdon Mountain Railway Snowdon Summit1,065 m (3,494 ft)1896
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Strakonice-Volary line Kubova Huť 997 m (3,271 ft)1893
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Taebaek Line Chujeon901 m (2,956 ft) [15] 1973
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Izera railway Szklarska Poręba (Jakuszyce)886 m (2,907 ft) [16] 1902
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Linha do Tua Rossas railway station 849 m (2,785 ft) [17] 1906 [note 1] [note 2]
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Padalarang-KasugihanNagreg848 m (2,782 ft)1890
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand North Island Main Trunk Waiouru 832 m (2,730 ft)1908
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Ljubljana–Trieste [18] [19] Postojna Gate 610 m (2,001 ft)1856
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Mittbanan [20] Near Storlien 601 m (1,972 ft)
Flag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein Feldkirch–Buchs [21] Near Schaanwald 452 m (1,483 ft)1872
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Mallow–Tralee line [22] Near Rathmore 150 m (492 ft)1853

See also

Notes

  1. Opening year of the highest-point stretch; the opening year of the railway's first stretch was 1887.
  2. Highest-point stretch closed in 1992; railway fully closed in 2008.

References

  1. "World's highest railway station enters key construction period". Canada Tibet Committee. July 28, 2005. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  2. Bennett, Suzy (October 2003). "A train journey through the Peruvian Andes". Wanderlust. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  3. "Our Train - The Highest in the World". Incas del Peru. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  4. Manitou & Pike's Peak Cog Railway. "Along The Route". Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  5. Jungfraubahnen. "Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe". Jungfrau Ski Region. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  6. Ride the Zugspitzbahn rack railway up Germany's highest mountain
  7. "Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB) - Train à crémaillère - Ouvertures / Horaires / Tarifs".
  8. Insight Guides Great Railway Journeys of Europe, Spain's highest station. ["Núria is the highest station in Spain"]
  9. "Top 10 highest train stations in Sri Lanka". Train Journey to the Green Zone in Sri Lanka. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  10. "Pattipola Railway Station of Sri Lanka". SariSara Sri Lanka. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  11. Station Puchberg am Schneeberg, lower-austria.info. ["Fans of nostalgia can be transported in around 40 minutes by the Schneebergbahn to Austria's highest railway station"]
  12. SULMONA, AQ, ABRUZZO, magazine.dooid.it. ["At the Rivisondoli-Pescocostanzo station, the line reaches 1268 m above sea level making it the highest station on the Italian FS network after the Brenner Pass."]
  13. The Most Beautiful Train Journeys in Bulgaria, theculturetrip.com. ["It runs through three mountains and stops at the highest railway station in the Balkan Peninsula, Avramovo Station."]
  14. "Finse Railway Station Webcam – The Highest Station in Norway". Camscape. October 13, 2012. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  15. Korea Tourism Organization. "Chujeon Station". Visit Korea. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  16. "Najwyższa linia kolejowa w Polsce - Szklarska Poręba". www.szklarskaporeba.pl. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  17. Esteves, João Sena; Ramos, Luís; Nóbrega, João Miguel; Souto, António Pedro; Sepúlveda, Manuel João (2012). "Gaining Insight into Tua Railway Line through Interactive Experiments" (PDF). Railroads in Historical Contexts. 2. Universidade do Minho: 360. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  18. Retrieved from the Google Earth geoinformation system. The highest point on the line is north of Postojna railway station, at the Postojna Gate
  19. "Rail network". slo-zeleznice.si. Slovenian Railways . Retrieved 30 April 2021. Station located at the highest point above sea level: Postojna station at 582m
  20. "Banverkets årsredovisning 2009" (PDF) (in Swedish). Banverket. 2009. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  21. Retrieved from the Swisstopo topographic map (only line in Liechtenstein)
  22. Retrieved from the Google Earth geoinformation system