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    Finland announces migration of its rail network to international gauge

    (yle.fi)
    461 points axelfontaine | 11 comments | 20 May 25 07:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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    thih9 ◴[20 May 25 08:17 UTC] No.44039085[source]▶
    > will cost billions of euros, affect more than 9,200 km of track, and take decades

    How is a change like this going to be implemented? E.g. are they going to mainly update some tracks everywhere (and have two systems running in parallel), or all tracks in selected areas (and have passengers change), or something else?

    Was there a comparable large scale rail infrastructure change in some other country?

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    1. hapidjus ◴[20 May 25 08:23 UTC] No.44039129[source]▶
    I think you can ”upgrade” the tracks to use three rails so you can handle both track widths. Also there are trains with adjustabe axle widths.
    replies(4): >>44039205 #>>44039209 #>>44039212 #>>44039385 #
    2. cluckindan ◴[20 May 25 08:36 UTC] No.44039205[source]▶
    Not possible here because the widths are too close together to install a third rail.
    replies(1): >>44039276 #
    3. Sharlin ◴[20 May 25 08:36 UTC] No.44039209[source]▶
    You’d need four rails, a 9 cm separation isn’t enough to fit two side by side. This solution has been ruled out as technically infeasible (I don’t even want to think about what the switches would look like…)

    Adjustable-gauge rolling stock has also been ruled out as incompatible with the Finnish climate.

    The most (only?) feasible way to do it is to “simply” build entirely new standard-gauge track next to existing track (and then possibly start upgrading the latter too at some point in the future).

    replies(2): >>44039397 #>>44039411 #
    4. nottorp ◴[20 May 25 08:37 UTC] No.44039212[source]▶
    Wikipedia says 1435 and 1524 are too close for triple rail, you have to do quadruple.
    5. pjerem ◴[20 May 25 08:46 UTC] No.44039276[source]▶
    Given the small difference, maybe the easiest option is to "just" update the wheel axles of the entire fleet in the same time and at the same speed as the tracks.

    Wheels are anyway wearing parts and are to be changed periodically.

    BTW, I'm just speculating out loud.

    6. Stevvo ◴[20 May 25 09:00 UTC] No.44039385[source]▶
    Part of the motivation is removing the Russian gauge rails such that they can't be used in the case of invasion, so I don't think dual-gauge is really an option here.
    7. greatpatton ◴[20 May 25 09:01 UTC] No.44039397[source]▶
    Adjustable-gauge are used in Switzerland for a mountain line (Montreux-Interlaken) all through the year. I have never seen temperature issue mentioned. https://www.gpx.swiss/en/stories/technology (the video is rather cool)
    replies(2): >>44039690 #>>44039701 #
    8. vincnetas ◴[20 May 25 09:04 UTC] No.44039411[source]▶
    This reminded me about a joke.

    When engineers asked should we do the rails same width like in europe or wider, the answer they got from tzar was "Нахуй шире"

    literal translation "wider by length of dick, but meaning "why the fuck we need wider"

    - В Европе ширина колеи 1435 миллиметров. Нам делать так же или шире? - Нахуй шире, - ответил император.

    replies(1): >>44041652 #
    9. janfoeh ◴[20 May 25 09:49 UTC] No.44039690{3}[source]▶
    That is cool, thanks for posting!
    10. Sharlin ◴[20 May 25 09:51 UTC] No.44039701{3}[source]▶
    Nevertheless that’s what the initial feasibility studies showed. I don’t think the amount of complexity involved in that Swiss system would scale at all.
    11. alexey-salmin ◴[20 May 25 13:48 UTC] No.44041652{3}[source]▶
    Sounds like a variation on the "Tsar's finger" anecdote

    https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/580-the-legend-of-the-tsar...