Bosnian-gauge railways are railways with track gauge of . These were found extensively in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire as a standardised form of narrow gauge. The name is also used for lines of the same gauge outside Bosnia, for example in Austria. Similar track gauges are the and gauge.

History

After a British proposal the 1878 Berlin Congress permitted Austria-Hungary to occupy and govern Bosnia-Herzegovina instead of Turkey, the long Brod–Zenica military railway was built to support manoeuvres and supply troops. It was completed in 1879, using the temporary tracks and rolling stock used during the construction of the recently finished Timisoara–Oršava line. The Zenica–Sarajevo extension opened in 1882, with a loading gauge the same as that used on gauge railways, which was thought to be sufficient for general traffic including passenger services.

The Brod–Zenica–Sarajevo Bosna Bahn provided the basis for the narrow-gauge railway network which was later established in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In barely two decades a national network was built. By the 1890s this stretched through Mostar to the Dalmatian border at Metković, and to Gruž, a suburb of Dubrovnik, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. This narrow gauge main line carried much heavier traffic than many of the minor main lines across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the time of their introduction, the Bosnia-Herzegovian National Railways' express locomotives of 1894-96 were the fastest narrow gauge locomotives in Europe, with a permitted top speed.

The establishment of the fast-growing network, whose length by the start of the 20th centuries exceeded making it the once largest interconnected narrow gauge network in Europe, secured a high reputation for the Monarchy's engineering corps amongst international professional circles.

It was the success of the Bosnian narrow gauge net which gave impetus after the turn of the century to the large-scale building of gauge lines across other territories of the Monarchy. The technical solutions pioneered there were used later on all the narrow-gauge railways of Austria-Hungary.

Railways Country/territoryRailwayArgentinaPenínsula Valdés RailwayAustriaBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaFew railways, of which only Septemvri-Dobrinishte narrow gauge line () remains in operationCroatiaParenzana SamoborčekCzech RepublicJindřichohradecké místní dráhy Třemešná ve Slezsku – Osoblaha RailwayDR CongoMatadi–Kinshasa Railway Denmark See Narrow-gauge railways in DenmarkDominican RepublicDominican Central Railway, (later Ferrocarriles Unidos Dominicanos) , in operation from 1897-c.1957 (defunct)Dominican Republic public service railways, 1870-1990 (Los ferrocarriles de servicio público de República Dominicana, 1870-1990) by Antonio Santamaría García (1993), table 4 "Empresas ferroviarias de servicio público de República Dominicana", pp. 13HungaryIn operation:

Children's railway, Budapest Balatonfenyves Light Railway Szob–Nagybörzsöny Forest Railway Csömödér State Forest Railway Debrecen Fun-Fair Railway Felsőtárkány State Forest Railway Gemenc State Forest Railway Hortobágy-fishpond Light Railway Kaszó State Forest Railway Királyrét Forest Railway Lillafüred State Forest Railway Mátra Railway Mecsek Light Railway Mesztegnyő State Forest Railway Pálház State Forest Railway Széchenyi Museum Railway, Nagycenk Szilvásvárad Forest Railway Tömörkény Fishing Railway Vál Valley Light Railway Zsuzsi Forest Railway

Operation suspended since 2009::hu:2009-es magyarországi vasútbezárások

Kecskemét Light Railway Nyír Area Light Railway Tiszakécske Children's RailwayItalyFleims Valley Railway Lokalbahn Mori–Arco–Riva Parenzana Val Gardena Railway (Grödner Railway)RomaniaVaser Valley line Covasna-Comandău line, tourist heritage railway Agnita railway line, tourist heritage railway over 7km Cornatel-Hosman section Turda-Abrud Narrow-Gauge Railway (operation suspended) Transylvanian mining railway (dismantled) Viseu – Valea Vaserului (operating) Brad–Criscior (operating) Covasna–Comandau (operating) Moldovita–Argel (operating) Abrud–Campeni (operating) Sovata – Campu Cetatii (operating)SerbiaŠargan Eight tourist heritage railwaySlovakiaČierny Hron River Railway Historical Logging Switchback Railway in Vychylovka Trenčianske Teplice tram line Several other logging railroadsSloveniaParenzana Railway Poljčane–Slovenske Konjice–ZrečeUruguayFerrocarril Pan de Azucar - Piriapolis (defunct)

See also

List of town tramway systems in Croatia List of track gauges Sarajevo Tramway

References

External links History of Bosnian railways