Because we've always done it this way...
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Very interesting. great post. The rail gauges were also a major issue during WWII on the eastern front when the Russians used a diferent gauge than Western Europe and both sides were constantly reconstructing the rails as the fronts shifted. I imagine it is standardized today but perhaps not. Anyone know offhand? David
The Russians are also so afraid of the Chinese overrunning their country that they deliberately chose to use a gauge different from China's. Trains to China are physically lifted off the wheels and placed on new undercarriages that fit the Chinese gauge.
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Thanks. Wow. Kinda surprises me that the gauges are still different. It must create a ton of extra work to shuffle trade goods from one to the other (or do they have both gauges running to major trade depots?). Cheers, David
This is solution for pasenger trains.[^]. There is a wide track leading into Slovakia used to bring iron ore from Russia into US Steel Košice. Other goods are reloaded. To rebuild all tracks and vehicles in so big area would be quite an undertaking.
Pavel