List of highest railways

A train pulled by an NJ2 locomotive travels on the Qinghai–Tibet Railway.

This article lists the highest railways in the world.[1] Before the opening of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway in 2006, a line passing through Tanggula Mountains and Tanggula Pass, the highest three railways were located in the Andean countries of Peru and Bolivia. The list only includes non-cable railways whose culminating point is over 2,000 metres above sea level.

For a list by country, see List of highest railways by country.

List

Completed

Rank Railway line Highest point Highest elevation Country Opened Notes
1Xining-Golmud-LhasaTanggula5,068 m (16,627 ft) China2006
2Lima-HuancayoTiclio4,829 m (15,843 ft)[2][3] Peru1893Highest railway in the Americas
3Rio Mulatos-PotosíCóndor4,786 m (15,702 ft) Bolivia 
4Cuzco-Lake TiticacaLa Raya4,313 m (14,150 ft) Peru 
5Manitou and Pike's Peak RailwayPikes Peak Summit4,301 m (14,111 ft)[4] USA1891Highest railway in North America
6Salta-AntofagastaLa Polvorilla4,220 m (13,845 ft) Argentina
 Chile		1948"Tren a las Nubes" tourist service between Salta and La Polvorilla
7 Quito-Guayaquil Urbina 3,609 m (11,841 ft)[5]  Ecuador 1908 Reopened 2011
8 Lanzhou–Xinjiang High-Speed Railway Qilianshan No.2 Tunnel 3,608 m (11,837 ft)  China 2014 Highest High-speed railway
9JungfraubahnJungfraujoch3,454 m (11,332 ft)[6]  Switzerland1912Highest railway in Europe, underground above 2,350 m.[6][7]
10Leadville, Colorado and Southern RailroadLeadville3,414 m (11,201 ft) USAHighest Adhesion railway in North America
11GornergratbahnGornergrat3,090 m (10,138 ft)  Switzerland1898Highest open-air railway in Europe
12Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RailroadCumbres Pass3,054 m (10,020 ft) USA1881Highest narrow gauge railroad in North America
13 Yuergou-Yanqi Railway Kuixian Tunnel 2,980 m (9,777 ft)  China 1978 Main line of Southern Xinjiang Railway before 2014
14Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RailroadSilverton2,837 m (9,308 ft) USA1881
15Union Pacific Railroad, Moffat Tunnel SubdivisionMoffat Tunnel2,816 m (9,239 ft) USA1928Apex in tunnel; highest point in Amtrak network
16 Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway Wushaoling Tunnel 2,663 m (8,737 ft)  China 2006
17Bavarian Zugspitze RailwaySchneefernerhaus2,650 m (8,694 ft) Germany1930Underground above 1,640 m
18 Lanzhou–Chongqing Railway Muzhailing Tunnel 2,549 m (8,363 ft)[8]  China 2017
19Alishan Forest RailwayChushan2,451 m (8,041 ft) Taiwan1986Highest railway in Taiwan
20Tramway du Mont-Blanc[9]Nid d'aigle de Bionnassay2,380 m (7,808 ft) France1909
21BNSF Raton Pass LineRaton Pass2,312 m (7,585 ft) USA1879Highest point on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
22Darjeeling Himalayan RailwayGhum2,257 m (7,405 ft)  India1891Highest railway in India
23Bernina RailwayOspizio Bernina2,253 m (7,392 ft)  Switzerland1909Highest rail crossing in Europe[10]
24 Chengdu–Kunming Railway Shamalada Tunnel 2,244 m (7,362 ft)[11]  China 1969
25Nilgiri Mountain RailwayOoty2,210 m (7,251 ft)[12] India1908Highest railway in south India
26Overland RouteDonner Pass2,151 m (7,057 ft) USA1869Part of First Transcontinental Railroad
27Kalka-Shimla RailwayShimla2,086 m (6,844 ft)[13] India1898
28Pilatus RailwayPilatus2,073 m (6,801 ft)   Switzerland1889Steepest non-cable railway in the world[14]
29Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn Oberalp Pass2,043 m (6,703 ft)   Switzerland1926

Closed railways

Rank Railway line Highest point Highest elevation Country Opened / closed Notes
1Denver South Park & PacificAlpine Tunnel3,512 m (11,522 ft) USA1882 / 1910
2Mendoza-Los AndesLos Caracoles3,176 m (10,420 ft) Argentina
 Chile		1910 / 1984
3DRG&W Tennessee Pass RouteTennessee Pass3,116 m (10,223 ft) USA1881 / 1997Out of service. Can be reactivated if traffic permits.
4Dumaresq-Glen InnesBen Lomond1,363 m (4,472 ft) AustraliaAugust 19, 1884 /
December 10, 1985		Formerly the highest station in Australia

See also

References

  1. ↑ Infos at mikes.railhistory.railfan.net
  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. ↑ Tren Ecuador. "Tren del Hielo II". Tren Ecuador. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Jungfraubahnen. "Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe". Jungfrau Ski Region. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  7. ↑ Switzerland Tourism. "Highest railway in Europe". My Switzerland. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  8. ↑ https://wk.baidu.com/view/2ed2676d0066f5335a812149?pcf=2#1. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/fr/presentation-des-sites/tramway-du-mont-blanc
  10. ↑ Nicola Williams, Damien Simonis, Kerry Walker. Switzerland (ebook Edition). Lonely Planet
  11. ↑ "发现金口河大峡谷".
  12. ↑ "Ooty Railway Station". indiarailinfo.com.
  13. ↑ "Shimla Railway Station". indiarailinfo.com.
  14. ↑ Engineering Magazine, Volume 14, p. 81
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