List of steepest gradients on adhesion railways

The inclusion of steep gradients on railways avoids the expensive engineering work required to produce more gentle gradients. However the maximum feasible gradient is limited by how much of a load the locomotive(s) can haul upwards. Braking when travelling downhill is also a limiting factor. There have been various solutions to hauling rail mounted vehicles up or down inclines. These include simple rail adhesion, rack railways and cable inclines (including rail mounted water tanks to carry barges). To help with braking on the descent, a non-load-bearing "brake rail" located between the running rails can be used, similar to the rail used in the Fell system, e.g. by the Snaefell Mountain Railway on the Isle of Man.

Tramways and light railways often have steeper gradients than heavier railways. This is because all wheels are usually connected to engine power in order to give better acceleration. Grades of 5% are not uncommon on them. Metros and pure commuter railways often also allow steeper gradients, over 4%, for the same reason. High-speed railways commonly allow 2.5% to 4% because the trains must be strong and have many wheels with power to reach very high speeds. For freight trains, gradients should be as gentle as possible, preferably below 1.5%.

Examples

The list below is of some of the steepest gradients on adhesion railways, in order of decreasing steepness:

Gradient	Line	Date Open	Notes
1 in 7.2 (13.8%)	Calçada de São Francisco, Lisbon Tramways, Portugal	1873	In past, cable trams or funiculars only as hills too steep for horses. [1] Currently used by unassisted electric trams.
1 in 8.6 (11.6%)	Pöstlingbergbahn, Austria	1898
1 in 9 (11.1%)	Cass Scenic Railway, West Virginia, United States	1901	Former logging railway, steepest non-electrified adhesion railway
1 in 9 (11%) or 1 in 10 (10%)	Estrada de Ferro Campos do Jordão, Brazil		22 existing railways merged and nationalised in 1953
1 in 9.5 (10.5%)	Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad, California, United States	1963	3ft narrow gauge heritage railroad
1 in 10 (10%)	Sheffield Supertram, Sheffield, England	1994	[2]
1 in 10.4 (9.6%)	Gmunden Tramway, Austria	1894	[3]
1 in 11 (9.1%)	Allentown light rail line, Pittsburgh, United States	????
	Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway, France	1901
	J Church line, San Francisco	1917	[4]
1 in 11.13 (9.0%)	BC Forest Discovery Centre, Duncan, B.C., Canada		The steepest incline on a 3 ft narrow-gauge railway in Canada, the BC Forest Discovery Centre is a Forestry and Logging Museum that runs a tourist train, using a combination of steam locomotives and diesel locomotives, usually with trains consisting of 1-3 coaches in length, as well as motor cars.
1 in 11.4 (8.8%)	Cinci Drumuri–Pădurii, Iași Tramways, Iași, Romania		[5]
1 in 11.4 (8.75%)	A and B Loop and NS Line of the Portland Streetcar system, Portland, Oregon, United States		Located in the block of Southwest Harrison Street between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue[6]
1 in 11.8 (8.5%)	Stuttgart light rail system, Germany		Steepest gradient in Alexanderstraße on the southern part of line U15. [7]
1 in 12.5 (8%)	Hakone Tozan Line, Japan
1 in 12.5 (8%)	Trieste-Opicina tramway		Mixed adhesion and rope-hauled operation. The maximum gradient on adhesion is 8% between Vetta Scorcola and Cologna stops. Maximum gradient on the rope-hauled section is 26% between Romagna and S. Anastasio stops.[8]
1 in 12.5 (8.0%)	Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway, Appenzeller Bahnen, Switzerland
1 in 12.6 (7.9%)	Uetliberg railway line, Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn, Switzerland	1875	[9][10]
1 in 12.7 (7.85%)	Green Line B branch, Boston, Massachusetts, United States		The steepest gradients are near Washington Street station.[11]
1 in 13.7 (7.3%)	Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line, Switzerland
1 in 14 (7.1%)	Driving Creek Railway, Coromandel, New Zealand
1 in 14 (7.1%)	Hopton Incline, Cromford and High Peak Railway, England		This incline has only carried passengers, by adhesion, on enthusiast special trains, but is now completely closed.
1 in 14.1 (7.1%)	Erzberg Railway (Erzbergbahn), Austria		Built as a rack railway, adhesion operation only by passenger railbuses, now only museum operation on part of the line.
1 in 14 (7.0%)	Red Marble Grade, Topton, North Carolina.		A 2015 survey[12] lists the 3.5 mile stretch between MP 87 and MP 90.5 at a 4% average grade and says there are isolated stretches approaching 7%. When originally built the ruling grade was 4.2% as listed by southern railway. But due to the fills settling it has drastically changed.[12] This segment of track has always been worked by adhesion. This line is owned by Great Smoky Mountains Railroad and in 2019 is out of service.
1 in 14.2 (7.0%)	Bernina Railway, Switzerland
	MAX Light Rail system, Portland, Oregon, United States		System's ruling gradient of 7.0% is located on the viaduct connecting the Steel Bridge with Southwest 1st Avenue.[13][14]
	SacRT light rail, Sacramento, California, United States
1 in 15 (6.67%)	Usui Pass, former Shin'etsu Main Line, Japan
	Former Keihan Keishin Line
	Toden Arakawa Line (Tokyo Sakura Tram), Japan
1 in 15.4 (6.5%)	Incline from the Causeway Street Tunnel up to the Lechmere Viaduct on the Green Line (MBTA), Boston, Massachusetts, United States		[15] This incline is commonly believed to be the "steepest grade of tracks in the T system."[16]
1 in 15.9 (6.3%)	Alishan Forest Railway, Taiwan
1 in 16.4 (6.1%)	Hunsrückbahn, Germany		Built as a rack railway.
	Keihan Keishin Line
1 in 16.6 (6.0%)	Ligne de Cerdagne, France
	Arica, Chile to Bolivia		With 100 m (328.08 ft) radius curves.
	Terni–Perugia–Sansepolcro railway (Perugia Sant'Anna branch)		Steepest standard gauge line in Italy
1 in 16.7 (6.0%)	Arosabahn, Switzerland	1910	Rockfall shelter
1 in 17 (5.89%)	Madison Incline, Madison, Indiana, United States		Steepest standard gauge, line haul railroad in North America.[17] Worked as a rack railway until 1868 when the Reuben Wells was built to work the hill by adhesion.
1 in 17.1 (5.88%)	Docklands Light Railway, London, England		On the ramp from the original London and Blackwall Railway viaduct to the tunnel leading to Bank.
1 in 17.5 (5.7%)	Mukilteo, Washington, United States, Boeing Factory Spur		Rail line for delivering parts shipped from overseas to the Boeing Everett Factory.
	Canada Line, Vancouver, B.C., Canada		Ruling gradient for the Canada Line for its steepest portion, between Broadway–City Hall station and Olympic Village station.
1 in 18 (5.5%)	Near Alausi, Ecuador on line to Quito
	Flåmsbanen, Norway
	Höllentalbahn (Black Forest), Germany
1 in 19.2 (5.2%)	Hong Kong Tramway, Hong Kong		Along the section of King's Road between the junctions with Kornhill Road and Shau Kei Wan Road/Taikoo Shing Road
1 in 19 (5.3%)	Camden Tram, New South Wales, Australia		This line has been closed for over 50 years.
	Foxfield Railway, Staffordshire, England		This incline is on a preserved colliery railway which briefly carried passengers over this steep section but does not now normally do so.
	Kangra Valley Railway, Himachal Pradesh, India
1 in 20 (5.0%)	Rapperswil - Samstagern, Südostbahn, Switzerland
	Murg Valley Railway, Germany
	Kurobe Gorge Railway, Japan
	Eizan Electric Railway Kurama Line, Japan
	Nankai Electric Railway Koya Line, Japan
	Kobe Electric Railway (Shintetsu) Ao Line and Arima Line, Japan
	Tateyama Erosion Control Train, Japan		[18]
1 in 20 (5.0%)/1 in 25 (4.0%)	Matheran Hill Railway, India		Near Mumbai
1 in 21 (4.7%)	Saluda Grade, Saluda, North Carolina, United States		The steepest standard gauge mainline railroad grade in the United States.[19] Worked by adhesion between 1878 and 2001, currently out of service.
1 in 22 (4.5%)	Balsam Mountain Grade, Balsam N.C.		Balsam Mountain, home of highest railroad station east of the Rockies; average grade about 4.0%, max 4.5%. 1 of 2 grades on southern railways former Murphy branch that are +4% grade. Balsam Mountain has seen many runaways. It is still in service operated by the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad (Watco).
1 in 22 (4.5%)	Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India
1 in 22 (4.5%)	Big Hill, British Columbia, Canada		Operated from 1884 to 1909 when it was replaced by two spiral tunnels.
1 in 22.5 (4.4%)	Thamshavn Line, Norway
1 in 23 (4.3%)	Ballochney incline, Ballochney Railway, Scotland		The steepest standard gauge inclines used regularly by passenger trains by adhesion in Britain. Both closed to passengers from 1 May 1930 by the London and North Eastern Railway and since closed completely.[20]
	Causewayend incline, Slamannan Railway, Scotland
1 in 23.5 (4.25%)	Boketu Forest Railway [zh], China	1924	Steepest railway line owned by China Railways
1 in 25 (4.0%)	Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line, Germany
	Chosica - Galera, Central Railway, Peru
	Selketalbahn, Germany
	Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, Colorado, United States
	Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Colorado, United States
	Sawando to Akagi, Iida Line, Japan
	Fujikyuko Line, Fuji Kyuko Railway, Japan
	Batlow branch, New South Wales, Australia	1923	This line has been closed for many years. A popular grade in NSW.
	Newnes branch, New South Wales, Australia		This line has been closed for many decades. The Glowworm Tunnel on its former route is a popular tourist attraction. Used Shay locomotives.
	Oberon branch, New South Wales, Australia	1923-1980	This line has been closed for decades. [21]
	Dorrigo branch, New South Wales, Australia		This line has been closed for decades. There have been several attempts by the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum and Glenreagh Mountain Railway to reinstate part of it as a historic/tourist rail line.
	Luxembourg to St Michel-Notre Dame, RER Line B, Paris, France
1 in 26 (3.85%)	Iquique Railway, Chile		[22]
	Ōu Main Line (Yamagata Shinkansen), Japan		Momentum Grades
1 in 27 (3.7%)	Mersey Railway Tunnel, England
	Werneth Incline, England		Regular passenger service withdrawn 7 January 1963 and since closed completely.[23]
	Holywell branch line, Wales		Regular passenger service withdrawn 6 September 1954 and since closed completely.[20]
	Mauritius Railways		[24]
1 in 28 (3.6%)	LGV Sud-Est high-speed line, France
1 in 28.5 (3.5%)	Kyushu Shinkansen, Japan
1 in 48 (2.08%)	Liverpool and Manchester Railway Docks	1830	Designed for cable haulage to begin with; replaced by locomotives when technology advanced enough.
1 in 96 (1.04%)	Liverpool and Manchester Railway	1830	On either side of Rainhill level where Rainhill locomotive trials were conducted in 1829.
1 in 880 (0.11%)	Liverpool and Manchester Railway	1830	General ruling gauge overall

See also

• Grade (slope)
• Hillclimbing (railway)
• Lickey Incline, steepest British main-line gradient
• Longest trains
• Mountain railway
• Rack railways
• Ruling gradient
• Spiral (railway)
• Zig zag (railway)

Further reading

• Wellington, Arthur Mellen (1887). "X. The Relative Importance of Gradients". The Economic Theory of the Location of Railways: An Analysis of the Conditions Controlling the Laying Out of Railways to Effect the Most Judicious Expenditure of Capital. London & New York: J. Wiley & Sons. OL 20529157M.

References

1. "Record Railroad Routes: Highest, Steepest & Longest". Retrieved 2019-02-10.
2. The potential introduction of trams to Bath (PDF), Atkins, January 2018
3. Taplin, Michael; and Russell, Michael (2002). Trams in Western Europe, p. 8. Harrow Weald, Middlesex (UK): Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 1-85414-265-8.
4. "General Information". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
5. "Pantele din Iaşi pun probleme ofertanţilor" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2019-09-09.
6. "Worldwide Review [regular news section]". Tramways & Urban Transit. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. August 2013. p. 352. ISSN 1460-8324.
7. Peix (4 December 2007). "START FÜR NEUE U 15" (PDF). p. 37. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
8. "Technical features". Trieste Trasporti Spa. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
9. "79-Promille-Rampe" (in German). Retrieved 2017-08-24.
10. "Bahn S4/S10 - Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn SZU" (in German). Retrieved 2017-08-24.
11. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (2017-03-06). MBTA Green Line Track Charts. pp. 14–15.
12. "Andrews to Murphy (A2M) Rail Reactivation Study" (PDF). NCDOT Rail Division. February 2015. p. 28.
13. Sebree, Mac (1994). "Portland's Westside Tunnel: An LRT Breakthrough". 1994 Light Rail Annual & User's Guide. North American Light Rail Annual and User's Guide for. Pasadena, CA: Pentrex. pp. 10–14. ISSN 0160-6913.
14. Sheldrake, Arlen; et al. (2012). Steel Over the Willamette. Portland, Oregon: Pacific Northwest Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-9851207-0-2.
15. "Boston's Light Rail Transit Prepares for the Next Hundred Years" (PDF). onlinepubs.trb.org. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
16. Daniel, Mac (11 November 2005). "Lechmere, Science Park stations reopen". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
17. "The Madison Incline: Steepest Railroad Grade in North America". Delay In Block Productions. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
18. "Tateyama Sabo's Erosion Control Works Service Train". hrr.mlit.go.jp. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
19. Trains, November 1984, p26
20. Railway World, April 1963, p159
21. nswrail.net
22. "BRITISH ENTERPRISE IN SOUTH AMERICA". mikes.railhistory.railfan.net.
23. Modern Railways, Nov 2009, p10; Railway World, February 1963, p76
24. "The Sydney Morning Herald". 1868-09-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-05-05.

External links

• Sample Curve & Gradient Diagram, Page 5