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Two foot and 600 mm gauge railways are narrow gauge railways with track gauges of 2 ft (610 mm) and 600 mm (1 ft 11 + 5 ⁄ 8 in), respectively. Railways with similar, less common track gauges, such as 1 ft 11 + 3 ⁄ 4 in ( 603 mm ) and 1 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 597 mm ), are grouped with 2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways.
The whole Incofer network is 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge, although there are small tourist railways of other gauges. Much of the railway system requires major repairs. [ 2 ] An August 2016 OECD report provided this summary about the infrastructure, including the railways:
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in) railways are found in the northern half of the country.. The Old Patagonian Express (La Trochita) is a 402 km-long 750 mm (2 ft 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) narrow-gauge railway in the Andean foothills of Patagonia, now running as two portions of its original length, and only as a tourist attraction.
In South America, Argentina and Chile use 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) track gauge, as well as 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in) or metre gauge. Brazil uses 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) (known as "Irish gauge", most common for passenger services and a few corridors in the Southeast) and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in) (known as "narrow gauge" or "metre gauge", most common for cargo services).
Costa Rican railways are 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Cape gauge. Due to its mountainous terrain, the first railway was laid using Cape gauge in 1871. This set the standard for other railways to use the same gauge. Currently all 950 km (590 mi) of rail are 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). They are state owned and operated by INCOFER.
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) standard gauge. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm ( 1 ft 11 + 5 ⁄ 8 in ) and 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ).
See Narrow-gauge railways in Denmark: 686 mm: 2 ft 3 in: See List of 2 ft 3 in gauge railways: 693 mm: 2 ft 3 + 9 ⁄ 32 in: Sweden: 28 Swedish inches. [28] Several railways. 700 mm 2 ft 3 + 9 ⁄ 16 in: Denmark See Narrow-gauge railways in Denmark and Narrow-gauge railways in Europe. Common for sugar beet or sugar cane railways and peat railways.
Narrow gauge railways were constructed mainly where there was a need for tighter curves, smaller structure gauges, and lighter rails, as they could be less costly to build, equip and operate than standard gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). [1] Narrow gauge railways in Britain used various gauges.