Rail network density in selected countries 2014-2015

In 2015, Czechia had the highest rail network density of any country, coming in at meters of track per square kilometer. The density of a county’s rail network is a function not only of the amount of track laid, but also the country’s geographic size.

Freight and passenger rail

Included here is track used for both passenger and freight rail. The volume of freight rail is higher than the volume of passenger rail in all regions, but by widely varying margins. In some cases the difference is massive, such as in North America where freight volumes are approaching 100 times higher than passenger volumes. Conversely, in Europe the difference in volumes is only around percent.

Overall rail network size

Rail network density is not a measure of the overall size and composition of a country’s rail network. For example, the large populations and high level of urban rail found in the Asia Pacific region means that China, India and Japan combined account for around three quarters of global passenger rail traffic, even though none are in the top five for rail network density. Similarly, Russia has a higher freight rail volume than the United States despite having a much lower track density.