Talk:New Zealand Railways Department

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[edit] Narrow Gauge?

I would like to dipute the "Narrow Gauge" statement. Our railways are NOT narrow gauge, it is only when they are compared to British and American railways that they APPEAR narrower. British and American are broad gauge.

The classification is consistent with international practice - see Narrow gauge railways. New Zealand's national rail network is certainly narrower than most of the former tram networks in New Zealand, including the current Christchurch system, and some of the bush tramways. --Lholden 00:04, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

It is also worth keeping in mind that in the 1860s and early 1870s when gauge was debated, all parties were very conscious of the fact that Canterbury's provincial railway network operated a broad gauge, Southland and Auckland operated standard gauge, and 3' 6" was a narrow gauge option. It was ultimately chosen precisely because it is a narrow gauge - cheaper construction in New Zealand's terrain compared to standard gauge and any broad gauge. - Axver 00:13, 1 August 2007 (UTC)