# In countries that drive on the left, do the trains also run on the left, assuming that the line is double tracked? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2022, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121 "2022-01-03T06:33:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/1 "2022-01-03T06:33:13Z")
Picture yourself standing on the platform at a metro station. It’s an island platform, and you are facing down the tracks. I’ve only ridden rail transit in San Diego, L.A., and San Francisco, but in all those places, if I stand on an island platform with tracks on either side, facing down the tracks, I’ll see the trains moving away from me on my right and coming towards me on my left, very similar to how I would see the traffic move if I were standing on an island in the middle of a busy street. If the station has side platforms, then if I stand on a platform facing perpendicular to the tracks, the trains on that side will enter the station on my left, and leave it on my right. On the far track, they’ll do the opposite. Again, this is the same as if I were standing on a sidewalk watching the cars go by. It’s also been my impression that intercity trains do the same thing wherever at least two sets of tracks are available. So is this all turned around in places where people drive on the left? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/2 "2022-01-03T06:44:52Z")
Yes, but not as rigidly as autos. In northern Arizona the BNSF (former Santa Fe) mainline runs left-hand preferential between Gallup and Kingman. The Chicago and Northwestern, built with British capital, ran left handed as well. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/3 "2022-01-03T06:59:02Z")
Of course, with CTC, it seems a mixed bag on running direction. Interesting about the CNW’s left running. I never knew that. About the pink ballast though… ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/4 "2022-01-03T07:24:58Z")
Yes but, if only from force of habit, they stick mainly to one side. As I said, the Seligman subdivision between Winslow and Needles runs left handed because back in the day the grades were more favorable that way. Even today, watching on [ATCSMon](https://atcsmon.software.informer.com/4.1/), I’ve watched them run that way until the westbound Southwest Chief is due in Flagstaff and needs the northern track for the platform. If there’s an eastbound due to meet while the Chief is in the way, the dispatcher will shift it right then back to left after Flag. After SWC leaves, everything shuffles back over to the left. Eastbound SWC there’s no problem because it wants the left-hand track anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/5 "2022-01-03T08:19:24Z")
There is a correlation between traffic orientation on roads and on rails, but it’s not a very strong one; many countries have different orientation on the two. See [Left- and right-hand traffic - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic). There really is no compelling reason why it has to be the same on both, especially for metro systems that do not intersect with the road network. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/6 "2022-01-03T11:19:09Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > So is this all turned around in places where people drive on the left? In Japan, street traffic keeps left. My experience as a tourist there has been that trains likewise run on the left. The weird thing there is escalators. People are really good about standing on one side and walking on the other, but there’s a schism: if you’re in Osaka, people tend to stand on the right, and if you’re in Tokyo, people tend to stand on the left. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/7 "2022-01-03T15:07:15Z")
You’re talking about a country that can’t make up its mind whether to generate electricity at 50 or 60Hz. Come to think of it, Osaka and Tokyo are on different sides of the divide there, too. Coincidence? _You_ decide. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/8 "2022-01-03T15:25:33Z")
I read that one railroad in the United States “drives on the left” because the original investors were mostly British. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/9 "2022-01-03T15:37:51Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > I read that one railroad in the United States “drives on the left” because the original investors were mostly British. That’d likely be the old Chicago and North Western (as @DesertDog noted above), though [Wikipedia’s article on the C&NW](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_and_North_Western_Transportation_Company#Operations) doesn’t mention British investors as the reason why: > [@](#): > > The CNW was known for running [on the left-hand side](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic) when running on double track mainlines. In the United States, most railroads used the right-hand track along double-track mainlines, while left-hand running was more common in countries where British companies built the railroads. According to a display in the [Lake Forest station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Forest_station_(Union_Pacific)), the reason for this was a combination of chance and inertia. When originally built as single-line trackage, the C&NW arbitrarily placed its stations on the left-hand side of the tracks (when headed inbound toward Chicago). Later, when a second track was added, it was placed on the side away from the stations so as not to force them to relocate. Since most passengers waiting at the stations were headed toward Chicago, the inbound track remained the one closest to the station platforms. The expense of reconfiguring signals and switches has prevented a conversion to right-hand operation ever since. Though the C&NW was purchased by Union Pacific in 1995, and integrated into the UP system, some of its old trackage is still being run left-handed, at least in the Chicago area, as the commuter train stations are all still set up that way. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/10 "2022-01-03T18:05:04Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > In northern Arizona the BNSF (former Santa Fe) mainline runs left-hand preferential between Gallup and Kingman. Interestingly, by the time they get to La Plata MO they appear to be RH preferred. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/11 "2022-01-03T18:11:42Z")
AFAIK it switches to right-hand running east of Gallup, a long ways from La Plata. Cajon Pass is left hand, again, because the grades are more favorable that way. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/12 "2022-01-03T19:21:42Z")
I’ve heard both stories about the C&NW left running, and there may be some truth to both the British investment angle and the convenience for inbound passenger angle. I’m not sure one has any more merit than the other. In general though, railroads with heavy British investment tended to be left running more often than not (India, Japan, South Africa, Egypt, Australia). Also, some countries switched from left to right running road traffic (Sweden for example) or had a mix (Spain, Italy, Austria) and didn’t change their railroads. Switzerland and Belgium (among others) are interesting examples where they always had right running roads, but left running railroads. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/13 "2022-01-03T19:47:17Z")
Thank you for the responses so far. I didn’t know about the C&NWRR running on the left. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/14 "2022-01-03T21:11:35Z")
Britain - as a rule on the left (like the cars) but it gets more complicated for multiple tracks. Take, for instance, this image of East Croyden station: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.3757273,-0.0926159&z=19&output=embed&dg=ntvb **In order to see the satellite image, click on the small box bottom left of the image.** You got six tracks there, so thinking in terms of on-the-left or on-the-right doesn’t really apply. A southbound train could end up on either side of an island platform. Sometimes they change sides of platforms for operational reasons. If you have two tracks, I _believe_ it’s always on the left. On a related subject, here’s a thing I found out a couple of years ago: > On all waterways, the rule of the road is to drive on the right. On wide waterways this may be easy. But on most canals, unless there’s another boat coming towards you, you’ll steer down the middle as it’s likely to be shallow near the edges. > > When you do meet an approaching boat, keep to the right and pass ‘port-to-port’ (the left side of your boat passes the left side of the approaching boat). [Source.](https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/a-guide-to-boating/boaters-handbook/casting-off-cruising-and-tying-up) j ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/15 "2022-01-03T22:00:08Z")
This carries over to a lot of other traffic=related things. In the US (and much of the world), you enter an escalator on the right, and people exiting are on the left. (And rude people who want to walk by others on the escalator pass on the left.) Pedestrians even tend to keep to the right mostly when walking. Businesses usually have the entrance doors to the right, while the exit doors are to the left. I believe many of these are also reversed in British areas – cars, and all these, mostly go to the left. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/16 "2022-01-03T22:23:11Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Though the C&NW was purchased by Union Pacific in 1995, and integrated into the UP system, some of its old trackage is still being run left-handed, at least in the Chicago area, as the commuter train stations are all still set up that way. The C&NW had doubletrack mainlines in Illinois and Iowa, and ran left-handed throughout their system. UP runs right-handed, though, but kept the left-handed running for several years after the merger in 1995, due to signaling and signage. UP has converted most of the trackage to CTC, so they can run on whatever track they want, though they still run left-handed near Chicago. I’m inclined to believe it was just chance and inertia, as the “Cheap & Nothing Wasted” wouldn’t spend the money to convert to right-hand running. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/17 "2022-01-04T00:19:01Z")
> [@gnarator](#): > > I’m inclined to believe it was just chance and inertia, as the “Cheap & Nothing Wasted” wouldn’t spend the money to convert to right-hand running. I’ve heard some wags said CNW meant “Can’t, and Never Will”. It was in jest though, as it was a good road. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/18 "2022-01-04T00:36:16Z")
In Ireland cars and trains drive on the left. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/19 "2022-01-04T03:11:03Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > You got six tracks there, so thinking in terms of on-the-left or on-the-right doesn’t really apply. (Mumble) decades ago I was traveling on DB in Germany extensively. One time we pulled into a multi-track station and the platform was on the left with nobody on it while on the right was a parallel track with _its_ platform on the right; a bunch of people were on it, looking at the train with confused expressions. A minute later the conductor was stalking down the corridor muttering German they didn’t teach me in high school, then the train backed a good kilometer before pulling in on the track where all the people were waiting. I’m guessing somebody in CTC was literally asleep at the switch. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121/20 "2022-01-04T04:48:43Z")
Chicago railroad historian here. Nothing to the British capital being the reason—what would the investors care?—it was the station placement when double-tracking came. As mentioned, most of the early depots on the original Galena & Chicago Union R.R. line, which ran westward from Chicago, were placed on the north side of the tracks. When the line was double-tracked, it was easier to put the new tracks to the south. Since depots are more useful to passengers, particular commuters, waiting for an inbound (Chicago-bound) train than to those who have just disembarked, it was safer to run inbound trains on the depot side–which just happened to result in left-hand running for the C&NW. Only two other US railroads seem to have ever used left-hand running, but both had changed by 1952. Unlike drivers, locomotive engineers don’t have to judge how close they are to curbs or other vehicles, but right-hand running still has an inherent advantage for railroads. Since early locomotives had the long boiler out in front, most right-eyed engineers would prefer looking out the right-side window to see trackside signals. Other Metra lines occasionally have to run trains on the “wrong” track at times to make way for track repairs or long freight trains. From the _Railroad Gazette,_ January 13, 1893. > “The very small minority of left-handed railroads in the United States has been reduced by the desertion of the Illinois Central, which went over to the majority the first of the year. It is said that one argument for retaining the left-hand system has been that most of the suburban stations on the Illinois Central near Chicago are west of the tracks. But it appears that with the increasing number of new stations and the approach of the time when over and under passages must be provided at both old and new ones, it was deemed best to take the bull by the horns.” It was common for British engineers to construct railways around the world in the 19th century, either as part of the Empire or as the international experts, and those do tend to run lefthanded. Surprisingly, this influence even extends to France, Switzerland, and Italy. [Here’s a map showing the situation around the world.](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/29i4hq/side_where_the_train_runs_by_country_1500_625/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-countries-that-drive-on-the-left-do-the-trains-also-run-on-the-left-assuming-that-the-line-is-double-tracked/957121.md?page=2)