Longest railway networks
Total length of operational railway track. The US figure is dominated by freight networks; China leads in high-speed rail at over 45,000 km.
Headline finding
United States leads the world for longest railway networks at 220,480 km of track.
The full top 25: Longest railway networks
Click any country to read its full profile.
- 1 United States 220,480
- 2 China 159,000
- 3 Russia 87,157
- 4 India 68,584
- 5 Canada 49,422
- 6 Germany 39,200
- 7 Argentina 36,966
- 8 Australia 36,064
- 9 Brazil 29,850
- 10 France 29,273
- 11 Poland 18,513
- 12 Ukraine 19,787
- 13 Spain 15,500
- 14 Japan 27,311
- 15 United Kingdom 16,320
- 16 Italy 16,723
- 17 Mexico 23,389
- 18 Kazakhstan 16,614
- 19 Czech Republic 9,408
- 20 Romania 10,770
- 21 South Africa 20,986
- 22 Turkey 12,710
- 23 Sweden 14,127
- 24 Hungary 8,049
- 25 Belgium 3,592
What the numbers show
United States's lead at the top of this ranking is 38.7% above the second-place country — comfortable but not insurmountable — a credible challenger could plausibly close that gap over a decade.
The five countries leading the table — United States, China, Russia, India, Canada — together set the global benchmark. The next 20 countries fill the rest of the table, with Belgium anchoring the list at 3,592.
Figures are drawn from International Union of Railways 2024. We use this source because it produces a single, internally consistent dataset rather than aggregating from national statistics offices, which makes year-on-year comparison reliable. The next update is expected when the source publishes its next annual release — see the methodology section below for which year of data is currently shown.
Methodology and caveats
- What this measures
- km of track
- Source
- International Union of Railways 2024
- Coverage
- Top 25 countries shown. Full source dataset covers all 195 sovereign states where data is available.
- Refresh cadence
- Updated annually as the source publishes new figures, typically autumn or spring.
- Known caveat
- Country definitions follow the source: where the UN, the World Bank and the CIA Factbook disagree on borders or recognition, we use the figure as published rather than reconciling between bodies. Comparisons across rankings should be made with this in mind.
Frequently asked
Which country tops the ranking for railway networks?
United States leads with 220,480 km of track. China is second at 159,000, with Russia in third place. Full top-10 with sources is above.
What's the source for the railway networks ranking?
The figures come from International Union of Railways 2024. We use this source because it publishes a complete country-by-country dataset using consistent methodology — the alternative of mixing national statistics offices would compromise comparability. Updated annually with the latest available vintage of the data.
How often are the railway networks figures updated?
Once a year, in line with the source institution's publishing schedule. Major institutions like the World Bank, IMF and UNESCO publish annual updates in different months — typically autumn or spring — and the figures here reflect the most recently published vintage. The source footer on the ranking table shows which year's data is currently displayed.