1. Advantages of quadruple track

2. Disadvantages of quadruple track

3. Quadruple-track operation

4. Quadruple-track layouts

5. Examples
     Europe    Belgium    Denmark    Finland    Germany    Ireland    Italy    Netherlands    Sweden    Switzerland    United Kingdom    The Americas   United States   Asia    China    Hong Kong    India    Japan    South Korea    Turkey    Oceania    Australia  

6. References

A quadruple-track railway (also known as a four-track railway) is a railway line consisting of four parallel tracks, with two tracks used in each direction. Quadruple-track railways can handle large amounts of traffic, and so are used on very busy routes.

Some tracks are only tripled, having only one extra track to relieve congestion, while some tracks are sextupled, i.e., six parallel tracks with three tracks in each direction.

Advantages of quadruple track

• Quadruple track can manage a larger amount of traffic with usually twice the capacity of double track. It is often seen around large metropolis or on busy inter-city corridors.
• In quadruple track, faster trains can overtake slower ones, and quadrupling can contribute to faster operation of trains. High-speed rail of 200 km/h average speed and commuter rail of 40 km/h average can co-exist in quadruple track without interrupting each other.
• It is relatively easy to do maintenance and engineering work of tracks in quadruple line with minimum effect of train delay because double-track service is kept even if the other two double tracks are halted during the work.

Disadvantages of quadruple track

• Quadruple track costs more due to requiring more materials and increased land acquisition costs. This also applies to tunneling and bridge costs.
• When adding tracks, land acquisition can become prohibitively expensive.
• Maintenance costs are higher and often more complex as there may be more switches (points) on the track than on a two-track line (to facilitate switching from outer to inner tracks and vice versa).
• For safety, costly grade separations are almost always required.
• If needing more capacity, it can be better to add a double track along a different route, because it could improve local and regional transit much along an under-served route, and reduce land acquisition cost by choosing a less built-up area.

Quadruple-track operation

In quadruple track, trains are sorted in various ways in order to make maximum use of track capacity. These can include one or a combination of:

• Sorting by speed

A faster express line and a stopping local line are separated, with each having a separate pair of tracks.

Construction of new double tracks dedicated to high-speed rail alongside existing conventional double track used by regional and local passenger trains and freight trains is a form of quadruple track. It increases the capacity of that route significantly, and allows for significant increases in inter-city high-speed train frequency with reduced travel times.

• Sorting by distance

Long distance inter-city rail and freight trains are separated from short distance commuter rail. This helps to prevent delays on one service affecting the other, and is commonly seen in metropolitan areas. Quadrupling may be necessary when a new commuter rail service begins to operate on an existing line. Sometimes the local trains have separate technology, such as electrical system or signalling, which requires strict separation, for example in Berlin or Copenhagen.

• Sorting by destination

When a quadruple track line divides to different destinations part way along, trains need to be sorted by their destination.

• Sorting by passenger/ freight

Passenger trains and freight trains can be separated with each different track.

A variation of this can be found on the quadruple track section of the Main Northern line in New South Wales between Waratah and Maitland where one pair of tracks are used exclusively for coal trains and the other pair are used for passenger trains and general freight. A similar process, but with all intercity and commuter passenger trains on the outer tracks and thru-freight trains on the inner tracks, was done by the Pennsylvania Railroad on its New York-Washington and Philadelphia-Pittsburgh mainlines prior to the takeover of operations by Amtrak and Conrail (and later Norfolk Southern). This is somewhat still done to this day by NS, CSX, and Conrail Shared Assets trains on Amtrak-owned trackage in the Philadelphia area.

• Other modes

Two double track lines along opposite sides of a river can operate as a quadruple track. Examples of this can be found in Rhone in France and Rhine in Germany.

Quadruple-track layouts

As it can be seen from the pictures below in the Gallery of diagrams, the four tracks can be paired either by direction (slow/fast in each pair) or by purpose (speed or direction in each pair). Sometimes two of the tracks go more straight and with a little distance from the two other. This is a design decision when widening a double track section, and allows higher speed on the faster tracks.

Examples

Europe

Belgium

Several lines radiating from Brussels are quadrupled, for instance the Ghent-Ostend line as far as Essene-Lombeek. Further quadrupling has recently been carried out as part of the development of the Brussels Regional Express Network. The building of high-speed lines has also led to quadrupling - for instance the HSL 2 high-speed line between Brussels and Cologne runs inside the local lines as far as Leuven. Meanwhile since 1934 Brussels and Antwerp have been connected by two separate pairs of double track. Fast trains normally use line 25, while line 27 serves slow trains. In places they run parallel, but at times diverge and cross over each other.

Denmark

• There are two places in Denmark with four tracks: Between Klampenborg and Høje Taastrup, through Copenhagen, Denmark, there are four tracks; two are for the separated S-trains and two for mainline trains; where the two tracks closest to Copenhagen (the oldest and central parts of Copenhagen) are reserved for S-trains (on much the lines this is the Northern and Western two tracks). Also between Høje Taastrup and Roskilde, where the two center tracks are for InterCity, long distance commuter trains (further than Roskilde or Ringsted), while the outer two tracks are for commuter trains to/from Ringsted or Holbæk. It has been suggested that the S-trains should continue from Høje Taastrup to Roskilde, but this plan was abandoned; partly due to Roskilde refusing the offer for fear they would become a suburb of Copenhagen, and partly due to construction costs which would exceed the advantages.

Finland

• Helsinki–Riihimäki railway has four tracks between Helsinki Central Station and Kerava railway station
• Helsinki-Turku railway has four tracks between Helsinki Central Station and Leppävaara station

Germany

• The Berlin Stadtbahn, Germany, has four tracks. Two are for the separated S-Bahn and two for mainline trains.
• The 112 km long Hamm–Minden railway between Hamm and Minden in Germany is completely quadruple-track with separate tracks for freight and passenger trains.
• The 50 km long railway from Rastatt to Offenburg in Germany has four tracks.
• The Hohenzollern Bridge, with six tracks
• The line from Munich to Augsburg has four tracks and near Munich even more

Ireland

• In Ireland, the busiest section of railway in the country, on the approach to Dublin's Heuston station from Hazelhatch & Celbridge was quadrupled in 2009.

Italy

• The Rome–Naples high-speed railway and the Rome–Sulmona–Pescara railway in Italy combine to form a quadruple track section between Roma Prenestina railway station and Salone railway station.
• The main section of Ferrovie Nord Milano line between Milan and Saronno in Italy. Outer regional trains are segregated from the inner suburban trains.

Netherlands

• The Amsterdam–Arnhem railway between Amsterdam Bijlmer and Utrecht Centraal, the Netherlands, has been quadrupled between 1999 and 2008.
• The Breda–Eindhoven railway between Boxtel and Eindhoven, the Netherlands, was quadrupled between 1998 and 2002.
• The Breda–Rotterdam railway between Rotterdam and Dordrecht has been quadrupled.

Sweden

• All of the mainline railway through Stockholm County (between Järna and Myrbacken north of Märsta, {{convert|83|km|mi|abbr=on}}) has four tracks, sometimes having two routes. There are plans to widen Stockholm–Bålsta and Myrbacken–Uppsala to quadruple track with parts finished or under construction. After this, the Stockholm commuter rail would have its own tracks everywhere.
• The section between Malmö and Arlöv on the Southern Main Line has four tracks. As of 2018, an extension to Lund is expected to be finished in 2024.^[1]

Switzerland

• The 120 km long railway from Zürich to Olten contains long quadruple track sections from Zürich to Killwangen-Spreitenbach (Zürich–Baden railway) and from Rupperswil to Aarau (Heitersberg Railway), currently being extended to Olten (Olten–Aarau railway).

United Kingdom

• Significant lengths of the West Coast Main Line, Great Western Main Line, South Wales Main Line, Midland Main Line, South Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line in Great Britain are quadruple track, with the remainder of the lines being double track. These lines are high capacity, intercity lines.

The Americas

United States

East coast

• The New York Central's Water Level Route across upstate New York was four-tracked in majority as early as 1876, claiming to be the earliest 4-tracked steel main.^[2] This was extended to Buffalo by 1936.^[3] Financial troubles and changing traffic patterns caused this to be downgraded to a double track by 1975.^[4]
• The Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line is four-tracked from Grand Central Terminal in New York City to New Haven Union Station in New Haven, Connecticut.
• Much of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor from Washington, D.C., to New Haven, Connecticut, is a four-track line, except for the segment between New Rochelle and the Sunnyside Yard in Queens, New York. In the Bronx, the Amtrak trains run separate from the New Haven Line. The right-of-way from Woodside, Queens, over the Hell Gate Bridge to Co-op City, Bronx, is three-tracked due to the presence of the single-tracked New York Connecting Railroad.
• The Erie Lackawanna Railway had a four track main line on the former Erie Railroad, from its Pavonia Terminal in Jersey city to Suffern yard in Rockland County, New York. This allowed separation of freight and commuter trains. The EL Rwy also inherited former Lackawanna four-track Boonton Main Line from Dover, NJ, to Delawanna (Passaic), NJ.
• The Central Railroad of New Jersey had a four track main from the CNJ Terminal in Jersey City to Phillipsburg, NJ, across from Easton, PA.
• The Long Island Rail Road's Main Line is four-tracked from its East River Tunnels portal in Long Island City to Queens Village, NY.
• The Pennsylvania Railroad had a four-track mainline carrying freight from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg via the Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania). This was how the name Broadway Limited came about from the "Broadway of a 4-track main." Much of the route between Pittsburgh and Paoli has been downgraded to three or two tracks.{{Citation needed|date=September 2014}}
• New York City Subway – many lines of the New York City Subway are quadrupled. Hence, many express services are operated in the New York City Subway. Express trains and local trains are separated with each different track.
• SEPTA's Center City Commuter Connection in Philadelphia is quadruple track, as is much of Philadelphia's Broad Street Subway.
• Reading Company's New York Branch between Neshaminy Falls and Yardley station was originally quadruple-tracked before being reduced to three tracks between Neshaminy Falls and Woodbourne station and two tracks between Woodbourne and Yardley. In 2016, the third track between Woodbourne and Yardley was relaid by SEPTA in order to separate SEPTA's West Trenton Line and CSX's Trenton Subdivision.

Midwest

• The BNSF Racetrack in Chicago has a quadruple track section from Union Station to LaVergne.
• The Chicago "L" has a four-track section on the North Side Main Line (Purple, Red, and Brown Lines) between Howard and Fullerton.
• The Metra Electric District Line main line in Chicago is quadrupled between 11th street and 111th street.

West coast

• Market Street in San Francisco had quadruple track streetcars for much of its length in the early 1900s – two tracks operated by United Railroads of San Francisco and two tracks operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). As the streetcar system was acquired by the government and was modernized to light rail, capacity was maintained by tunneling an additional right-of-way for Muni vehicles parallel, under the surface. The Market Street Subway's two subterranean levels are both double tracked, and the (retained) double tracked surface section runs heritage trolley cars for a total of six tracks in the same thoroughfare. The surface and upper level are laid at standard gauge and maintained by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency while the lower level is Indian gauge track operated by Bay Area Rapid Transit.
• Bay Area Rapid Transit had plans that called for Market Street Subway to be fully quadruple tracked, with express trains running on a separate level than local trains; the final system was configured due to budget constraints.
• Caltrain commuter rail service was partially quad-tracked in short sections to enable Baby Bullet express service.

Asia

China

• Beijing–Baotou Railway is quadruplicated in 2012 between Hohhot East and Baotou railway station with one pair of tracks for conventional services of the Beijing–Baotou Railway and a pair for high speed trains that continue into the Zhangjiakou–Hohhot High-Speed Railway.
• The Guangzhou–Shenzhen Railway is quadruplicated in 2007 for its entire length separating high-speed passenger with freight and conventional passenger services. It is the first railway in China to do so. The third track was added in 2000, but the mixing of services heading in one direction caused disruption in schedules, so the fourth track was built allowing for complete separation.
• The Shanghai–Nanjing Intercity Railway runs follows the same alignment to the slower conventional Nanjing–Shanghai Railway between Zhenjiang and Suzhou. In Kunshan it follows the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway effectively making it a 4-track corridor for a majority of its length.
• The Jiaozhou-Jinan Passenger Dedicated Line runs shares the same alignment to the slower conventional Jiaozhou–Jinan Railway, effectively making the Jiaoji Line as a quadruple track corridor. This is not to be confused with the Qingdao–Jinan High-Speed Railway which is another parallel railway running on a new alignment several kilometers north of the Jiaoji Line that is under construction.
• The Datong–Xi'an Passenger Railway and the Zhengzhou–Xi'an High-Speed Railway parallel each other between Xi'an and Weinan with a pair of tracks for each line.
• The Nanning–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway and Guiyang–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway run beside each other between Guangzhou and Dinghu with a pair of tracks for each line.
• The Nanning–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway and Liuzhou–Nanning Intercity Railway run beside each other between Nanning and Binyang with a pair of tracks for each line.

• Beijing–Kowloon Railway (Nanchang–Jiujiang section) / Nanchang–Jiujiang Intercity Railway. Conventional long-distance trains run on both lines.
• The Chongqing–Wanzhou Intercity Railway runs parallel to the Chongqing−Lichuan Railway between Chongqing North Railway Station and Changshou North Railway Station with a pair of tracks for each line.
• The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway forms a 4-track corridor with the Beijing–Shanghai Railway between Wuqing Railway Station and Tianjin North Station then continuing to follow the Tianjin–Shanhaiguan Railway between Tianjin North Station and Tanggu railway station.
• The Shijiazhuang–Jinan high-speed railway and the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway parallel each other between Jinan West Railway Station and Dezhou East Railway Station with a pair of tracks for each line.
• The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway runs beside the older Beijing–Shanghai Railway between Beijing South Railway Station and Langfang Railway Station with a pair of tracks for each line.
• The Xian-Chengdu High Speed Railway runs beside the older Baoji–Chengdu Railway between Deyang and Guanghan.
• The Harbin–Qiqihar intercity railway runs beside the older Harbin–Manzhouli railway between Harbin and Houwujiacun.
• The Hangzhou–Huangshan intercity railway runs beside the Hefei–Fuzhou high-speed railway between Huangshan North and Jixi North with a pair of tracks for each line.
• Six tracks run between Hangzhou East and Hangzhou South railway stations.
• The Xiamen–Shenzhen railway runs beside the older Yingtan–Xiamen railway between Jiaomei and Xiamen North.
• The Zhengzhou–Jiaozuo intercity railway runs beside the older Beijing–Guangzhou railway between the New Yellow River Jingguang Railway Bridge to Nanyangzhai railway station with a pair of tracks for each line.
• The Hefei–Bengbu high-speed railway runs beside the Huainan Railway between Hefei railway station and Shuijiahu railway station.
• Four tracks run between Yuci and Taiyuan East railway stations in Taiyuan.
• The Shijiazhuang–Dezhou high-speed railway runs beside the older Shide Railway between Shijiazhuang and Shijiazhaung East stations.

Hong Kong

• The Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express in Hong Kong are quadruplicated between Kowloon and Tsing Yi stations {{Dubious span|since 2003|date=November 2018}}, but share two tracks on the rest of their routes (until they diverge again before the western end). {{Dubious span|The two lines shared two tracks|date=November 2018}} when they were opened in 1998 with separate platforms at stations. In addition, the West Rail runs largely parallel to the Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express throughout Kowloon and New Kowloon, meaning six tracks running side-by-side.
• The Ocean Park Cable Car system has two pairs of ropeways.

India

• The Central Line of Mumbai Suburban Railway, from {{rws|Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus}} to {{rws|Kalyan}}
• The Western line of Mumbai Suburban Railway, from {{rws|Churchgate}} to {{rws|Virar}}.
• The mainline between {{rws|Ghaziabad Junction}} and {{rws|Anand Vihar Terminal}}.
• The mainline between {{rws|New Delhi}} and {{rws|Palwal}} on Delhi-Mumbai rail route.
• The South Line, Chennai Suburban between {{rws|Chennai Beach}} and {{rws|Tambaram}}.
• The North Line, Chennai Suburban between {{rws|Chennai Beach}} and {{rws|Minjur}}.
• The West Line, Chennai Suburban between {{rws|Chennai Central}} and {{rws|Arakkonam Junction}}.
• The line between {{rws|Barddhaman Junction}} and {{rws|Asansol Junction}} on Howrah-Delhi line.

Japan

• Hankyu Railway in Osaka has a sextuplicated section between Umeda and Juso stations (2.4 km).^[5]
• Keihan Main Line in Osaka is quadruplicated between Temmabashi and Neyagawa Signal Box (~13 km).^[6]
• Seibu Ikebukuro Line in Tokyo is quadruplicated between Nerima to Nerima-Takanodai stations (3.5 km).
• Between Tokyo and Odawara (JR East) 83.9 km is paired by use (not including Shinkansen).^[7]
  • Tokyo – Shinagawa 6.8 km: 6 tracks (8 if include Sobu-Yokosuka Line Underground)
  • Shinagawa – Tsurumi 14.9 km: 4 tracks
  • Tsurumi – Yokohama 7.1 km: 6 tracks
  • Yokohama – Totsuka 12.1 km: 4 tracks
  • Totsuka – Ofuna 5.6 km: 6 tracks
  • Ofuna – Odawara 37.4 km: 4 tracks
• Between {{STN|Tokyo}} and {{STN|Omiya|Saitama}} (JR East) is paired by use (not including Shinkansen)^[8]
  • Tokyo – Akihabara: 6 tracks
  • Akihabara – Ueno: 6 tracks
  • (Tokyo – Ueno 3.6 km)
  • Ueno – Nippori 2.2 km: 10 tracks (2 for Ueno Depot)
  • Nippori – Tabata: 4 tracks
  • Nippori – Oku: 4 tracks
  • Tabata – Akabane: 4 tracks
  • Oku – Akabane: 2 tracks
  • (Nippori – Akabane 7.4 km)
  • Akabane – Omiya 17.1 km: 6 tracks
• Between {{STN|Kusatsu|Shiga}} and {{STN|Nishi-Akashi}} (JR West) 120.9 km (not including Shinkansen)^[9]
  • Kusatsu – Kyoto 22.2 km is paired by direction: 4 tracks
  • Kyoto – Umekoji – Mukomachi 6.4 km is paired by direction: 5 tracks
  • Mukomachi – Ibaraki 21.8 km is paired by direction: 4 tracks
  • Ibaraki – Suita is paired by use: 6 tracks
  • Suita – Shin-Osaka is paired by use: 8 tracks
  • Shin-Osaka – Osaka – Tsukamoto is paired by direction: 4 tracks
  • (Ibaraki – Osaka 14.6 km)
  • Shin-Osaka – Miyahara – Tsukamoto: 2 tracks
  • Tsukamoto – Hyogo is paired by direction: 4 tracks
  • Hyogo – Takatori is paired by direction: 5 tracks
  • (Osaka – Takatori 38.2 km)
  • Takatori – Nishi-Akashi 17.7 km is paired by use: 4 tracks
• Between Ochanomizu and Mitaka (JR East) 21.5 km is paired by use.^[10]
  • Ochanomizu – Yoyogi: 4 tracks
  • Yoyogi – Shinjuku: 8 tracks
  • Shinjuku – Mitaka: 4 tracks
• Between Kinshicho and Chiba (JR East) 34.4 km is paired by use.^[11]
  • Kinshicho – Nishi-Chiba: 4 tracks
  • Nishi-Chiba – Chiba: 6 tracks
• Between Ayase and Toride (JR East) 29.7 km: 4 tracks/paired by use^[12]
• Between Osaki and Komagome (JR East) about 20 km is paired by use.^[13]
  • Osaki – Yoyogi: 4 tracks
  • Yoyogi – Shinjuku: 8 tracks
  • Shinjuku – Komagome: 4 tracks
• Between Souen and Heiwa (JR Hokkaido) about 9 km^[14]
  • Souen – Sapporo is paired by use: 3 tracks
  • Sapporo – Heiwa is paired by direction: 4 tracks
• Between Niigata and Kami-Nuttari (JR East) 1.9 km: 4 tracks/paired by direction^[15]
• Between Imamiya and Tennoji (JR West) 2.2 km: 4 tracks/paired by direction^[15]
• Between Inazawa and Nagoya (JR Central) 11.1 km/paired by use: 4 tracks^[16]
• Between Hiroshima and Kaitaichi (JR West) 6.4 km: 4 tracks/paired by direction^[17]
• Between Orio and Moji (JR Kyushu) 24.6 km^[18]
  • Orio – Kokura: 4 tracks/paired by use
  • Kokura – Higashi-Kokura 1.6 km/paired by direction: 6 tracks
  • Higashi-Kokura – Moji is paired by direction: 4 tracks
• Besides JR companies, the following private railway companies in Japan run their own quadruple (or more) tracked sections:
  • Tobu Railway, Keikyu, Seibu Railway, Keisei Railway, Tokyu, Odakyu, Keio and Tokyo Metro in Greater Tokyo.
  • Meitetsu and Kintetsu in Greater Nagoya
  • Keihan Railway, Kintetsu, Hankyu Railway, Hanshin Railway and Nankai Railway in Keihanshin.

South Korea

• The Gyeongbu Line in South Korea is quadruplicated on 84.9 km on its route, and sextuplicated on a further 11.7 km
• The Gyeongin Line is quadruple track line, except 1.9 km of double track line between Dongincheon Station and Incheon Station.

Turkey

• The İstanbul–Ankara Main Line has a quadruple track section between Etimesgut and Kızılay in Ankara, Turkey.

Oceania

Australia

• Adelaide-Wolseley line from Adelaide to Goodwood
• Bankstown line from Marrickville to Campsie
• East Hills line from Wolli Creek to Revesby
• Illawarra line from Illawarra Junction to Hurstville
• Main line, Queensland from Roma Street to Darra
• Main Northern line from North Strathfield to Rhodes, West Ryde to Epping & Islington Junction to Maitland
• Main Suburban line from Redfern to Strathfield (6 tracks)
• Main Western line from Strathfield to St Marys
• Midland line from Perth to Claisebrook
• North Coast line from Roma Street to Northgate & Lawnton to Petrie
• Serviceton line from Southern Cross to Sunshine (6 as far as Footscray)

References

• Mariette Rheiner Garner
• Marie Tulip
• Marie-Valerie
• Marie Valerie
• Marie-Valerie, Archduchess of Austria
• Marie-Valerie of Austria
• Marie Valerie of Austria
• Marie Van Brittan Brown
• Marie van goethem
• Marie van Goethem
• Marie Van Tassell
• Marie van Zandt
• Marie Vassiltchikov
• Marie-Victoire Princess de Rohan
• Marie Victor de Fay, Marquis de Latour-Maubourg
• Marie-Victorin (electoral district)
• Marie-Victorin Kirouac
• Marie-Victorin (provincial electoral district)
• Marie Vieux Chauvet
• Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach
• Marie von Hessen-Darmstadt
• Marie von Lyffland
• Marie von Najmajer
• Marie Vorobieff
• Marie Wahlgren