List of steepest gradients on adhesion railways
The inclusion of steep gradients on railways avoids the expensive engineering works required to produce more gentle gradients. However the maximum feasible gradient is limited by how much of a load the locomotive can haul upwards. Braking when travelling downhill is also a limiting factor. There have been various solutions to hauling rail mounted vehicles up or down inclines. These include simple rail adhesion, rack railways and cable inclines. To help with braking on the descent, a non-load-bearing "brake rail" located between the running rails can be used, similar to the rail used in the Fell system, e.g. by the Snaefell Mountain Railway on the Isle of Man.
Tramways and light railways often have steeper gradients than heavier railways. This is because all wheels are usually connected to engine power in order to give better acceleration. Grades of 5% are not uncommon on them. Metros and pure commuter railways often also allow steeper gradients, over 4%, for the same reason. High-speed railways commonly allow 2.5% to 4% because the trains must be strong and have many wheels with power to reach very high speeds. For freight trains, gradients should be as gentle as possible, preferably below 1.5%.
Examples
The list below is of some of the steepest gradients on adhesion railways, in order of steepness:| Gradient | Line | Notes | - |
| 1 in 7.2 | Calçada de São Francisco, Lisbon Tramways, Portugal | - | |
| 1 in 8.6 | Pöstlingbergbahn, Austria | - | |
| 1 in 9 | Cass Scenic Railway, West Virginia, United States | Former logging railway, steepest non-electrified adhesion railway | - |
| 1 in 9 or 1 in 10 | Estrada de Ferro Campos do Jordão, Brazil | - | |
| 1 in 10 | Sheffield Supertram, Sheffield, United Kingdom | - | |
| 1 in 11 | Allentown light rail line, Pittsburgh, United States | - | - |
| 1 in 11 | Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway, France | - | |
| 1 in 11 | J Church line, San Francisco | - | |
| 1 in 11.4 | Cinci Drumuri-Pădurii, Iași Tramways, Iași, Romania | - | |
| 1 in 12.5 | Hakone Tozan Line, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 12.5 | Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway, Appenzeller Bahnen, Switzerland | - | |
| 1 in 12.6 | Uetliberg railway line, Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn, Switzerland | - | |
| 1 in 13.7 | Montreux–Oberland Bernois railway, Switzerland | - | - |
| 1 in 14 | Driving Creek Railway, Coromandel, New Zealand, New Zealand | - | - |
| 1 in 14 | Hopton Incline, Cromford and High Peak Railway, England | This incline has only carried passengers, by adhesion, on enthusiast special trains, but is now completely closed | - |
| 1 in 14.1 | Erzberg Railway, Austria | Built as a rack railway, adhesion operation only by passenger railbuses, now only museum operation on part of the line | - |
| 1 in 14 | Red Marble Grade Topton N.C. | A 2015 survey lists the 3 1/2 mile stretch between MP 87 and MP 90.5 at a 4% average grade and says there are isolated stretches approaching 7%. When originally built the ruling grade was 4.2% as listed by southern railway. But due to the fills settling it has drastically changed. This segment of track has always been worked by adhesion. This line is owned by GSMR and in 2019 is out of service. | - |
| 1 in 14.2 | Bernina Railway, Switzerland | - | |
| 1 in 14.2 | Sacramento Light Rail, Sacramento, California, United States | - | |
| 1 in 15 | Usui Pass, former Shin'etsu Main Line, Japan | - | - |
| 1 in 15 | Former Keihan Keishin Line | - | |
| 1 in 15 | Toden Arakawa Line, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 15.9 | Alishan Forest Railway, Taiwan | - | - |
| 1 in 16.4 | Hunsrückbahn, Germany | Built as rack railway | - |
| 1 in 16.4 | Keihan Keishin Line | - | |
| 1 in 16.6 | Ligne de Cerdagne, France | - | |
| 1 in 16.6 | Arica, Chile to Bolivia | With radius curves | - |
| 1 in 17 | Madison Incline, Madison, Indiana, United States | Steepest standard gauge, line haul railroad in North America. Worked as a rack railway until 1868 when the Reuben Wells was built to work the hill by adhesion. | - |
| 1 in 17.1 | Docklands Light Railway, London, England | On the ramp from the original London and Blackwall railway viaduct to the tunnel leading to Bank | - |
| 1 in 18 | Near Alausi, Ecuador on line to Quito | - | |
| 1 in 18 | Flåmsbanen, Norway | - | |
| 1 in 18 | Höllentalbahn, Germany | - | |
| 1 in 19 | Camden Tram, New South Wales, Australia | This line has been closed for over 50 years. | - |
| 1 in 19 | Foxfield Railway, Staffordshire, England | This incline is on a preserved colliery railway which briefly carried passengers over this steep section but does not now do so normally | - |
| 1 in 19 | Kangra Valley Railway, Himachal Pradesh, India | - | |
| 1 in 20 | Rapperswil - Samstagern, Südostbahn, Switzerland | - | |
| 1 in 20 | Kurobe Gorge Railway, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 20 | Eizan Electric Railway Kurama Line, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 20 | Nankai Electric Railway Koya Line, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 20 | Kobe Electric Railway Ao Line and Arima Line, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 20 | Tateyama Erosion Control Train, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 20 /1 in 25 | Matheran Hill Railway, India | Near Mumbai | - |
| 1 in 21 | Saluda Grade, Saluda, North Carolina, United States | The steepest standard gauge mainline railroad grade in the United States. Worked by adhesion between 1878 and 2001, currently out of service. | - |
| 1 in 22 | Balsam Mountain Grade Balsam N.C. | Balsam Mountain, home of highest railroad station east of the Rockies; average grade about 4.0%, max 4.5%. 1 of 2 grades on southern railways former murphy branch that are +4% grade. Balsam mountain has been home to many runaways. It is still in service operated by blue ridge southern. | - |
| 1 in 22 | Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India | - | |
| 1 in 22 | Big Hill, British Columbia, Canada | Operated from 1884 to 1909 when it was replaced by 2 spiral tunnels | - |
| 1 in 22.5 | Thamshavn Line, Norway | - | |
| 1 in 23 | - | ||
| 1 in 23 | - | ||
| 1 in 25 | Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line, Germany | - | |
| 1 in 25 | Chosica - Galera, Central Railway, Peru | - | |
| 1 in 25 | Selketalbahn, Germany | - | |
| 1 in 25 | Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, Colorado/New Mexico, United States | - | |
| 1 in 25 | Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Colorado, United States | - | |
| 1 in 25 | to, Iida Line, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 25 | Fujikyuko Line, Fuji Kyuko Railway, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 25 | Batlow branch, New South Wales, Australia | This line has been closed for many years | - |
| 1 in 25 | Newnes branch, New South Wales, Australia | This line has been closed for many decades. a tunnel on its former route is a popular tourist attraction - the "Glow worm tunnel" | - |
| 1 in 25 | Oberon branch, New South Wales, Australia | This line has been closed for decades | - |
| 1 in 25 | Dorrigo branch, New South Wales, Australia | This line has been closed for decades. There have been several attempts to reinstate part of it as a historic/ tourist rail line. | - |
| 1 in 25 | Luxembourg to St Michel-Notre Dame, RER Line B, Paris, France | - | |
| 1 in 26 | Iquique Railway, Chile | ||
| 1 in 26 | Ōu Main Line, Japan | - | |
| 1 in 27 | Mersey Railway Tunnel, England | - | |
| 1 in 27 | Werneth Incline, England | Regular passenger service withdrawn 7 January 1963 and since closed completely | - |
| 1 in 27 | Holywell Town branch, Wales | Regular passenger service withdrawn 6 September 1954 and since closed completely | - |
| 1 in 27 | Mauritius Railways | - | |
| 1 in 28 | LGV Sud-Est high-speed line, France | - | |
| 1 in 28.5 | Kyushu Shinkansen, Japan | - | - |