List of highest railways in Europe

[3] Because of the harsh weather conditions that prevail at those higher altitudes, maintaining working railways there is an expensive and difficult task.

Snow, avalanches, rockslides and wind, added to the absence of protection by the forests, pose a challenge in every season.

Lower elevation railways (even well below the tree line) are also exposed to more severe weather conditions in winter.

The former are typically the highest and the steepest, while the latter are generally longer lines with larger gauges.

Railways that are both adhesion and standard gauge or wider, therefore part of the main European/Iberian rail network, are boldfaced in the list.