Track gauge in Italy

Historically, Italy had two unusual dominant track gauges which were legally defined depending on the terrain encountered.

The gauge of 1,445 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in) was used for the national Italian rail network and was very similar to the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge commonly used elsewhere in the world.

Thus, in Italy, only a few older tram systems, such as the Milanese tramway network, remain equipped with 1,445 mm.

Italian law has defined its track gauges in terms of the distance between the centres of each rail,[1] rather than the inside edges of the rails, giving some unusual measurements.

The following 1,445 mm (4 ft 8+7⁄8 in) systems survive today: Outside Italy, the Madrid Metro also uses this gauge.