Net length

The length of a transport network is called the network length . This can refer to different means of transport and can be expressed in different ways depending on the delimitation, for example as route length , line length or track length .

Route length

The route length denotes the sum of the lengths of all routes , such as railway routes , air routes or road sections . This is therefore the total length of the traffic infrastructure used. Each track is independent of a possible Befahrung by a plurality of lines , a Mehrstreifigkeit , or multi-track orientation only counted once.

Line length

In line traffic , the network length can also be specified as the line length. This is calculated as the sum of the length of all lines in a traffic system. Lines that are shared by several lines are thus counted multiple times. The line length is therefore always greater than or equal to the route length. Exceptions are networks with extensive operating routes or unused routes, which theoretically still belong to the network, but are no longer used by lines.

Track length

In rail-bound traffic , the track length is also given as a measure of the network length. The length of all track systems in a transport network is specified here. For example, a double-track line has a track length that is twice as long as the length of the line.

Calculation example

The tram network a small town has two lines. Both lines start at point A, travel 5 kilometers on a common route to point B. There, the routes of the two lines share, line 1 runs another 5 km to the end station at point C, line 2 also ends after 5 km at point D. The entire route network is double-track, there are 1 km of depot and operating tracks without regular traffic.

The route length is:

   5 km (A → B)  
+  5 km (B → C)
+  5 km (B → D)
-------
  15 km

The line length is:

  10 km (A → B → C, Linie 1)  
+ 10 km (A → B → D, Linie 2)  
-------
  20 km

The track length is:

  10 km (A → B, jeweils zweigleisig)  
+ 10 km (B → C, jeweils zweigleisig)
+ 10 km (B → D, jeweils zweigleisig)
+  1 km (Betriebsstrecken)
-------
  31 km