Rails in minecraft

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to craft rails with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

In Minecraft, rails are one of the many transportation items that you can make. The crafting process will create 16 rails at a time.

Let's explore how to make rails.

Supported Platforms

Rails are available in the following versions of Minecraft:

* The version that it was added or removed, if applicable.
NOTE: Pocket Edition (PE), Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 10 Edition are now called Bedrock Edition. We will continue to show them individually for version history.

Where to find Rails in Creative Mode

• Java
• PE
• Xbox
• PS
• Nintendo
• Win10
• Edu

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

Here is where you can find a rail in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.8 - 1.17	Transportation

Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE)

Here is where you can find a rail in the Creative Inventory menu:

Minecraft Xbox Editions

Here is where you can find a rail in the Creative Inventory menu:

Minecraft PS Editions

Here is where you can find a rail in the Creative Inventory menu:

Minecraft Nintendo

Here is where you can find a rail in the Creative Inventory menu:

Minecraft Windows 10 Edition

Here is where you can find a rail in the Creative Inventory menu:

Minecraft Education Edition

Here is where you can find a rail in the Creative Inventory menu:

Required Materials to make Rails

In Minecraft, these are the materials you can use to craft a rail:

How to craft Rails in Survival Mode

1. Open the Crafting Menu

First, open your crafting table so that you have the 3x3 crafting grid that looks like this:

2. Add Items to make Rails

In the crafting menu, you should see a crafting area that is made up of a 3x3 crafting grid. To make rails, place 6 iron ingots and 1 stick in the 3x3 crafting grid.

When making rails, it is important that the iron ingots and the stick are placed in the exact pattern as the image below. In this first row, there should be 1 iron ingot in the first box and 1 iron ingot in the third box (the second box should be left empty). In the second row, there should be 1 iron ingot in the first box, 1 stick in the second box, and 1 iron ingot in the third box. In the third row, there should be 1 iron ingot in the first box and 1 iron ingot in the third box (the second box should be left empty). This is the Minecraft crafting recipe for rails.

Now that you have filled the crafting area with the correct pattern, sixteen rails will appear in the box to the right.

3. Move the Rails to Inventory

Once you have crafted rails, you need to move the new item to your inventory.

Congratulations, you have made rails in Minecraft!

Item ID and Name

• Java
• PE
• Xbox
• PS
• Nintendo
• Win10
• Edu

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft, rails have the following Name, ID and DataValue:

See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE)

In Minecraft, rails have the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft ID	Minecraft Data Value	Platform	Version(s)
	Rails (minecraft:rail)	66	0	Pocket Edition (PE)	0.16.0 - 1.17.30

See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Minecraft Xbox One

In Minecraft, rails have the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft ID	Minecraft Data Value	Platform	Version(s)
	Rails (minecraft:rail)	66	0	Xbox One	1.6.0 - 1.17.30

See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Minecraft PS4

In Minecraft, rails have the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft ID	Minecraft Data Value	Platform	Version(s)
	Rails (minecraft:rail)	66	0	PS4	1.14.0 - 1.17.30

See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Minecraft Nintendo Switch

In Minecraft, rails have the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft ID	Minecraft Data Value	Platform	Version(s)
	Rails (minecraft:rail)	66	0	Nintendo Switch	1.6.0 - 1.17.30

See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Minecraft Windows 10 Edition

In Minecraft, rails have the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft ID	Minecraft Data Value	Platform	Version(s)
	Rails (minecraft:rail)	66	0	Windows 10 Edition	0.16.0 - 1.17.30

See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Minecraft Education Edition

In Minecraft, rails have the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft ID	Minecraft Data Value	Platform	Version(s)
	Rails (minecraft:rail)	66	0	Education Edition	1.0 - 1.14.31

See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Stackable Information

Give Command for Rails

Other Transportation

You can make other transportation in Minecraft such as:

By building a track system, many Minecraft players can explore the world, other dimensions, and also the iron ingots and the stick must be their mining base. When rails are mounted, and one track is connected in perpendicular to another, they immediately link together to create a straight line or a curve.

Rails naturally attach to form either a southern or eastern orientation when placed at a cross-section, so you should plan intersections carefully. Rails can also be built to go uphill or downhill.

Required materials:

To make rails in Minecraft, you will need:

1. 6 Iron Ingots
2. 1 Stick

Iron ingots:

To craft an iron ingot, you will have to put a piece of iron ore into a furnace. Put the iron ore into the top slot of your furnace and fuel into your bottom like the picture below:

6 Iron ingots are needed so 6 Iron ores will be needed. Iron can only be mined with a stone pickaxe or better; using a wooden or gold pickaxe will not yield any ore. Once it is mined, the user will gain an ore block that they can place, but they will not be able to make any items using the ore.

Sticks:

A stick in Minecraft is an important simple object that is used to build several other items in the game. They are used purely for crafting material since they cannot be placed in the world or utilized on their own. 4 sticks at a time will be produced by the following crafting process:

How to Make Rails in Minecraft?

In a Nutshell:

To make rails, open the crafting area made up of the 3x3 grid. Fill the entirety of the 1st and 3rd column with 6 Iron Ingots, then place a wooden stick in the center of the crafting grid. Now simply click the rails and drag them into your inventory.

Step-by-Step Guide(with Pictures):

Here is the step-by-step pictorial guide you need to follow to make Rails in Minecraft:

1. Open the Crafting table

Open your crafting table to begin crafting the ender chest with the obtained ingredients contained in your inventory. Once you open your crafting table you will have the 3x3 crafting grid similar to the picture below:

2. Place Iron ingots:

In this first row, there should be 1 iron ingot in the first box and 1 iron ingot in the third box the second box should be left empty. In the second row, there should be 1 iron ingot in the first box, and 1 iron ingot in the third box. In the third row, there should be 1 iron ingot in the first box and 1 iron ingot in the third box with the second box should be left empty.

3. Place the Sticks:

When making rails, it is important that the iron ingots and the stick are placed in the exact pattern as the image below. Six iron ingots and one stick produce 16 rails.

4. Place it in your inventory:

Take the rail and drag it to your inventory:

How to Make Powered Rails in Minecraft?

To change the velocity of a minecart, powered rails are used. When powered with Redstone, they increase the speed while acting as a brake when turned off. If one end of the rail is blocked, turning on a powered rail lets a stopped minecart begin moving in the nonblocked direction. Effectively, players can then load and unload carts.

1. Open your crafting table

Open the crafting table in the same way as before.

2. Add Gold ingots

The first item to be introduced in the powered rails is a golden ingot, and you will be needing 6 of them. But this will take longer than iron to mine given its comparatively higher rarity.

3. Add Restone

Redstone is the main item in this recipe, and its placement on the crafting grid is crucial too.

5. Add the stick

Finally, place the stick and complete the recipe.

6. Drag it to your inventory:

Video

FAQs

Q. What does an activator rail do in Minecraft?

An activator rail powered by Redstone will drop you off when you pass over it. It can also ignite a minecart filled with TNT. It also disables hopper minecarts, which cannot pick up items it travels through

Q. What does the detector rail do in Minecraft?

Detector rails are used to momentarily power Redstone as the minecart passes over place them like any other rail. They can be used to open doors, power pistons, or with any other complex Redstone contraptions, you create.

Conclusion:

You did it! You learned how to make a railed, as well as its powered variant. The engineering of rails and Redstone can be difficult to understand. Many players switch to Creative mode, giving them endless inventory items so that they can build and test their ideas. Use Creative mode as a way to practice building your Redstone creations and rails.

Other Minecraft Guides

For other uses, see Rail (disambiguation).

Rails are non-solid blocks that provide a path along which minecarts can travel.

Obtaining[]

Breaking[]

Rails can be mined with anything, but pickaxes are the quickest.

A rail also drops as an item when the block beneath it is removed, or a piston moves it into a space with no floor below it.

Rails cannot be destroyed by flowing water or lava.

Natural generation[]

Rails can be found naturally running along the floors of mineshafts, and in the "pumpkin ring room" of woodland mansions.

Chest loot[]

Crafting[]

Usage[]

See also: Tutorials/Minecarts

A rail can be used as a minecart track and as a redstone component. A sequence of rails (including regular rails, activator rails, detector rails, and powered rails) is called a track.

Placement[]

To place a rail, use a rail item while pointing at a surface facing the space the rail should occupy. A rail can be placed on:

• the top of any full solid opaque block (stone, dirt, blocks of gold, etc.), including full-block mechanism components (command blocks, dispensers, droppers, note blocks, and redstone lamps)
• the top of an upside-down slab, or upside-down stairs.
• any of the above underwater (making the rail waterlogged)

A rail cannot be attached to the side or bottom of any block, but attempting to make such an attachment may cause the rail to attach to the top of a block under the destination space. For example, if a fence is on the ground, attempting to attach a rail to the side of the fence causes the rail to be attached to the top of the ground next to the fence instead.

More information regarding placement on transparent blocks can be found at Opacity/Placement.

A placed rail configures itself to be straight or curved according to rail blocks around it.

• If there are no other rails adjacent, or if placed beside an existing stretch of track of any type, then in Bedrock Edition the new rail orients itself as a straight north–south track, and in Java Edition the new rail orients itself in the direction the player is facing.
• A new rail placed at the end of an existing stretch of track continues the existing track in the same direction, either east–west or north–south.
• If there are two adjacent rails on its level, or one level up or down, the newly placed rail configures itself as straight or curved as needed to connect the other two.
• If placed between three adjacent rails (forming a T-junction) the newly placed rail configures itself as curved to join two of the sides.

• 

  T-junction before filling in tracks

• 

  T-junction after filling in tracks

Existing tracks one block up and down are considered for adjacency in the same manner, and the new piece of track gets laid as a curve, but unless space is left for sloping track sections, minecarts can continue past the curve only on level or one-block-down corners. In one-block-up corners, the cart ends up buried in the ground.

• 

  Before placing the top block.

• 

  Top block is placed as curve.

• 

  Showing cart getting buried.

Some placement of rails produces track layouts that cause minecarts to collide and enter blocks.

• If placed to form a 4-way intersection with no curved section, it does not form a cross-roads connection.
• If placed between four adjacent rails to form a curved intersection it always curves south-to-east.

• 

  Curve controls minecart passage

Existing sections of track may be re-oriented, become sloping, or even change into curved sections when the new rail is placed adjacent to it:

• An existing straight, north-south rail re-orients to east-west when a new rail is placed at the east or west sides.
• If placed next to an existing rail that is one block up or down, the new rail slants up or down to join it. Rail "prefers", in order: west, east, south, and north. Other configurations can be created by placing and removing rails.
• If a track is placed perpendicular to an existing length of track, it appears as a straight rail, but in fact, it is curved according to the patterns for tee junctions as seen above; mine carts going through the intersection turn the corner. Breaking and re-laying track so that the intersection block is laid last causes intersection block to be updated as a curved section.

Piston interactivity[]

Rails can be pushed and pulled by pistons.

Redstone component[]

The intersection rail at a T-intersection may be made to change its direction of curvature by applying redstone power using a redstone torch or lever.

Separate tracks laid adjacent, but at the next level lower or higher can sometimes cause issues. However, normally they do not interact with the switched rail.

Minecart behavior[]

South-east rule[]

Main article: South-east rule

A minecart travels straight through a T-shaped intersection when entering from the "back of" the curved rail. It follows the curve when entering from either of the other two legs.

A minecart passes straight through a 4-way intersection constructed to have no curved rail. When entering the 4-way from east or west a cart turns according to the south-east rule.

Downhill rule[]

At non-curve track intersections, minecarts always travel downhill if they can. This is known as the downhill rule and overrides the south-east rule.

Ramp clearance/one-way effect[]

A block placed above the track at the downhill end of a ramp prevents minecarts from traveling down the slope, but not up. For a minecart to move down a diagonal tunnel, there must be clearance sufficient for a player to walk it.

Curve intersections[]

If a straight track piece leads to a curve block and isn't attached to the curve, a minecart runs over the gap and continue to go straight over the curve. This is not applicable to other types of rails.

Notably, the minecart can exceed the normal 8 m/s speed limit while it jumps over the gap. For example, by placing intersections on every other block of a straight track, it is possible to travel (uncomfortably) at 10 m/s in a straight direction.

As with straight T-intersections and 4-way intersections, the practice of making a minecart jump tracks can be used to make one-way entries onto a track. On curve intersections the behavior is more intuitive, because the cart simply proceeds in the direction it is already going, allowing designs that don't rely on knowledge of the south-east rule.

Rail performance[]

A minecart with no rider at full speed can climb 10 blocks on unpowered track. This suggests that a powered track is needed at a height of only 10 blocks to keep a cart climbing. However, the cart slows so much that it can reach only another 5 blocks high with 2 lengths of powered track starting at 9 blocks high. The minimum number of powered rails to keep the cart climbing perpetually is 3 every 6 blocks.

Carts with a rider, or minecarts with chests, have more momentum and so climb higher than carts that are unloaded. With a rider, a minecart can climb at least 24 blocks before needing powered rails to go higher. Also, to ascend from 0 to max speed, the player needs 7 powered rails.

Sounds[]

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition: ^{[needs in-game testing]}

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Metadata[]

See also: Data values

In Bedrock Edition, a rail's block data specifies the directions to which it connects.

Block states[]

See also: Block states

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Achievements[]

Video[]

History[]

Java Edition Infdev
20100618					Added rails in the first "Seecret Friday Update" to Infdev.
?					Sloped rails are currently being dropped if the block on the side was destroyed.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0		?			The textures of rails and curved rails have been changed slightly.
Java Edition Beta
1.6		Test Build 3			Before this update, parallel tracks would be used to create minecart boosters.
1.8		Pre-release			Rails are now found in the new mineshaft chests.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease			Rails are now destroyed by snowfall (bug).
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4			Some rail behavior is now affected following the change of the south-west rule to south-east rule.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6			Rails are now broken faster using a pickaxe.
1.3.1		12w25a			Rails can now be placed on upside-down slabs and stairs.
1.5		13w04a			Mobs no longer walk over rails, if they are not currently standing on one.
1.8		14w10a			Rails with numerical metadata variants 10 to 15, which are inaccessible through normal gameplay or even commands and as such require the use of external editors to exist, now have no model. Their appearances prior to this point were unknown.
		14w25a			Rails are now defined via block states rather than by numerical metadata. Prior to this version, the numerical metadata variants of the rail were as follows: DV Description 0 North-south 1 East-west 2 Accenting east 3 Ascending west 4 Ascending north 5 Ascending south 6 Curved south-east 7 Curved south-west 8 Curved north-west 9 Curved north-east 10-15 Inaccessible - behavior unknown
		14w26a			Rails with metadata values 10 to 15 have now been completely removed from the game.
1.9		15w44a			The average yield from mineshaftchests has been increased by more than 20 times.
					Mobs no longer spawn on rails.
1.11		16w32b			All rail types' hitbox heights have been decreased from a full block to a half block.
		16w39a			Rails now generate in woodland mansions.
1.13		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 66.
1.14		18w43a			The texture of rails has been changed.
		19w12b			Rails can now be placed on glass, ice, glowstone and sea lantern.
1.15		19w39a			Placing a new, unconnected section of rails now orients them in the direction the player is facing, rather than always north-south.
1.17		20w45a			All rail types can now be waterlogged.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.8.0		build 2			Added rails.
v0.9.0		build 1			Rails now generate in mineshafts.
v0.14.0		build 1			Rails can now be found in mineshaft chests.
Pocket Edition
1.1.0		alpha 1.1.0.0			Rails now generate in woodland mansions.
Bedrock Edition
1.4.0		beta 1.2.20.1			Rails can now be placed underwater.
1.10.0

This article is about the powered rail. For other types of rails, see Rail (disambiguation).

A powered rail is a type of rail that is used to increase or decrease the velocity of moving minecarts.

Obtaining[]

Breaking[]

Powered rails can be crafted and previously-placed powered rails can be broken with bare hands or any tool, dropping themselves as items.

A powered rail also drops as an item when the block beneath it is removed, water or lava flows over it,‌^{[Java Edition only]} or a piston moves it into a space with no floor below it.

Chest loot[]

Crafting[]

Usage[]

See also: Tutorials/Minecarts

A powered rail can be used as a rail and as a redstone component.

To place a powered rail, use a powered rail item while pointing at a surface facing the space the powered rail should occupy. A powered rail can be placed on:

• the top of any full solid opaque block (stone, dirt, blocks of gold, etc.), including full-block mechanism components (command blocks, dispensers, droppers, note blocks, and redstone lamps)
• the top of a hopper, upside-down slab, or upside-down stairs.

A powered rail cannot be attached to the side or bottom of any block, but attempting to make such an attachment may cause the powered rail to attach to the top of a block under the destination space. For example, if a fence is on the ground, attempting to attach a powered rail to the side of the fence causes the powered rail to be attached to the top of the ground next to the fence instead.

When placed, a powered rail configures itself to line up with any adjacent rails (including activator rails, detector rails, and other powered rails), as well as adjacent rails one block up. If there are two adjacent rails on non-opposite sides, or three or more adjacent rails, a powered rail lines up in the east-west direction. If there are no adjacent rails, a powered rail lines up in the north-south direction (but if a rail is later placed to the east or west, the powered rail re-orients itself in the east-west direction even if it is already connected to another rail to the north or south). If a rail it would line up with is one block up, a powered rail slants upward toward it (with multiple options to slant upward to, a powered rail "prefers", in order: west, east, south, and north). Other configurations can be created by placing and removing various rails.

It cannot be placed suspended in midair, even with commands, which is not unintentional.^[1]

Rail[]

Main article: Rail

Powered rails (and other rails) can be used as "roads" for minecarts. A minecart that enters a powered rail's space from either end of the powered rail continues to move in the direction the powered rail is facing, but its speed may change depending on whether the powered rail is active or not (see below). A minecart that enters a powered rail's space from the side turns east or south (depending on the powered rail's orientation), or in the downward direction for a slanted powered rail.

Redstone component[]

See also: Redstone circuit

Powered rails can be used to affect the speed of minecarts that travel over them.

Activation

A powered rail is a redstone mechanism and can be activated by:

An activated powered rail also activates any adjacent powered rails it is connected to, up to eight away from the original activation source. Thus a single activation source can activate up to 17 rails (one original in the middle and eight on either side). An activated powered rail does not activate non-connected adjacent rails.

Behavior

An active powered rail:

• increases the speed of a moving minecart in the direction it is already moving. Specifically, let the speed in both the X and Z directions (meters / tick) combined be "speed". If speed > 0.01, then every tick the minecart is passing over the powered rail, its x velocity is increased by (xspeed * 0.06 / speed) and its z velocity is increased by (zspeed * 0.06 / speed)
• accelerate a non-moving minecart away from a solid opaque block the powered rail is facing (so a non-moving minecart moves away from the block when the powered rail activates, and a moving minecart bounces off a block an active powered rail is facing because it stops and then gets accelerated away)

An inactive powered rail reduces the speed of a moving minecart, usually stopping it within one block's distance even on a downward-slanted track. If a slanted powered rail activates with a non-moving minecart on it, the minecart starts moving downward (because it is no longer being braked by an inactive powered rail) and is then accelerated downward.

Powered rails cannot increase the speed of a minecart to more than 8 blocks per second on either the north-south or east-west axis. The speeds that can be achieved with varying numbers of powered rails or intervals of normal rails between powered rails is complex -- for a thorough discussion, see Tutorials/Minecarts.

Sounds[]

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition: ^{[needs in-game testing]}

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Metadata[]

See also: Data values

In Bedrock Edition, powered rails use the following data values:

Block states[]

See also: Block states

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Video[]

History[]

Java Edition Beta
1.5					Added powered rails.
1.6		Test Build 3			The effectiveness of powered rails has now been increased as a response to fixing the minecart booster bug.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6			Powered Rails are now broken faster using a pickaxe.
1.1		11w49a			Fixed powered rail bug.[more information needed]
1.5		?			The item form of the powered rail has changed from to .
1.8		14w10a			Powered rails with numerical metadata variants 6, 7, 14 and 15, which are inaccessible through normal gameplay or even commands and as such require the use of external editors to exist, now have no model. Their appearances prior to this point were unknown.
		14w25a			Powered rails are now defined via block states rather than by numerical metadata. Prior to this version, the numerical metadata variants of the powered rail were as follows: DV Description 0 Unpowered north-south 1 Unpowered east-west 2 Unpowered ascending east 3 Unpowered ascending west 4 Unpowered ascending north 5 Unpowered ascending south 6-7 Inaccessible - behavior unknown 8 Powered north-south 9 Powered east-west 10 Powered ascending east 11 Powered ascending west 12 Powered ascending north 13 Powered ascending south 14-15 Inaccessible - behavior unknown
		14w26a			Powered rails with metadata values 6, 7, 14 and 15 have now been completely removed from the game.
1.9		15w44a			Powered rails can now be found in mineshaftchest minecarts.
1.11		16w32b			All rail types' hitbox heights are decreased from a full block to a half block.
1.13		17w47a			The ID of powered rails has been changed from to .
					Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 27.
1.14		18w43a			The textures of powered rails has now been changed.
		19w12b			Powered rails can now be placed on glass, ice, glowstone and sea lantern.
1.17		20w45a			All rail types can now be waterlogged.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.8.0		build 2			Added powered rails, but the rails are always powered.
v0.13.0		build 1			Powered rails no longer have intrinsic power, i.e. they need to be powered by an external power source.
v0.14.0		build 1			Powered rails can now be found in minecart with chests inside of mineshafts.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			The textures of powered rails has now been changed.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added powered rails.
1.90	The textures of powered rails has now been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added powered rails.

Gallery[]

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Powered Rail" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

• Powered rails were originally a suggestion for golden tracks.

See also[]