Rail

Rails (also known as minecart tracks) are non-solid blocks that provide a path along which minecarts can travel. Broken sections of rails are commonly found in abandoned mine shafts. Rails are crafted from sticks and iron ingots. Powered rails, detector rails and activator rails are variations with special properties. Rails can be placed on top of opaque blocks, and will automatically orient themselves to connect with any adjacent rails. They can be destroyed without a tool, but a pickaxe will mine them very quickly.

Behavior
If a track is placed next to an existing track, the two tracks will join automatically. If a track is placed perpendicular to an existing length of track, then the track connecting them will turn into a curve. However, destroying track will not cause remaining track to re-orient itself.

If a track leads up to a one-block high ledge, the piece placed up against the ledge will turn into a ramp if another track is placed on top of the ledge.

Minecarts that encounter a series of curved tracks in an alternating, zig-zag pattern will travel in a straight line at 45 degrees until the track straightens out or curves in the same direction twice (u-turn), but it will still lose speed as though it were going through a series of bends.

The curved section of a rail at T intersections can be powered by redstone circuits and their direction can change with switches provided there is no confusion about the 2 directions to switch to. Separate tracks laid adjacent but at the next level lower or higher can sometimes cause issues. Since there are no formal rail junctions, switched T intersections are the only method by which the player can have a track system that leads in more directions than back and forth. In rare cases, curved track sections will not change appearance when their direction is changed. If a track switching mechanism seems to be inexplicably broken, test it by running a cart on the track rather than by looking at how the track appears to be oriented. Redstone circuits will not affect normal track blocks or track ramps.

If water flows against a track, it will remove it and drop the track as a resource, similar to torches. Lava will also remove tracks, but the resource will nearly always also be destroyed by falling into the lava.

By placing a detector rail as the input of a T Flip-Flop latch, you can make a togglable turn every time a minecart travels over the rail. This can be very useful to divide minecarts evenly between two or more tracks if there is a large number coming in.

Rail collision
When a cart is traveling on a curve, it will momentarily lose collision prior to exiting the curve. Therefore, if a block is placed directly after the curve instead of a track piece, the cart will phase through it. This can be used to kill players by suffocation, by making a 2x1x2 block on the rail after the corner. The best way to free yourself is to use a pickaxe, but the mining time is a bit longer than normal. This can be utilized to make minecarts seemingly appear from nothing, by making a hole underneath. It should be noted that since minecarts travel diagonally on curves, it can miss the hole if it has enough speed, by skipping over it, if the hole is 1x1. This can be avoided by blocking the sides. It is not recommended to use this method in rapid succession, as the cart will slow down a lot. Anyone sitting in the cart will likely be subject to suffocation.

South-east rule


At non-curve track intersections, minecarts will always travel south or east (as shown in the diagram to the left). This is commonly referred to as the South-East rule.

This rule also applies to T-intersections, and determine which way the curve from the intersection will face when unpowered. You can use this to orient yourself.

Downhill rule


At non-curve track intersections minecarts will 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 will prevent minecarts from traveling down the slope, but not up.
 * In order for a minecart to move down a diagonal tunnel, there must be just as much clearance as a player needs to walk it.
 * This effect can be used to allow minecarts to travel in only one direction, preventing runaway carts from going back into launching mechanisms and jamming them up.

Curve intersections


If a straight track piece leads to a curve block and isn't attached to the curve, a Minecart will run over the gap and continue to go straight over the curve. This is not applicable with 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 at 10 m/s in a straight direction (but it will be a very uncomfortable ride).

Trivia

 * Players may place rails only on a block. However, it is possible to find floating rails in an abandoned mine shaft.
 * There is a glitch where in a track sloping downwards with a curved intersection, when approached from the side, will teleport the player under the block, trapping the player until they destroy the track and block.
 * If traveling a distance of 50 blocks it takes an average of 12 seconds to walk, 9.3 seconds to sprint (as much as possible) and 10.6 seconds by minecart. But if traveling the route over and over (e.g. mining) it is worthwhile investing in a railway system for ease of use.
 * If you need to travel very long distances in the Overworld, it is best to build a railway system in the Nether. Not only will you use many fewer rails, you will travel much faster relatively to the Overworld (up to 64 m/s or 230 km/h in a straight line, or up to 325 km/h diagonally).
 * When walking on a block that has a rail on top, you will hear the sound of the block you're walking on, but if you jump (while still walking), you will hear the sound of iron.
 * Rails are approximately 2-foot gauge (the gauge is the distance between the rails).