Sections
SECTION 2
General Site Questions
General Site Questions
2.1What is the Worldwide Transportation Library?+
The Worldwide Transportation Library (WWTL) is an online collection of media that classifies, defines, and provides trivia for transportation mediums. It is an organic project that owes its existence to independent contributors from three continents.
2.2How did the WWTL come to be?+
Click here for the site's history.
2.3What country is your specialty?+
No country is. Our mission is to provide objective information that's fun and relevant to the region you're looking up — no specific country gets our preferential treatment.
2.4Does the WWTL have any affiliations with official transportation ministries?+
No, we do not. The goal of our site is to be an independent source of information that often transcends strict interpretations of government code — we do not officially support nor endorse any governing body. At the same time, we have received helpful feedback from ministries like the Ohio Department of Transportation, an American entity whose trivia has complemented this site.
2.5How can I contact the WWTL? I'd like to offer help or insight.+
We provide a contact form here. All forms must be filled completely for a submission to occur.
2.6aHow do I switch to a different language?+
Use the language dropdown on the main site to choose from any of our supported languages. Once you've made your selection, it's sticky — the WWTL will remember your choice across browser sessions, so you won't need to re-select it on your next visit.
2.7aDo you officially support Spanish?+
Yes! Spanish is now one of our top three officially supported languages, with strong and growing readership from México, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, and beyond.
2.8To what extent will you list countries in their native script and/or tongue?+
The WWTL lists all country names in their native script and tongue, with the exceptions of the Republic of Ireland (English) and Poland (German) where secondary languages are used. If a country does not use the Roman Alphabet natively, we provide that country's native script out of worldly respect — e.g., China (中华人民共和国), Taiwan (中華民國), Japan (日本), the United Arab Emirates (دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة), and Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל). We do not, however, provide local translations for city names and landmarks in countries whose native tongue isn't listed as one of the WWTL's officially-supported languages.
2.9Why are Polish road photos shown in German by default?+
Our coverage of Poland is presently limited to Zgorzelec, which is a border town of German influence. As we do not speak Polish officially, and since German is considered a second language in Zgorzelec, it seemed more appropriate to classify Zgorzelec's highways in something localised as compared to something non-localised, e.g., English. We do provide English translations too.
2.10aSometimes it takes too long for a Virtual 360 image to load. Why?+
This feature is currently under review. Changing web standards no longer support the Apple Quicktime-based 360° presentations these relied on, so Virtual 360 viewing is temporarily paused while we work on a modern replacement. Stay tuned!
2.11Do your photographs support geo-tagging?+
Yes. If you see geographic coordinates listed under a photograph (e.g., 43.793119, 7.605), just click on them. You'll then be forwarded to Google Maps where you can see exactly where the photographer was at the time of the shoot!
2.11aWhy don't all of your photographs support map location?+
We're proud to boast 66% coverage for our road photos, and a growing, yet significant amount, of railroad photographs. That said, some photographs were originally taken in rural areas several years ago. Current mapping technologies blur accuracy, so it's difficult to come within a 20 metre radius of the actual location post-hoc. As technology improves, more rural photos will support map location.
2.12Can I resize your photographs to zoom in on a detail?+
Yes. To resize the photographs, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard. While doing this, click on the photograph and drag it to resize. To make the photo larger, move your mouse to the right.
2.13Can I link to your photographs from my website or blog?+
Not today. If you link the photograph to your website, you will get a non-viewable image. This is intentionally done to protect the copyright of our photographs. In the future, we plan to undo this protection — we're currently watermarking our highway and railroad photographs one by one. Once this watermarking project is complete, we will lift the link restriction so you can share our photographs with the rest of the web.
2.14I'm looking for a specific video or photograph. What happened to your menu-driven structure?+
The menu-driven structure is still available — it's no longer our default presentation method. By default, our photographs are now featured in a random slideshow format. Videos are also displayed at random. If you wish to use the menu-driven format, look for the hyperlink entitled "I want a menu instead!" during random playback to begin your search using our continent-to-region format.
2.15Some highway photographs are accompanied by a distance chart. Why don't all of them have one?+
It's a work in progress! We are currently updating several highway photographs a week with distance charts. When this project completes, all highway photographs will be accompanied by a distance chart prescribing distances between relative major cities and junctions.
2.16Where can I learn about Viatology?NEW+
Viatology is the study of roads, routes, and the terminology that describes them. Our sister project, the Viatological Standard Lexicon (VSL), lives at viatology.org and defines the vocabulary used to classify and discuss transportation infrastructure worldwide. It's been submitted for review by PIARC, the World Road Association, for potential endorsement. You'll see VSL terms double-underlined throughout our profile pages — click any of them to jump straight to its definition.
2.17What is a Ferritype?NEW+
Ferritype is our rail classification system — the railway counterpart to our long-running Viatype road classification. Each railway line is tagged with a short code describing its gauge, power source, track count, and segregation from other traffic. You'll find Ferritype badges on rail profile pages, with a full breakdown of the system available at wwtl.info/rail/ferritype.html.
2.18Do you support Chinese?NEW+
Yes! We recently completed a major localization effort covering both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, including route pages for mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, a fully translated interface, and Chinese-language support in Worldy, our AI assistant (see below). Look for the language dropdown to switch over — your selection will stick across visits.
2.19What is Worldy?NEW+
Worldy is our built-in AI assistant, available across the desktop and mobile site. Ask it about a route, a city, or a distance, and it'll help you find the right page — it understands geographic queries, transportation terminology, and now speaks English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Romansh, and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional). Look for the Worldy icon to start a conversation.
2.20Is there a mobile version of the WWTL?NEW+
Yes — our mobile site includes voice search, multilingual search, continent filters, infinite scroll, and a local map feature that shows nearby routes based on your position. It picks up right where you left off between visits.
SECTION 3
Roads
Roads
3.1Why do highways have different numbering systems than my country?+
Many countries employ unique numbering systems based on their own logical criteria. A classic example is the Irish motorway system — route numbers are classified by the number of the old national highway they have overtaken (e.g., "M7" vs. the original "N7"). The United States has a different scheme where its Interstate motorways use odd numbers for north-south highways of an interregional nature, and even numbers for east-west highways.
3.2In some Canadian provinces, TransCanada highways have a number designation. In others they don't. What gives?+
A number designation is decided on the provincial level. That's why you'll see TransCanada 1 in Alberta, and a simple "TransCanada" highway in Ontario or Québec.
3.3Why do some countries list international cities by local spelling? The road signage is wrong!+
Simply put, language is the barrier — not the border itself! Due to linguistic traditions, it may not be possible to make a perfect pronunciation for a city that is in a different tongue. That's why you'll see Ventimiglia called "Vintimille" along France's Autoroute 8, or find Montréal advertised as "Montreal" along Interstate 87 in the United States.
3.4Do all German autobahns permit limitless speed?+
No. Only certain stretches of autobahn allow unlimited speed. These designated stretches are usually in rural areas, where the leftmost lane gets the sole privilege.
3.5Are foreign cars allowed onto Swiss motorways?+
Yes. Be prepared to pay a fee at the border. In return, you will receive a temporary decal that allows unlimited usage of Switzerland's motorway network.
3.6When will the Pan-American Highway be completed?+
The Pan-American Highway, part of an international effort to link Alaska with Argentina's Tierra del Fuego, remains incomplete. There is a small strip of land called the Darién Gap — located in southern Panama — that is the "missing link" between north and south. The WWTL does not condone the construction of the Darién Gap constituent, fully supporting the Panamanian government that it should NOT be completed until it is scientifically proven that local species and the surrounding environment are not affected by the introduction of fresh pavement and moving vehicles.
3.7What does a Viatype badge like "F8-D" mean?NEW+
Viatype badges give you a road's classification at a glance. "F8-D," for example, denotes a freeway with 8 total lanes that is divided by a median. You'll find a Viatype badge — along with an auto-generated cross-section diagram — on most road profile pages.
SECTION 4
Rail
Rail
4.1I have a Swiss Rail pass. To get from Lugano to Brig, I must travel through northern Italy. Does Swiss Rail own track inside Italy?+
Rail pass. To get from Lugano to Brig, I must travel through northern Italy. Does Swiss Rail own track inside Italy?+No. Swiss Rail has special agreements with Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato. This agreement grants you the privilege of passing through Italy, by way of Domodossola, without having to pay extra for it.
Rail has special agreements with Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato. This agreement grants you the privilege of passing through Italy, by way of Domodossola, without having to pay extra for it.4.2Historically, the Union Pacific Railroad did not pass through my American city. Why do some of your photographs show that it does?+
Railroad did not pass through my American city. Why do some of your photographs show that it does?+Presently, the Union Pacific Railroad takes advantage of regional railroads through cross-company agreements. Visit uprr.com for more information.
Railroad takes advantage of regional railroads through cross-company agreements. Visit uprr.com for more information.4.3How did the term "railroad" come to be?+
The word "rail" comes from the Middle French term "raille", which means bar. So a railroad is essentially a road consisting of bars. Though the Middle Frenchmen had never seen the like of railroads, they can be credited for the coinage of the term!
4.4How does Ferritype classify a rail line?NEW+
Every Ferritype badge follows the same pattern: gauge, then power source, then track count and segregation, followed by an optional modifier for anything noteworthy about the line. It's designed to let you compare rail infrastructure across countries at a glance, the same way our Viatype system does for roads. Peer review is ongoing as we expand coverage to new regions.
SECTION 2
General Site Questions
General Site Questions
2.1What is the Worldwide Transportation Library?+
The Worldwide Transportation Library (WWTL) is an online collection of media that classifies, defines, and provides trivia for transportation mediums. It is an organic project that owes its existence to independent contributors from three continents.
2.2How did the WWTL come to be?+
Click here for the site's history.
2.3What country is your specialty?+
No country is. Our mission is to provide objective information that's fun and relevant to the region you're looking up — no specific country gets our preferential treatment.
2.4Does the WWTL have any affiliations with official transportation ministries?+
No, we do not. The goal of our site is to be an independent source of information that often transcends strict interpretations of government code — we do not officially support nor endorse any governing body. At the same time, we have received helpful feedback from ministries like the Ohio Department of Transportation, an American entity whose trivia has complemented this site.
2.5How can I contact the WWTL? I'd like to offer help or insight.+
We provide a contact form here. All forms must be filled completely for a submission to occur.
2.6I see several flags on the top left corner of the page. What are these?+
The WWTL is proud to support four official languages: English, French, German, and Italian. Click on the corresponding flag for the language of your choice!
2.7Do you officially support Spanish?+
We do not officially support Spanish, however we're close to meeting this goal! Today, highways are classified by Spanish title, while videos are spoken in Spanish natively. We do not yet provide text descriptions for photographs "en español". Once this has been done, Spanish will be an officially supported language.
2.8To what extent will you list countries in their native script and/or tongue?+
The WWTL lists all country names in their native script and tongue, with the exceptions of the Republic of Ireland (English) and Poland (German) where secondary languages are used. If a country does not use the Roman Alphabet natively, we provide that country's native script out of worldly respect — e.g., China (中华人民共和国), Taiwan (中華民國), Japan (日本), the United Arab Emirates (دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة), and Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל). We do not, however, provide local translations for city names and landmarks in countries whose native tongue isn't listed as one of the WWTL's officially-supported languages.
2.9Why are Polish road photos shown in German by default?+
Our coverage of Poland is presently limited to Zgorzelec, which is a border town of German influence. As we do not speak Polish officially, and since German is considered a second language in Zgorzelec, it seemed more appropriate to classify Zgorzelec's highways in something localised as compared to something non-localised, e.g., English. We do provide English translations too.
2.10Sometimes it takes too long for a Virtual 360 image to load. Why?+
In order for a Virtual 360 to load, your computer needs to load the Apple Quicktime software. On slower computers, this may take a few seconds. The Virtual 360 will instantly display once the software has been loaded. Performance will improve tremendously when you open another Virtual 360 during your visit, since Quicktime has already been loaded into your computer's memory.
2.11Do your photographs support geo-tagging?+
Yes. If you see geographic coordinates listed under a photograph (e.g., 43.793119, 7.605), just click on them. You'll then be forwarded to Google Maps where you can see exactly where the photographer was at the time of the shoot!
2.11aWhy don't all of your photographs support map location?+
We're proud to boast 66% coverage for our road photos, and a growing, yet significant amount, of railroad photographs. That said, some photographs were originally taken in rural areas several years ago. Current mapping technologies blur accuracy, so it's difficult to come within a 20 metre radius of the actual location post-hoc. As technology improves, more rural photos will support map location.
2.12Can I resize your photographs to zoom in on a detail?+
Yes. To resize the photographs, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard. While doing this, click on the photograph and drag it to resize. To make the photo larger, move your mouse to the right.
2.13Can I link to your photographs from my website or blog?+
Not today. If you link the photograph to your website, you will get a non-viewable image. This is intentionally done to protect the copyright of our photographs. In the future, we plan to undo this protection — we're currently watermarking our highway and railroad photographs one by one. Once this watermarking project is complete, we will lift the link restriction so you can share our photographs with the rest of the web.
2.14I'm looking for a specific video or photograph. What happened to your menu-driven structure?+
The menu-driven structure is still available — it's no longer our default presentation method. By default, our photographs are now featured in a random slideshow format. Videos are also displayed at random. If you wish to use the menu-driven format, look for the hyperlink entitled "I want a menu instead!" during random playback to begin your search using our continent-to-region format.
2.15Some highway photographs are accompanied by a distance chart. Why don't all of them have one?+
It's a work in progress! We are currently updating several highway photographs a week with distance charts. When this project completes, all highway photographs will be accompanied by a distance chart prescribing distances between relative major cities and junctions.
SECTION 3
Roads
Roads
3.1Why do highways have different numbering systems than my country?+
Many countries employ unique numbering systems based on their own logical criteria. A classic example is the Irish motorway system — route numbers are classified by the number of the old national highway they have overtaken (e.g., "M7" vs. the original "N7"). The United States has a different scheme where its Interstate motorways use odd numbers for north-south highways of an interregional nature, and even numbers for east-west highways.
3.2In some Canadian provinces, TransCanada highways have a number designation. In others they don't. What gives?+
A number designation is decided on the provincial level. That's why you'll see TransCanada 1 in Alberta, and a simple "TransCanada" highway in Ontario or Québec.
3.3Why do some countries list international cities by local spelling? The road signage is wrong!+
Simply put, language is the barrier — not the border itself! Due to linguistic traditions, it may not be possible to make a perfect pronunciation for a city that is in a different tongue. That's why you'll see Ventimiglia called "Vintimille" along France's Autoroute 8, or find Montréal advertised as "Montreal" along Interstate 87 in the United States.
3.4Do all German autobahns permit limitless speed?+
No. Only certain stretches of autobahn allow unlimited speed. These designated stretches are usually in rural areas, where the leftmost lane gets the sole privilege.
3.5Are foreign cars allowed onto Swiss motorways?+
Yes. Be prepared to pay a fee at the border. In return, you will receive a temporary decal that allows unlimited usage of Switzerland's motorway network.
3.6When will the Pan-American Highway be completed?+
The Pan-American Highway, part of an international effort to link Alaska with Argentina's Tierra del Fuego, remains incomplete. There is a small strip of land called the Darién Gap — located in southern Panama — that is the "missing link" between north and south. The WWTL does not condone the construction of the Darién Gap constituent, fully supporting the Panamanian government that it should NOT be completed until it is scientifically proven that local species and the surrounding environment are not affected by the introduction of fresh pavement and moving vehicles.
SECTION 4
Rail
Rail
4.1I have a Swiss Rail pass. To get from Lugano to Brig, I must travel through northern Italy. Does Swiss Rail own track inside Italy?+
Rail pass. To get from Lugano to Brig, I must travel through northern Italy. Does Swiss Rail own track inside Italy?+No. Swiss Rail has special agreements with Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato. This agreement grants you the privilege of passing through Italy, by way of Domodossola, without having to pay extra for it.
Rail has special agreements with Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato. This agreement grants you the privilege of passing through Italy, by way of Domodossola, without having to pay extra for it.4.2Historically, the Union Pacific Railroad did not pass through my American city. Why do some of your photographs show that it does?+
Railroad did not pass through my American city. Why do some of your photographs show that it does?+Presently, the Union Pacific Railroad takes advantage of regional railroads through cross-company agreements. Visit uprr.com for more information.
Railroad takes advantage of regional railroads through cross-company agreements. Visit uprr.com for more information.4.3How did the term "railroad" come to be?+
The word "rail" comes from the Middle French term "raille", which means bar. So a railroad is essentially a road consisting of bars. Though the Middle Frenchmen had never seen the like of railroads, they can be credited for the coinage of the term!