Powered Rail

Powered Rail

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	0.7
Hardness	0.7
Luminous	No
Transparent	Yes
Waterloggable	Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No
Map color (Java)	0 NONE

{
    "title": "Powered Rail",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes (64)",
            "label": "Stackable"
        },
        {
            "field": "<span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"height:32px;width:32px;--vertical-align:middle\">(link to File:SlotSprite Pickaxe Required.png article, displayed as 32x32px|link=Pickaxe|alt=|class=pixel-image|This block can be broken with any tool, but a pickaxe is the quickest)</span>",
            "label": "Tool"
        },
        {
            "field": "0.7",
            "label": "(link to Explosion#Blast resistance article, displayed as Blast resistance)"
        },
        {
            "field": "0.7",
            "label": "(link to Breaking#Blocks by hardness article, displayed as Hardness)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Light article, displayed as Luminous)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Opacity article, displayed as Transparent)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Waterlogging article, displayed as Waterloggable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Flammable article, displayed as Flammable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "Catches fire from (link to lava article, displayed as lava)"
        },
        {
            "field": "<span style=\"display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color:  rgb()\n; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.36em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span>  0 NONE\n</span>",
            "label": "(link to Map color article, displayed as Map color) <small>((link to Java Edition article, displayed as Java))</small>"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [
        "Powered Rail"
    ],
    "images": [
        "Powered Rail.png",
        "Powered Powered Rail.png"
    ]
}

A powered rail is a type of rail that either increases or decreases the velocity of minecarts that move over it, depending on its power state.

Obtaining

Breaking

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

Block	Powered Rail
Hardness	0.7
Tool
Breaking time (sec)
Default	1.05
Wooden	0.55
Stone	0.3
Iron	0.2
Diamond	0.15
Netherite	0.15
Golden	0.1
Options
Efficiency	000
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

A powered 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.

Generated loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	[hide]Chance
Java Edition and Bedrock Edition
Powered Rail	Mineshaft	Chest	1–4	27.1% { "item": "Powered Rail", "stacksize": "1–4", "chance": 0.271, "structure": "Mineshaft", "container": "Chest" }

Crafting

Ingredients	[hide]Crafting recipe
Gold Ingot + Stick + Redstone Dust	6

Usage

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. Unlike their unpowered counterparts, and like detector and activator rails, powered rails are always straight.

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

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

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 adjacent active power component (for example, a redstone torch, a block of redstone, a daylight sensor, etc.)
• an adjacent powered block (strongly-powered or weakly-powered)
• a powered redstone comparator or redstone repeater facing the powered rail
• powered redstone dust configured to point at the powered rail; a powered rail is not activated by adjacent powered redstone dust that is a directionless "dot" or configured to point in another direction.

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.

Mob interaction

Like other types of rails, spiders, cave spiders, and wardens are the only land mobs that can walk onto powered rails.

Sounds

Java Edition:

[hide] v t e metal sound type
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.metal.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	1.2	16
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.metal.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	1.2	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.metal.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.75	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.metal.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	1.25	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.metal.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.5	16

Bedrock Edition:

[hide] v t e metal sound type
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.stone	1.0	1.1-1.2
	Blocks	When the block is placed	use.stone	1.0	1.2-1.25
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.stone	0.3	0.75
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.stone	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	step.stone	0.35	1.0
	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.stone	0.12	1.0
	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.stone	0.22	1.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Item tags	[hide]Translation key
Powered Rail	powered_rail	Block & Item	prevent_mob_spawning_inside rails	rails	block.minecraft.powered_rail

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID	[hide]Translation key
Powered Rail	golden_rail	27	Block & Giveable Item	Identical	tile.golden_rail.name

Block states

Java Edition:

Name	Default value	Allowed values	[hide]Description
powered	false	false true	True if rail is activated.
shape	north_south	east_west north_south	Specifies the rail's orientation.
		ascending_east ascending_north ascending_south ascending_west	A rail that ascends toward the direction noted. For example, an ascending_west rail is a straight rail that goes upward from the east toward the west.
waterlogged	false	false true	Whether or not there's water in the same place as this rail.

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Metadata Bits	Default value	Allowed values	Values for Metadata Bits	[hide]Description
rail_data_bit	0x8	false	false true	0 1	True if rail is activated.
rail_direction	0x1 0x2 0x4	0	0	0	flat track going north-south
			1	1	flat track going east-west
			2	2	sloped track ascending to the east
			3	3	sloped track ascending to the west
			4	4	sloped track ascending to the north
			5	5	sloped track ascending to the south
			6 7 8 9	Unsupported	Unused

History

[hide]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.
[hide]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.​
1.5			13w02a				The item form of the powered rail has changed from to .
1.8			14w28a				Sloped powered rails no longer decrease their hitbox to 2 pixels of a block when activated.
1.9			15w38a				All sloped rail types' hitbox heights have been decreased from 10 pixels of a block to about 2.5 pixels of a block.
			15w44a				Powered rails can now be found in minecarts with chests inside of mineshafts.
1.10			16w21a				All sloped rail types' hitbox heights have been increased from about 2.5 pixels of a block to a full block.
1.11			16w32b				All sloped rail types' hitbox heights are decreased from a full block to a half block.
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.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.8.0			build 1				Added powered rails, which are always powered.
v0.13.0			build 1				Powered rails no longer have intrinsic power, and now need to be powered by an external power source.
v0.14.0			build 1				Powered rails can now be found in minecarts with chests inside of mineshafts.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.7.0			beta 1.7.0.2				Rails are once again broken by flowing water. Previously it flowed through the rails.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				The textures of powered rails has now been changed.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added powered rails.
TU12							The item form of the powered rail has changed from to .
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		All sloped rail types' hitbox heights have been increased from 10 pixels of a block to a full block.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	All sloped rail types' hitbox heights are decreased from a full block to a half block.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		All types of rails can now be waterlogged and are no longer destroyed by flowing water. Instead it flows right through them.
			1.90				The textures of powered rails has now been changed.
[hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added powered rails.

Data history

[hide]Java Edition
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 [hide]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.
1.13			17w47a				The ID of powered rails has been changed from golden_rail to powered_rail.
							Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 27.

Issues

Issues relating to "Powered Rail" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• Powered rails were originally a suggestion for golden tracks.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 

  Power on.

• 

  Power off.

See also

• Rail
• Activator Rail
• Detector Rail