Overview
A rail is the track a minecart runs on, and the ordinary variety is the passive one: it carries a cart but does not push it, so a cart on plain rail coasts until friction stops it. Rails curve automatically to connect to their neighbours and will form junctions where three rails meet, with the direction of the junction flipped by a redstone signal — which is how switching yards are built without any special block. Sixteen rails come from six iron ingots and one stick, which is the cheapest track per block in the game and the reason most of a long line is plain rail with powered rails only at intervals. Rails can be placed on any solid block and on slopes, and a cart climbing a slope loses speed quickly, so hills need more boosters than flat ground. Minecart transport has largely been replaced by elytra and ice boats for long distances, but it remains the best option for automated item movement with hopper minecarts and for anything that needs to run without a player present. A single mineshaft usually supplies more rail than a whole base needs.
Minecart transport for players and items, automated hopper minecart collection under a farm floor, and rail junctions that a redstone signal can switch between two directions without any special block.
Rail counts as a redstone block in Minecraft 1.21.4. Rail is made at a crafting table. Hardness 0.7 puts it in the middle of the pack for mining speed.
No specific tool is required to collect it. Broken correctly, it drops itself. Because it is transparent it does not block light.
A blast resistance of 0.7 means a single creeper will clear it away. It stacks to 64. You make it with Iron Ingot and Stick.
No recipe takes it as an ingredient.
How to get it
Craft 16 rails from 6 iron ingots and 1 stick. Rails also generate in enormous quantity in abandoned mineshafts, where the existing track can simply be collected with any pickaxe.
Tips
- Loot a mineshaft rather than crafting: a single mineshaft usually yields several stacks of rail for free.
- A rail junction flips direction with a redstone signal, so no special block is needed to build a switch.
- Carts lose speed on slopes, so place powered rails much closer together on any incline.
- A hopper minecart running under a farm floor collects drops through solid blocks, which is cheaper than a hopper grid.
How long it takes to break
At a hardness of 0.7, Rail takes 1.1 seconds to punch out and 0.15 seconds with a netherite-tier tool of the correct class.
An iron tool takes 0.2 seconds and a diamond one 0.15, so the jump that actually matters for this block is the one to diamond.
There is no tier requirement to worry about. Any tool, or none, returns the drop; the numbers below just say how fast.
The Efficiency formula is level² + 1 added to tool speed — at V that is about 3 times the unenchanted rate.
| Tool | No enchantment | Efficiency III | Efficiency V |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | 1.1 s | 1.1 s | 1.1 s |
| Wooden | 0.55 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Stone | 0.3 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Iron | 0.2 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Diamond | 0.15 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Netherite | 0.15 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Golden | 0.1 s | instant | instant |
Properties
Rail resists blasts at 0.7, which is not enough to survive anything explosive nearby. Light passes through it, and it emits none of its own. Stack size is 64 — the standard full stack. The block is tagged for pickaxes, and only that class gets the speed bonus; everything else mines at bare-hand rate.
- Transparent
- Yes
- Required tool
- Any
Where it generates
- Found in
- Abandoned Mineshaft
Crafting recipe
Crafting Table
Rail ×16
Drops
Mined with any, Rail drops itself.
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you get Rail in Minecraft?
Rail is crafted from Iron Ingot and Stick.
What tool do you need to break Rail?
No specific tool is required — Rail can be broken by hand.
Is Rail blast resistant?
Rail has a blast resistance of 0.7, so an explosion nearby will destroy it.
How many Rail fit in one stack?
64 per stack, so a double chest holds 3,456 Rail.
How long does Rail take to break?
About 0.15 seconds if you bring the correct netherite tool; 1.1 seconds with your fists.
