Detector Rail

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	0.7
Hardness	0.7
Luminant	No
Transparent	Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No

A detector rail is a block that can transport minecarts and can be used as a switchable redstone power source.

Obtaining

A detector rail can be obtained by crafting, or by breaking a previously-placed detector rail.

Breaking

Detector rails can be broken fairly easily by hand, but can be broken faster by using a pickaxe.

Block	Detector Rail
Hardness	0.7
Tool
Breaking time^{[FN 1]}
Default	1.05
Wooden	0.55
Stone	0.3
Iron	0.2
Diamond	0.15
Netherite	0.15
Golden	0.1

↑ Times are for unenchanted tools as wielded by players with no status effects, measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

A detector 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

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Detector Rail	Mineshaft	Chest	1–4	27.1%
Bedrock Edition
Detector Rail	Mineshaft	Chest	1–4	27.1%

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Iron Ingot + Stone Pressure Plate + Redstone Dust	6

Usage

A detector rail can be used as a rail that can detect when minecarts are on it or how full container minecarts on it are.

To place a detector rail, use the Place Block control on the face of a block adjacent to the destination space.

A detector rail can be attached to:

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 detector rail cannot be attached to the side or bottom of any block, but attempting to make such an attachment may cause the detector 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 detector rail to the side of the fence causes the detector rail to be attached to the top of the ground next to the fence instead.

When placed, a detector rail configures itself to line up with any adjacent rails (including activator rails, powered rails, and other detector 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 detector rail lines up in the east-west direction. If there are no adjacent rails, a detector rail lines up in the north-south direction (but if a rail is later placed to the east or west, the detector 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 detector rail slants upward toward it (with multiple options to slant upward to, a detector rail "prefers", in order: west, east, south, and north). Other configurations can be created by placing and removing various rails.

Mobs avoid walking across a detector rail (or other rails), but can be pushed onto them.

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

Rail

Detector rails (and other rails) act as "roads" for minecarts. A minecart that enters a detector rail's space from either end of the detector rail continues to move, losing only a little velocity (which can then be increased again with powered rails). A minecart that enters a detector rail's space from the side turns east or south (depending on the detector rail's orientation), or in the downward direction for a slanted detector rail.

Redstone component

File:Detector comparator strength.gif

Example for signal strength of a full minecart (27 stacks) and a half-full one (14 stacks)

A detector rail activates when any minecart is on it (even if only a portion of the minecart is on it), and deactivates when no minecarts are on it. The duration of the signal is always a multiple of 10 redstone ticks (although lag or unloading/reloading a chunk might affect this). While active, a detector rail:

powers adjacent redstone dust and adjacent redstone repeaters facing away from the detector rail, to power level 15
powers adjacent redstone comparators facing away from the detector rail to a level corresponding to the fullness of the minecart if it is a Minecart with Chest or a Minecart with Hopper.
strongly powers any full solid opaque block beneath the detector rail to power level 15
activates any adjacent mechanism components, including above or below, such as pistons, redstone lamps, powered rails, hoppers, etc.

File:Detector-comparator-diff.png

Comparators give a signal for a minecart with chest or a minecart with hopper

If the minecart on the detector rail is a minecart with chest or minecart with hopper, an adjacent redstone comparator facing away from the detector rail outputs a power level proportional to the container's fullness, possibly power level 0. For any other type of minecart (including a regular minecart with a mob riding it) the comparator's output is zero.

A comparator can read the contents of a minecart with hopper or with chest on a detector rail through a solid opaque block, as it can with other container blocks.

Sounds

Template:Sound table/Block/Metal

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Namespaced ID	Block tags (JE)	Item tags (JE)	Form	Translation key
Detector Rail	`detector_rail`	`prevent_mob_spawning_inside` `rails`	`rails`	Block & Item	`block.minecraft.detector_rail`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Namespaced ID	Numeric ID	Form	Translation key
Detector Rail	`detector_rail`	`28`	Block & Item	`tile.detector_rail.name`

Metadata

In Bedrock Edition, a detector rail's block data stores its orientation and activation status: Powered Rail/DV

Block states

Powered Rail/BS

Video

History

Java Edition Beta

1.5

32px 32px 32px 32px 32px 32px
Added detector rails.

Java Edition

1.5

13w10a

32px 32px 32px 32px 32px 32px
A texture for active detector rails has now been added.

1.8

14w10a

Detector 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 a missing texture 32px. Their appearances prior to this point were unknown.

14w25a

Detector rails are now defined via block states rather than by numerical metadata. Prior to this version, the numerical metadata variants of the detector 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