The optimal number of rails between powered rails in Minecraft depends on the goal (speed maintenance, cost efficiency) and terrain (flat or inclines):
- For flat tracks aiming to maintain maximum speed with minimal powered rails, the commonly recommended spacing is about 3 normal rails between each powered rail (i.e., 1 powered rail every 4 blocks). This pattern results in very little speed reduction and is cost-effective
- Some sources suggest that you can space powered rails even farther apart without significant speed loss, up to about 20 normal rails between powered rails (1 powered rail every 21 blocks). This results in a very minor speed decrease over long distances, less than half a second over 200 blocks, which is often acceptable for efficiency
- Other findings indicate that on perfectly flat tracks, you can place one powered rail every 26 to 36 blocks and still maintain maximum speed, though this is closer to the limit and may not be reliable in all cases
- For inclines, powered rails need to be placed more frequently-sometimes with only 2 normal rails between powered rails or even consecutive powered rails to prevent the minecart from slowing or stopping
In summary, a practical and widely used spacing is 3 normal rails between powered rails for flat tracks, balancing speed and resource use. For maximum efficiency with slight speed loss, spacing can be increased up to about 20 normal rails between powered rails. Inclines require more frequent powered rails. This means there are typically 3 to 20 rails in between powered rails depending on your priorities and terrain.
