# Dual-tracked roller coaster

A dual-tracked roller coaster is a roller coaster that consists of two tracks. They can be configured as racing, dueling, or Möbius loop roller coasters. Some dual-track coasters operate only one track side at a time, including Rolling Thunder and Colossus. Others may opt to run one side facing frontward and one side facing backward.

## Variants

Racing roller coaster: consists of two separate roller coasters that travel along parallel or mirrored tracks to simulate a race between the trains. The coaster trains travel along tracks just a few feet apart from one another. They often get close enough for riders to reach out and slap hands with riders on the opposite train, though this is extremely dangerous. These coasters are usually old wooden coasters.
Dueling roller coaster: features two (or more) roller coasters, usually with a similar layout, built close to each other. The rides are designed to do just as the name indicates: to duel. The coaster's layout often consists of strategic maneuvering to produce near-misses between the two coaster trains, designed to induce a greater adrenaline rush for the rider than a stand-alone roller coaster.
Möbius loop roller coaster: this can be a racing roller coaster or a dueling roller coaster; there is one continuous track shared by both trains. As a result, the side of the station that a train begins on is not the same side on which it returns. For each cycle, each train travels half the track. In less common configurations, a Möbius loop coaster train travels the entire length of the track before returning, such as with Twisted Colossus and West Coast Racers at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

## Examples

| Coaster name | Park | Location | Track | Type | Builder | Year opened | Notes |
| American Eagle | Six Flags Great America | Gurnee, Illinois | Wooden | Racing | Intamin | 1981 | Tallest and fastest racing wooden roller coaster in the world. |
| Batman & Robin: The Chiller | Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson, New Jersey | Steel | Dueling | Premier Rides | 1997 | Closed in 2007. |
| Battlestar Galactica: Human vs. Cylon | Universal Studios Singapore | Sentosa, Singapore | Steel | Dueling | Vekoma | 2010 | Themed to the Battlestar Galactica television series with "Cylon" and "Human" sides. The former is a launched high-thrill inverted coaster while the latter is a launched family-friendly sit-down coaster. |
| Dauling Dragon | Happy Valley Wuhan | Wuhan, Hubei, China | Wooden | Racing | Martin & Vleminckx | 2012 | China's first large-scale racing roller coaster. Designed by The Gravity Group. |
| Dawson Duel | Bellewaerde | Ypres, Belgium | Hybrid | Racing | Wiegand | 2017 | First-ever gravity-powered racing mountain coasters, and the first to use an artificial slope. |
| Dragon Challenge | Universal's Islands of Adventure | Orlando, Florida | Steel | Dueling | Bolliger & Mabillard | 1999 | An inverted roller coaster formerly known as Dueling Dragons. After 2011, the dueling aspect of the ride was removed due to multiple incidents. Closed and scrapped in 2017. |
| Gemini | Cedar Point | Sandusky, Ohio | Steel | Racing | Arrow Dynamics | 1978 | Steel-tracked roller coaster with wooden supports. |
| Grand National | Blackpool Pleasure Beach | Blackpool, Lancashire | Wooden | Möbius Loop | Charles Paige | 1935 | |
| Gwazi | Busch Gardens Tampa | Tampa, Florida | Wooden | Dueling | Great Coasters International | 1999 | Only the Lion side was operating as of 2012, and closed officially in 2015. It was reconstructed by manufacturer Rocky Mountain Construction into a non-dueling hybrid roller coaster named Iron Gwazi. |
| Joris en de Draak | Efteling | Kaatsheuvel | Wooden | Dueling and Racing | Great Coasters International | 2010 | |
| Lightning Racer | Hersheypark | Hershey, Pennsylvania | Wooden | Dueling and Racing | Great Coasters International | 2000 | |
| Matterhorn Bobsleds | Disneyland | Anaheim, California | Steel | | Arrow Dynamics | 1959 | Weaves around and through a replica of the Matterhorn. World's first tubular steel roller coaster. |
| Desmo Race | Mirabilandia | Italy | Steel | Spike, Dueling and Racing | Maurer AG | 2019 | It is the world's first and only dueling Spike Dragster coaster. Situated in Ducati World in Mirabilandia. |
| Max Adventures Master Thai | Mirabilandia | Italy | Steel | Möbius loop | Preston & Barbieri | 2011 | Riders simultaneously board on both halves of the Möbius loop. |
| Milky Way | Mitsui Greenland | Arao, Kumamoto | Steel | Racing | Senyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. | 1991 | Stand-up roller coaster |
| Le Monstre | La Ronde | Montréal, Québec | Wooden | Racing | William Cobb & Associates | 1985/86 | One track opened in 1985, the other in 1986 |
| Montaña Rusa | La Feria Chapultepec Mágico | Mexico City | Wooden | Möbius loop | National Amusement Device Company | 1964 | Closed 2019, demolished 2022 |
| The Racer | Kings Island | Mason, Ohio | Wooden | Racing | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters | 1972 | Credited for starting the "Second Coaster Boom". One train formerly ran backwards until 2008. World's fastest racing coaster (1972–1976). |
| Racer | Kennywood | West Mifflin, Pennsylvania | Wooden | Möbius loop | Charile Mach | 1927 | |
| Ramses | Parque de Atracciones de Zaragoza | Zaragoza | Steel | Racing | Safeco | 2002 | Opened in 1987 at Parque de Atracciones de Montjuic, named as "Vikingo". It stayed until the park's closure in 1998, and reopened with a new theming, location and name in 2002. First half pipe roller coaster ever built in a park. |
| Racer 75 | Kings Dominion | Doswell, Virginia | Wooden | Racing | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters | 1975 | One train formerly ran backwards until 2008. |
| Rolling Thunder | Six Flags Great Adventure | Jackson, New Jersey | Wooden | Racing | William Cobb & Associates | 1979 | Ride had two tracks in a figure 8 pattern, but the hills are arranged differently on each track. Closed in 2013 to make way for Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom. |
| Space Mountain | Magic Kingdom | Bay Lake, Florida | Steel | | Arrow Dynamics | 1975 | Oldest operating roller coaster in Florida. |
| Thunder Road | Carowinds | Charlotte, North Carolina | Wooden | Racing | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters | 1976 | Crosses the North Carolina/South Carolina state line. One train formerly ran backwards until 2008. Closed and demolished in 2015. |
| Twisted Colossus | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Valencia, California | Steel | Quasi Möbius | Rocky Mountain Construction | 2015 | Originally constructed as Colossus, it opened in 1978 as a traditional two-track racing roller coaster. The ride closed on August 16, 2014 and reopened on May 23, 2015 as Twisted Colossus, a reconstructed hybrid wood/steel roller coaster. Unlike most "Möbius loop" racing/dueling coasters, Twisted Colossus has one station and trains go through both sides of the "Möbius loop" on one cycle. The ride experience often does not involve a racing element as it is dependent on the time taken to dispatch the trains from the station. |
| Vertigorama | Parque de la Ciudad | Buenos Aires City | Steel | Racing | Intamin | 1983 | Track built but electrical never completed. |
| Vleermuis | Plopsaland | De Panne, West Flanders, Belgium | Steel | Racing | Caripro | 2000 | Suspended roller coaster. Sold in 2018 to Trans Studio Bali, a park outside Europe. |
| West Coast Racers | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Valencia, California | Steel | Quasi Möbius | Premier Rides | 2020 | This is a Möbius loop racing coaster similar to Twisted Colossus, also found at the park. Unlike Twisted Colossus, the racing element is guaranteed, as the train will be held next to the station upon completion of the first half of the loop until the next train is dispatched. |
| Windjammer Surf Racers | Knott's Berry Farm | Buena Park, California | Steel | Racing | TOGO | 1997 | Closed in 2000 due to various problems. |
| Kid Flash Cosmic Coaster | Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Over Georgia | San Antonio, Texas and Austell, Georgia | Steel | Racing | Skyline Attractions | 2023 | Texas’ only racing roller coaster Georgia’s first single-rail coaster and only racing coaster |