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Train reference → Useful articles → History of Russian Railways
History of Russian Railways
The history of railways began in Russia in 1834.
Then the mining department invited the famous engineer Franz von Gerstner to St. Petersburg.
He traveled to many cities, up to the Urals, and then submitted a serious report to Tsar Nicholas I.
Here is a quote from there: ".... there is no country in the world where railways would be more profitable and even necessary than in Russia, since they make it possible to shorten long distances by increasing the speed of movement..."
This coincided with the goals of the government: it was necessary to unite, settle and develop huge territories.
We decided to build a small line first and see how the railway will endure the Russian winters.
This was the famous Tsarskoye Selo, in 1836.
The first steam powered train for the first few days to Tsarskoye Selo and back to St. Petersburg was driven by the engineer von Gerstner himself.
The track of European roads repeats the width of Roman wagons.
In Russia, they decided not to repeat themselves, to make the track wider — this way you can transport more cargo, and it is more convenient for passengers to go.
In 1845, Russia was already building its own steam locomotives, and in the second half of the XIX century, the railway boom began at all.
Private companies were involved in the construction of railways.
With the money received from the sale of Alaska, a special fund was formed, which issued loans for the construction of railway highways.
A "bread" road was laid — in the Volga region.
The strategically important Orenburg Railway was built — a military and trade route to Asia.
In 1857, it was decided to build the Trans Siberian Railway for the development of Siberia and the Far East.
This road still has no equal in the world for its length and speed of construction.
Transsib was recognized as the greatest technical achievement of the turn of the XIX and XX centuries.
The development of railways is associated with the names of P. P. Melnikov and S. Y. Witte.
Under Melnikov, the cheapest roads were built, and Witte will propose to make a state monopoly on railway fares and introduce the principle that still determines the price of railway tickets: the further, the cheaper.
The construction of roads did not stop during the Great Patriotic War: they laid the North Pechora Road to Vorkuta, and this is coal for metallurgy, they built the Volga Rockade, which provided the Stalingrad Front with everything necessary, the road along the ice crossing from Shlisselburg, along which goods were transported to besieged Leningrad.
If you collect all the military echelons in one composition, then they can wrap the Earth around the equator four times.
Now about 80% of the Russian Railways network is what was built before 1917.
In Soviet times, new roads were also built, but mainly in the Union republics.
The largest construction site of Soviet times on the territory of Russia is the Baikal Amur Mainline (1974-1984), which gave a new impetus to the development of Siberia.
Now the railways are developing in the spirit of the times.
High speed highways are being launched, new technologies are being introduced.
You can buy a train ticket online.
Getting on the train, imagine what a huge "baggage" the railway has.
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