The

Imperial and Royal The phrase Imperial and Royal (German: ''kaiserlich und königlich'', ), typically abbreviated as ''k. u. k.'', ''k. und k.'', ''k. & k.'' in German (the "und" is always spoken unabbreviated), ''cs. és k. (császári és királyi)'' in Hungari ...

privileged Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis (german: k.k.priv. Galizische Carl Ludwig-Bahn, pl, c.k. uprzyw. Kolej Galicyjska im. Karola Ludwika) was a privately owned railway company in the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

province of Galicia operating during the time of the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

in the second half of the 19th century. The company was managed by Prince

Leon Sapieha Leon Sapieha (1803–1878), sometimes written as Leon Sapiega, was a Galician noble ('' szlachcic'') and statesman. Biography Leon was born and educated in Warsaw, and studied law and economics in Paris and Edinburgh from 1820 to 1824. He began ...

, under a license granted to him by Emperor

Francis Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

on 7 April 1858. Once finished, the line crossed whole Galicia from west to east at the foothills of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

, connecting the main urban centers of the province -

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...

, Rzeszów,

Przemyśl Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

(Lemberg) and

Tarnopol Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...

. It started in Kraków and ended at the border rail station of Podwołoczyska (today

Pidvolochysk Pidvolochysk ( uk, Підволочиськ, pl, Podwołoczyska, yi, Podvolitchisk, , russian: Подволочиск) is an urban-type settlement in Ternopil, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is situated on the right side of t ...

), where it was connected over

Zbruch The Zbruch ( uk, Збруч, pl, Zbrucz) is a river in Western Ukraine, a left tributary of the Dniester.Збруч
...

with railroads of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

at Wołoczyska ( Volochysk). Apart from the main, west-east line, the company also built several branch lines of secondary importance. The railway was named in honor of Archduke Charles Louis of Austria, younger brother of the Emperor (and father of the future crown prince

Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

). The company was formed from the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

of the Austrian

Eastern National Railway Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, whose asset west of Kraków were transferred to the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway, while a 111 kilometer long line from Kraków to

Dębica Dębica (; yi, דעמביץ ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been in ...

through Bochnia and

, along with a 5 kilometer branch line from Bieżanów (today a part of Kraków) to the salt mine in

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...

, was assigned to the newly created Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Luis. In 1858 the company constructed another 5 kilometer branch line from Podłęże to Niepołomice and extended the main line 47 kilometers to Rzeszów. By 1859 the line was extended 37 kilometers to Przeworsk, 1860 - 50 kilometers to

, and in 1861 reached the Galician capital of

, another 100 kilometers east. By 1869 the line was extended 75 kilometers to Krasne and Złoczów, along with a 42 kilometers long branch from Krasne to Brody. In 1871 a 64 kilometers long segment was built to

, followed by 53 kilometers to

Podwołoczyska Pidvolochysk ( uk, Підволочиськ, pl, Podwołoczyska, yi, Podvolitchisk, , russian: Подволочиск) is an urban-type settlement in Ternopil, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is situated on the right side of t ...

, on the border with the Russian controlled

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

. In 1873 the branch to Brody was extended to

Radziwiłłów Radziwiłłów is a Polish toponym referring to the Radziwiłł noble family. It may refer to: * Radziwiłłów, Greater Poland Voivodeship, village in Greater Poland Voivodeship * Radziwiłłów, Masovian Voivodeship, village in Masovian Voivod ...

in Russian controlled

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

. By 1884 the company built a 150 kilometers long branch line from Jarosław to

Sokal Sokal ( uk, Сокаль, romanized: ''Sokal'') is a city located on the Bug River in Chervonohrad Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sokal urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population is appro ...

, and by 1887 a 110 kilometers long branch from Dębica through Sobów (today a part of Tarnobrzeg) forking to Rozwadów (today a part of Stalowa Wola) and Nadbrzezie (today in Sandomierz, which at the time was in Russian controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

), at the northern outskirts of Galicia, reaching a total length of 850 kilometers. To the west, the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis was connected with the rail systems of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and Austria at the junctions of Cieszyn and Bohumin. In 1866 the Lwów-Czerniowce-Jassy Railway connected Lwów with

Czerniowce Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...

, the capital of the

Duchy of Bukovina The Duchy of Bukovina (german: Herzogtum Bukowina; ro, Ducatul Bucovinei; uk, Герцогство Буковина) was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1849 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until 1918 ...

and a year later with Jassy, the capital of

Principality of Moldova Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

outside the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1873 the

Railway of Archduke Albrecht Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

connected Lwów with Stanisławów through Stryj and Dolina. In 1887 the Lwów – Bełżec (Tomaszów) Railway connected Lwów with

Bełżec Belzec (English: or , Polish: ) was a Nazi German extermination camp built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all History of Jews in Poland, Polish Jews, a major part of the "Fina ...

. In 1872 the

First Hungarian-Galician Railway First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

connected Przemyśl with Sátoraljaújhely in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, creating a direct connection between Lwów and

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In 1876 the Tarnów-

Leluchów Leluchów ( uk, Лелюхів, ''Leliukhiv'') is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Muszyna, within Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It lies approximately south ...

railway formed a second connection between Galicia and Hungary. By the end of century the company had 175 steam engines, 345 passenger cars and 3755 freight cars. In 1892 the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis was purchased by the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways in accordance with the terms of the concession. POL rail 91 map

Today the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis remains one of Poland's most important trunk lines. The line from Kraków to

Medyka Medyka (; uk, Медика, Medyka) is a village in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the municipality (gmina) called Gmina Medyka. It lies approximately east of Pr ...

on the Polish-Ukrainian border is designated by the national railway infrastructure manager

PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. is the Polish railway infrastructure manager, responsible for maintenance of rail tracks, conducting the trains across the country, scheduling train timetables, and management of railway land. The company was found ...

as Polish line number 91, the line has double tracks between Kraków and Przemyśl, is electrified along its entire length starting since the 1950 and finished in 1972. After the soviet occupation of Eastern Galicia as a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the segment from Medyka to Lwów and beyond has been converted to

Russian broad gauge Railways with a railway track gauge of first appeared in the United Kingdom and the United States. This gauge became commonly known as Russian gauge because the government of the Russian Empire later chose it in 1843 — former areas of the Empi ...

along with almost all other lines in present day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, and remains as such as of . This greatly limits interoperability with the European rail network, despite many low key efforts to improve the situation since the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. Poland however maintains one of the tracks from Medyka to the main railway station in Przemyśl ( pl:Przemyśl Główny) at Russian gauge, designated separately as line number 92, which allows Ukrainian trains to reach the city. POL rail 25 map

The branch line from Kraków to Wieliczka is designated as line nr 109, it has a single track electrified along its entire length, today the line is used exclusively by electric multiple units forming part of the Kraków public transport system. The branch to Niepołomice was designated as line nr 113, all traffic on the line was suspended in 2000 and in 2005 the track was dismantled and a local road was built in its place, as of 2022 the current government of Poland is considering the construction of a new railway line from Kraków to Niepołomice along a different trail. The branch from Dębica to Nadbrzezie was in 1915, following the Russian occupation of Galicia at the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, connected with a branch line of the Iwangorodzko-Dąbrowska Railway to

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (), often referred to as Ostrowiec, is a city in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, with 66,258 residents (as of 2021). The town is one of historic centers of Polish industry and metallurgy, a ...

, constructed in Russian controlled Congress Poland in 1885, today along with a second branch of the same railway they form line nr 25 from Dębica to Łódź Kaliska. The segment from Sobów to Stalowa Wola is designated line nr 74. The branch Jarosław to Sokal is designated as line nr 101, diverting from the original route at

Werchrata Werchrata ( uk, Верхрата, ''Verchrata'') is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Horyniec-Zdrój, within Lubaczów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It lies approxima ...

towards Hrebenne.

See also