A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous
railroad trackage, that crosses a
continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the
tracks of either a single railroad or over those owned or controlled by multiple
railway companies along a continuous route. Although Europe is crisscrossed by railways, the railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental, with the possible exception of the historic
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
.
Transcontinental railroads helped open up unpopulated interior regions of continents to exploration and settlement that would not otherwise have been feasible. In many cases they also formed the backbones of cross-country passenger and freight transportation networks. Many of them continue to have an important role in freight transportation and some like the
Trans-Siberian Railway even have passenger trains going from one end to the other.
North America
United States
A transcontinental railroad in the United States is any continuous rail line connecting a location on the U.S. Pacific coast with one or more of the railroads of the nation's eastern trunk line rail systems operating between the
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
or
Mississippi Rivers and the U.S. Atlantic coast. The first concrete plan for a transcontinental railroad in the United States was presented to Congress by
Asa Whitney
Asa Whitney (1797–1872) was a highly successful dry-goods merchant and transcontinental railroad promoter.
He was one of the first backers of an American transcontinental railway. A trip to China in 1842–44 impressed upon Whitney the nee ...
in 1845.
A series of transcontinental railroads built over the last third of the 19th century created a nationwide transportation network that united the country by rail. The first of these, the
"Pacific Railroad", was built by the
Central Pacific Railroad and
Union Pacific Railroad to link the San Francisco Bay at
Alameda, California, with the nation's existing eastern railroad network at
Council Bluffs, Iowa/
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...
, thereby creating the world's first transcontinental railroad when it opened in 1869. Its construction was made possible by the US government under
Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862, 1864, and 1867. Its original course was very close to current
Interstate 80.
Transcontinental railroad
The U.S.'s
first transcontinental railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 to join the eastern and western halves of the United States. Begun just before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, its construction was considered to be one of the greatest American technological feats of the 19th century. Known as the "Pacific Railroad" when it opened, this served as a vital link for trade, commerce, and travel and opened up vast regions of the North American heartland for settlement. Shipping and commerce could thrive away from navigable watercourses for the first time since the beginning of the nation. Much of this route, especially on the Sierra grade west of Reno, Nevada, is currently used by Amtrak's ''
California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
'', although many parts have been rerouted.
The transcontinental railroad provided fast, safe, and cheap travel. The fare for a one-week trip from Omaha to San Francisco on an emigrant sleeping car was about $65 for an adult. It replaced most of the far slower and more hazardous
stagecoach lines and
wagon trains. The number of emigrants taking the
Oregon and
California Trails declined dramatically. The sale of the railroad land grant lands and the transport provided for timber and crops led to the rapid settling of the "Great American Desert".
The Union Pacific recruited laborers from Army veterans and
Irish immigrants, while most of the engineers were ex-Army men who had learned their trade keeping the trains running during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
.
The Central Pacific Railroad faced a labor shortage in the more sparsely settled West. It recruited
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
laborers in China, who built the line over and through the
Sierra Nevada mountains and then across
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
to their meeting in
northern Utah. Chinese workers made up ninety percent of the workforce on the line.
The
Chinese Labor Strike of 1867
In June of 1867, two thousand Chinese Transcontinental Railroad workers participated in a general strike (a collective action) for a week along the Sierra Nevada range, demanding better working conditions. By 1867, the Central Pacific Railroad work ...
was peaceful, with no violence, organized across the entire Sierra Nevada route, and was carried out according to a peaceful Confucian model of protest. The strike began with the
Summer Solstice in June, 1867 and lasted for eight days.
Land Grants
The Transcontinental Railroad required land and a complex federal policy for purchasing, granting, conveying land.
Some of these land-related acts included:
* One motive for the
Gadsden Purchase of land from Mexico in 1853 was to obtain suitable terrain for a southern transcontinental railroad, as the southern portion of the
Mexican Cession was too mountainous. The
Southern Pacific Railroad was completed in 1881.
* The
Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of l ...
(based on an earlier bill in 1856) authorized land grants for new lines that would "aid in the construction of a railroad and
telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean".
* The rails of the "
first transcontinental railroad" were joined on May 10, 1869, with the ceremonial driving of the "
Last Spike" at
Promontory Summit, Utah
Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above s ...
, after track was laid over a gap between
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...
/
Council Bluffs, Iowa in six years by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad.
Although through train service was in operation as of that date, the road was not deemed to have been officially "completed" until November 6, 1869. (A physical connection between Omaha, Nebraska, and the ''statutory'' Eastern terminus of the Pacific road at Council Bluffs, Iowa, located immediately across the
Missouri River was also not finally established until the opening of UPRR railroad bridge across the river on March 25, 1873, prior to which transfers were made by ferry operated by the
Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company.)
* The first permanent, continuous line of railroad track from coast to coast was completed 15 months later on August 15, 1870, by the
Kansas Pacific Railroad near its
crossing of Comanche Creek at
Strasburg, Colorado
Strasburg is an unincorporated town, just 30 minutes east of downtown Denver along the I-70 corridor. It is home to Strasburg School District 31-J with an enrollment of 1209 students. There are several small businesses, medical clinics, a post off ...
. This route connected to the eastern rail network via the
Hannibal Bridge
The First Hannibal Bridge was the first permanent rail crossing of the Missouri River and helped establish Kansas City, Missouri as a major city and rail center. The increased train traffic resulting from its construction also contributed to th ...
across the Missouri River at
Kansas City completed June 30, 1869, passed through
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and north to the Union Pacific Railroad at
Cheyenne, Wyoming, making it theoretically possible for the first time to board a train at
Jersey City, New Jersey, travel entirely by rail, and step down at the Alameda Wharf on
San Francisco Bay in Oakland. This singularity existed until March 25, 1873 when the Union Pacific constructed the Missouri River Bridge in Omaha.
Subsequent transcontinental routes
* Almost 12 years after
Promontory Summit, the
Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) constructed the second transcontinental railroad, building eastwards through the
Gadsden Purchase, which had been acquired from Mexico in 1854 largely with the intention of providing a route for a railroad connecting California with the Southern states. This line was completed with milestones and ceremonies in 1881 and 1883:
** March 8, 1881: the SP met the Rio Grande, Mexico and Pacific Railroad (a subsidiary of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...
) with a "silver spike" ceremony at
Deming, New Mexico, connecting
Atchison, Kansas, to Los Angeles.
[Myrick, David, ''New Mexico's Railroads, A Historic Survey'', University of New Mexico Press 1990. ]
** December 15, 1881: the SP met the
Texas and Pacific Railway (T&P) at
Sierra Blanca, Texas, connecting eastern Texas to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
.
** January 12, 1883: the SP completed its own southern section, meeting its subsidiary
Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway at the Pecos River in Texas, and linking
to Los Angeles.
* In
Colorado, the
3-foot gauge Denver & Rio Grande
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from ...
(D&RG) extended its route from
Denver via
Pueblo across the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
to
Grand Junction in 1882. In central
Utah, the D&RG acquired a number of independent
narrow gauge companies, which were incorporated into the first (1881-1889)
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway (D&RGW). Tracks were extended north through
Salt Lake City, while simultaneously building south and eastward toward Grand Junction. The D&RG and the D&RGW were linked on March 30, 1883, the extension to
Ogden (where it met the Central Pacific) was completed on May 14, 1883, and through traffic between Denver and Ogden began a few days later. The
break of gauge made direct interchange of
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...
with
standard gauge railroads at both ends of this
bridge line impossible for several years. The D&RG in 1887 began rebuilding its mainline in standard gauge, including a new route and tunnel at
Tennessee Pass. The first D&RGW was reincorporated as the
Rio Grande Western (RGW) in June 1889 and immediately began the conversion of track gauge. Standard gauge operations linking Ogden and Denver were completed on November 15, 1890.
[ Beebe, Lucius and Clegg, Charles, "Rio Grande, Mainline of the Rockies", Howell-North Books 1962.]
* The
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad completed its route connecting the AT&SF at
Albuquerque, New Mexico, via
Flagstaff, Arizona, to the Southern Pacific at
Needles, California, on August 9, 1883. The SP line into
Barstow was leased by the A&P in 1884 (and purchased in 1911); this gave the AT&SF (the A&P's parent company) a direct route into Southern California.
This route now forms the western portion of
BNSF's
Southern Transcon.
* The
Northern Pacific Railway (NP) completed the fifth independent transcontinental railroad on August 22, 1883, linking
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
with
Seattle. The
Completion Ceremony was held on September 8, 1883, with former
U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
contributing to driving the Final Spike.
* The
California Southern Railroad (chartered January 10, 1882) was completed from
National City on
San Diego Bay via Temecula Cañon to Colton and
San Bernardino in September, 1883, and extended through the Cajon Pass to Barstow, a junction of the
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, in November, 1885. In September, 1885, the line of the Southern Pacific from Colton to Los Angeles, a distance of , had been leased by the California Central with equal rights and privileges thus allowing the Santa Fe's Transcontinental route to be completed by the connection with the California Southern and A&PRR. The SP grade was used until the completion of the California Central's own line between San Bernardino and Los Angeles in June, 1887, a distance of , which was part of the old Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad, which had been acquired by purchase. In August, 1888, the California Central completed its Coast Division south from Los Angeles to a junction with the California Southern Railroad near Oceanside, a distance of , and these two divisions comprised the main line of the California Central, forming, in connection with the California Southern, a direct line between Southern California and the East by way of the Atlantic and Pacific and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroads.
* The
Great Northern Railway was built, without federal aid, by
James J. Hill in 1893; it stretched from
St. Paul to
Seattle.
* The
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific reached
Santa Rosa, New Mexico, from the east in late 1901, shortly before the
El Paso & Northeastern arrived from the southwest. The two were connected on February 1, 1902, thus forming an additional link between the Midwest and southern California.
Through passenger service was provided by the ''
Golden State Limited'' (Chicago—Kansas City—Tucumcari—El Paso—Los Angeles) jointly operated by the Rock Island and the Southern Pacific (EP&NE's successor) from 1902 to 1968.
* The
San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad
The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was a rail company in California, Nevada, and Utah in the United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities (Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California), via Las V ...
completed its line connecting Los Angeles through
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
to Salt Lake City on May 1, 1905. Through passenger service from Chicago to Los Angeles was provided by Union Pacific's ''
Los Angeles Limited'' from 1905 to 1954, and the ''
City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
'' from 1936 to 1971.
* The
Western Pacific Railway
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
(WP), financed by the Denver & Rio Grande on behalf of the
Gould System, completed its new line (the
Feather River Route) from Oakland to Ogden in 1909, in direct competition with the Southern Pacific's existing route. Through passenger service (Oakland-Salt Lake City-Denver-Chicago) was provided by the ''
Exposition Flyer'' 1939 to 1949 and its successor, the ''
California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
'' 1949 to 1970, both jointly operated by the WP, the
D&RGW and the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
* In 1909, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (or
Milwaukee Road) completed a privately built Pacific extension to Seattle. On completion, the line was renamed the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986.
The company experienced ...
. Although the Pacific Extension was privately funded, predecessor roads did benefit from the
federal land grant act, so it cannot be said to have been built without federal aid.
*
John D. Spreckels
John Diedrich Spreckels (August 16, 1853 – June 7, 1926), the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The entrepr ...
completed his privately funded
San Diego and Arizona Railway
The San Diego and Arizona Railway was a Short-line railroad, short line United States, U.S. railroad founded by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, and dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challeng ...
in 1919, thereby creating a direct link (via connection with the Southern Pacific lines) between
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
and the
Eastern United States. The railroad stretched from San Diego to
Calexico, California
Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...
, of which were south of the border in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
.
* In 1993,
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
's ''
Sunset Limited'' daily railroad train was extended eastward to
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, later rerouted to
Orlando, making it the first regularly scheduled transcontinental
passenger train route in the United States to be operated by a single company.
Hurricane Katrina cut this rail route in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
in 2005. The train now runs from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
The Gould System
George J. Gould attempted to assemble a truly transcontinental system in the 1900s. The line from
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, to
Toledo, Ohio, was completed in 1909, consisting of the
Western Pacific Railway
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
,
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad,
Missouri Pacific Railroad, and
Wabash Railroad. Beyond Toledo, the planned route would have used the
Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad (1900),
Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad ...
,
Little Kanawha Railroad,
West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway,
Western Maryland Railroad, and
Philadelphia and Western Railway
The Philadelphia and Western Railroad was a high-speed, third rail-equipped, commuter-hauling interurban electric railroad operating in the western suburbs of the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is now SEPTA's Norristown High Speed ...
, but the
Panic of 1907 strangled the plans before the Little Kanawha section in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
could be finished. The
Alphabet Route
The Alphabet Route was a coalition of railroads connecting the Midwest United States with the Northeast, as a freight alternate to the four major systems: the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central Railroad, Erie Railroad and Baltimore and Ohio R ...
was completed in 1931, providing the portion of this line east of the
Mississippi River. With the merging of the railroads, only the Union Pacific Railroad and the
BNSF Railway remain to carry the entire route.
Canada
The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway with the driving of the
Last Spike at
Craigellachie, British Columbia, on November 7, 1885, was an important milestone in
Canadian history
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...
. Between 1881 and 1885, the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) completed a line that spanned from the port of Montreal to the Pacific coast, fulfilling a condition of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
's 1871 entry into the
Canadian Confederation. The City of
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
, incorporated in 1886, was designated the western terminus of the line. The CPR became the first transcontinental railway company in North America in 1889 after its
International Railway of Maine opened, connecting CPR to the Atlantic coast.
The construction of a transcontinental railway strengthened the connection of British Columbia and the
North-West Territories to the country they had recently joined, and acted as a bulwark against potential incursions by the United States.
Subsequently, two other transcontinental lines were built in Canada: the
Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) opened another line to the Pacific in 1915, and the combined
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR)/
National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) system opened in 1917 following the completion of the
Quebec Bridge, although its line to the Pacific opened in 1914. The CNoR, GTPR, and NTR were
nationalized to form the
Canadian National Railway, which currently is now Canada's largest transcontinental railway, with lines running all the way from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast.
Central America (inter-oceanic lines)
Panama (South America)
The first railroad to directly connect two oceans (although not by crossing a broad "continental" land mass) was the
Panama Rail Road. Opened in 1855, this line was designated instead as an "inter-oceanic" railroad crossing Country at its narrowest point, the
Isthmus of Panama, when that area was still part of
Colombia. (Panama
split off from Colombia in 1903 and became the independent Republic of
Panama). By spanning the isthmus, the line thus became the first railroad to completely cross any part of the Americas and physically connect ports on the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
s. Given the tropical
rain forest environment, the terrain, and diseases such as
malaria and
cholera, its completion was a considerable engineering challenge. The construction took five years after ground was first broken for the line in May, 1850, cost eight million dollars, and required more than seven thousand workers drawn from "every quarter of the globe."
This railway was built to provide a shorter and more secure path between the United States'
East and
West Coasts. This need was mainly triggered by the
California Gold Rush. Over the years the railway played a key role in the construction and the subsequent operation of the
Panama Canal, due to its proximity to the canal. Currently, the railway operates under the private administration of the Panama Canal Railroad Company, and its upgraded capacity complements the cargo traffic through the Panama Canal.
Guatemala
A second Central American inter-oceanic railroad began operation in 1908 as a connection between
Puerto San José
Puerto San José is a town on Guatemala's Pacific Ocean coast, in the department of Escuintla. It has a population of 23,887 (2018 census), and
Puerto Barrios in Guatemala, but ceased passenger service to Puerto San José in 1989.
Costa Rica
A third Central American inter-oceanic railroad began operation in 1910 as a connection between
Puntarenas and
Limón in gauge. It currently (2019) sees no passenger service.
South America
There is activity to revive the connection between
Valparaíso
Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...
and
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
and
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza (, ), officially the City of Mendoza ( es, Ciudad de Mendoza) is the capital of the province of Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern ...
, through the ''Transandino'' project. Mendoza has an active connection to
Buenos Aires. The old Transandino began in 1910 and ceased passenger service in 1978 and freight 4 years later. Technically a complete transcontinental link exists from
Arica, Chile
Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...
, to
La Paz,
Bolivia, to Buenos Aires, but this trans-Andean crossing is for freight only.
On December 6, 2017 the Brazilian President Michel Temer and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales signed an agreement for an Atlantic - Pacific railway. The construction will start in 2019 and will be finished in 2024. The new railway is planned to be 3750 km in length. There are two possible tracks in discussion: Both have an Atlantic end in
Santos, Brazil but the Pacific ends are in
Ilo, Peru and
Matarani, Peru.
Another longer Transcontinental freight-only railroad linking
Lima,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
is under development.
Eurasia
* The first transcontinental railroad in Europe, that connected the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
or the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
with the
Mediterranean Sea, was a series of lines that included the
Paris–Marseille railway
The railway from Paris to Marseille is an 862-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southern port city of Marseille, France, via Dijon and Lyon. The railway was opened in several stages between 1847 and 1856, when the final sect ...
, in service 1856. Multiple railways north of Paris were in operation at that time, such as
Paris–Lille railway and
Paris–Le Havre railway
The Paris–Le Havre railway is an important 228-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the northwestern port city Le Havre via Rouen. Among the first railway lines in France, the section from Paris to Rouen opened on 9 May 1843, fol ...
.
* The second connection between the seas of Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, was a series of lines finalized in 1857 with the
Austrian Southern Railway,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
–
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...
. There were before that railroad connections
Hamburg–
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
–
Wroclaw–
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
(including
Berlin–Hamburg Railway,
Berlin–Wrocław railway
The Berlin–Wrocław railway (german: Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, roughly translating as "Lower Silesian-Marcher Railway", NME) was a German private railway that connected Berlin (then capital of the March of Brandenburg ...
,
Upper Silesian Railway
The Upper Silesian Railway (german: Oberschlesische Eisenbahn, OSE, pl, Kolej Górnośląska) was one of the earliest railways in Silesia, and the first in the territories of partitioned Poland. It connected Wrocław (Breslau) in Lower Silesia wi ...
and
Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway). The Baltic Sea was also connected through the
Lübeck–Lüneburg railway.
*The
Trans-Siberian Railway, completed in 1905, was the first network of railways connecting Europe and Asia. It connects
Western Russia to the
Russian Far East, and is the longest railway line in the world, with a length of over . The railway starts from Russia's capital
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, which is the largest city in Europe, and ends at
Vladivostok, situated on the coast of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
. Expansion of the railway system continues , with connecting rails going into Asia, namely
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and
North Korea.
There are also plans to connect
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
, the capital of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, to the railway.
* A second rail line connects Istanbul in Turkey with
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
via
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
,
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and
Kazakhstan. This route imposes a
break of gauge at the Iranian border with Turkmenistan and at the Chinese border. En route there is a
train ferry in eastern Turkey across
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
. The European and Asian parts of Istanbul was linked 2019 linked by the
Marmaray undersea tunnel, before that by train ferry. There is no through service of passenger trains on the entire line. A uniform gauge connection was proposed in 2006, commencing with new construction in
Kazakhstan. A decision to make the internal railways of Afghanistan gauge potentially opens up a new standard gauge route to China, since China abuts this country.
Asia
* The
Trans-Asian Railway is a project to link
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
to
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
and is to a large degree complete with missing pieces primarily in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. The project has also linking corridors to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, the central Asian states, and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
. This transcontinental line unfortunately uses a number of different gauges, , , and , though this problem may be lessened with the use of
variable gauge axle
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges.
For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge wh ...
systems such as the
SUW 2000
SUW 2000 is a Polish variable gauge system that allows trains to cross a break of gauge. It is interoperable with the German Rafil Type V system (built by the Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg).
History
The SUW 2000 system was designed by Ryszard Suwalski. ...
.
* The TransKazakhstan Trunk Railways project by
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy
Kazakhstan Temir Joly (KTJ; kk, Қазақстан Темір Жолы, Qazaqstan Temır Joly (QTJ)), also National Company Kazakhstan Temir Joly, is the national railway company of Kazakhstan.
Organization
Founded by the government in 2002 as ...
will connect
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and Europe with standard gauge . Construction is set to start in 2006. Initially the line will go to western
Kazakhstan, south through
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, then to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
and Europe. A shorter to-be-constructed link from Kazakhstan is considered going through Russia and either
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
or
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 inva ...
.
* The
Baghdad Railway connects Istanbul with Baghdad and finally Basra, a sea port at the Persian Gulf. When its construction started in the 1880s it was in those times a Transcontinental Railroad.
Australia
East-west
*
Australia's east–west transcontinental rail corridor, consisting of lines built to three different
track gauges, was completed in 1917, when the
Trans-Australian Railway
The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the east ...
was opened between
Port Augusta,
South Australia and
Kalgoorlie,
Western Australia. This line, built by the
federal government as a
federation commitment, filled the last gap in the lines between the mainland state capitals of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
,
Melbourne,
Adelaide and
Perth. Passengers and freight alike suffered from time-consuming
breaks of gauge: a Perth–Brisbane journey at that time involved two standard gauge 1435 mm (4 ft 8 in) lines, a broad gauge 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) line, and three of 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge.
*In the 1940s and 1960s, steps were taken to progressively reduce the huge inefficiencies caused by the numerous historically imposed breaks of gauge by linking the mainland capital cities with lines all of standard gauge.
*In 1970, the route across the continent was completed to standard gauge and a new, all-through passenger train, the ''
Indian Pacific'' was inaugurated.
*An east–west transcontinental line across
northern Australia from the
Pilbara to the east coast – more than 1000 km (600 mi) north of the
Sydney-Perth rail corridor – was proposed in 2006 by
Project Iron Boomerang to connect iron ore mining in the Pilbara and coal mining in the
Bowen Basin
The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal-producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland inclu ...
in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, with steel manufacturing plants at both ends.
North–south
* Australia's
north–south transcontinental rail corridor was built in stages during the 20th century, leaving a gap to be finished after the
Tarcoola to
Alice Springs section was completed in 1980. That final section, from Alice Springs to
Darwin, was opened in 2004. The total length of the corridor, from
Adelaide to Darwin, is . Completion of the corridor ended 126 years of freight and passengers alike having to be transferred between trains on
tracks of different gauges: the corridor is now entirely 1435 mm (4 ft 8 in) standard gauge. The corridor is an important route for freight. An upmarket
experiential tourism passenger train, ''
The Ghan'', operated by
Journey Beyond
Journey Beyond is the business name (together with more than a dozen other related names) of Experience Australia Group Pty Ltd, a private equity-owned company known mainly for operating Australian interstate experiential tourism trains ('' Th ...
, makes the journey once a week in each direction from
Adelaide to Darwin, and the company's east–west ''
Indian Pacific'' runs on the southernmost before heading west to
Perth. There is no intermediate passenger traffic on the line.
* In 2018, the
Australian Rail Track Corporation started building a standard gauge fast-freight railway from
Melbourne to
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, known as the
Inland Railway
Inland Rail, also known as Inland Railway and previously Australian Inland Railway Expressway, is a railway line under construction in Australia. Once complete, it will connect the ports of Melbourne and Brisbane along a new route west of th ...
. , completion was anticipated in 2027.
Africa
East-west
* There are several ways to cross
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
transcontinentally via connecting east–west railways. One is the
Benguela railway, completed in 1929. It starts in
Lobito
Lobito is a municipality in Angola. It is located in Benguela Province, on the Atlantic Coast north of the Catumbela Estuary. The Lobito municipality had a population of 393,079 in 2014.
History
The city was founded in 1843 and owes its existe ...
,
Angola, and connects through
Katanga to the
Zambia railways
Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link t ...
system. From Zambia several ports are accessible on the Indian Ocean:
Dar es Salaam in Tanzania through the
TAZARA, and, through Zimbabwe,
Beira and
Maputo in Mozambique. The Angolan Civil War has made the Benguela line largely inoperative, but efforts are being taken to restore it. Another west–east corridor leads from the Atlantic harbours in
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, either
Walvis Bay or
Luderitz to the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
n rail system that, in turn, links to ports on the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
( i.e.
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
,
Maputo).
* A 1015 km gap in the east–west line between
Kinshasa and
Ilebo
Ilebo, formerly known as Port-Francqui, is a town in Kasai province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying at the highest navigable point of the Kasaï River. It is an important transport hub for ferries to Kinshasa and trains to Lubumbashi.
...
filled by riverboats could be plugged with a new railway.
* There are two proposals for a line from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Guinea, including
TransAfricaRail.
* In 2010 a
proposal sought to link
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
to
Port Sudan
Port Sudan ( ar, بور سودان, Būr Sūdān) is a port city in eastern Sudan, and the capital of the state of Red Sea. , it has 489,725 residents. Located on the Red Sea, Port Sudan is recognized as Sudan's main seaport and the source of 9 ...
. Thirteen countries would be on the main route; another six would be served by branches.
North-south
* A north-south transcontinental railway had been proposed by
Cecil Rhodes, who termed it the
Cape-Cairo railway
The Cape to Cairo Railway was an unfinished project to create a railway line crossing Africa from south to north. It would have been the largest and most important railway of that continent. It was planned as a link between Cape Town in Sout ...
. This system would act as a direct route from the northernmost British possession in Africa,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
, to the southernmost one, the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with ...
. The project was never completed. During its development, a competing French colonial project for a competing line from
Algiers or
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
to
Abidjan was abandoned after the
Fashoda incident. This line would have had four gauge islands in three gauges.
* An extension of Namibian Railways is being built in 2006 with the possible connection to Angolan Railways.
*
Libya has proposed a Trans-Saharan Railway connecting possibly to
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
which would connect with the proposed
AfricaRail
AfricaRail is a project to link the railway systems of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Togo. These are all gauge.
A future stage is proposed to link Mali, Senegal, which are also gauge; Nigeria and Ghana have a different narrow ga ...
network.
African Union of Railways
* The
African Union of Railways
The African Union of Railways is an organisation under the auspices of the new African Union dealing with railways. It is similar to the International Union of Railways (UIC).
Overview
Africa's railways are disjointed and disconnected. The AU ...
has plans to connect the various railways of Africa including the
Dakar-Port Sudan Railway
The Dakar-Port Sudan Railway is a 4,000 km long proposal put forward during 2008 to 2010 to link Dakar, Senegal with Port Sudan, Sudan by a transcontinental railway. It would pass through several countries along the way and would have branch ...
.
See also
*
Cosmopolitan Railway
The Cosmopolitan Railway was a proposed global railroad network advocated by William Gilpin, formerly the first territorial governor of Colorado (1861–62), in his 1890 treatise ''Cosmopolitan Railway: Compacting and Fusing Together All the Wor ...
*
Transmountain railroad
*
Intercontinental and transoceanic fixed links
Footnotes
{{reflist
Further reading
* Glenn Williamson, ''Iron Muse: Photographing the Transcontinental Railroad.'' Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2013.
External links
The Old TransandinoTrans-Asian Railway ProjectUniting the States of America
Railways by type
Continents
Railroad