The longest railways in the world.

The United States of America has the world's longest network railways, followed by China and India. We present to your attention the longest railways in the world based on their total operating length.

And so, let's go!

United States: 250 thousand km

The US railway network, with a length of more than 250,000 km, is the largest in the world. Freight lines make up about 80% of the country's entire railway network, and the total length of passenger lines is about 35,000 km.

The US freight rail network consists of 538 railroads (7 Class I railroads, 21 regional railroads, and 510 local railroads) operated by private organizations. Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway are among the largest freight railroad networks in the world. Amtrak's national passenger rail network includes more than 30 rail routes connecting 500 destinations in 46 US states.

The US currently has a plan to create by 2030 national system high-speed railways with a length of 27 thousand km. Construction of the California High Speed ​​Rail Link, the nation's first high-speed rail project, already began in 2014. Three other high-speed projects are also in development, including the Midwest High-Speed ​​Rail line connecting Chicago to Indianapolis or St. Louis, the Texas High-Speed ​​Rail and the Northeast High-Speed ​​Corridor.

China: 100 thousand km

China's railway network, with a length of more than 100 thousand km, ranks second in the world. In 2013, the extensive network operated by the state-owned China Railway Corporation carried 2.08 billion passengers (second largest after Indian Railways) and 3.22 billion tons of freight (second largest after the US rail network).

Railroad is the main mode of transport in China. The country's railway network includes more than 90 thousand km of conventional railway routes and about 10 thousand km of high-speed lines. By 2050, the country's total railway network should exceed 270 thousand km.

Rapid expansion of China's high-speed rail network in last years makes it the largest in the world. The Beijing-Guangzhou High Speed ​​Line (2,298 km) is the world's longest high-speed rail line. According to forecasts, by 2020 the total length of the Chinese high-speed rail network will reach 50 thousand km.

Russia: 85,500 km

The entire Russian railway network, managed by the state monopolist Russian Railways (RZD), covers more than 85,500 km. In 2013, Russian Railways transported 1.08 billion passengers and 1.2 billion tons of cargo - the third largest volume of cargo after the United States and China.

The Russian railway network includes 12 main lines, many of which provide direct connections to European and Asian national railway systems such as Finland, France, Germany, Poland, China, Mongolia and North Korea. Trans-Siberian Railway(Moscow-Vladivostok line) with a length of 9,289 km is the longest and one of the busiest railway lines in the world.

In 2009, Russian Railways launched a high-speed express service between St. Petersburg and Moscow (“Sapsan”), which was not particularly successful due to the fact that its movement flows along the same tracks as regular trains. Following this, a dedicated express corridor was planned between the two cities with a proposed investment of $35 billion.

India: 65 thousand km

India's nationwide railway network, the fourth largest in the world, is owned and operated by Indian Railways and covers an operational route of over 65,000 km. In 2013, the Indian railway network transported about 8 billion passengers (1st place in the world) and 1.01 million tons of cargo (4th place in the world).

The Indian railway network is divided into 17 zones and serves more than 19 thousand trains per day, including 12 thousand passenger and 7 thousand freight. By 2017, the national railway operator planned to add 4 thousand km of new lines, as well as significantly transform existing ones. It also plans to build a 3,338 km exclusive freight network with the introduction of the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC), two of the six planned dedicated freight corridors.

As a pilot project, the country is constructing a 534 km long high-speed line on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route with an estimated investment of US$9.65 billion.

Canada: 48 thousand km

Canada's railway lines are the fifth largest in the world. Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) are the two major transit rail networks operating in the country, and Via Rail operates 12,500 km of intercity passenger rail service. Algoma Central Railway and Ontario Northland Railway are among the few small rail operators that provide passenger service to some rural areas of the country.

Three Canadian cities - Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver - have extensive commuter systems. In addition, Rocky Mountaineer and Royal Canadian Pacific offer luxury rail tours that take in the beauty of the country's scenic mountain regions.

However, Canada does not have a single high-speed line on its rail network. Until recently, there have been many proposals for high-speed lines such as Toronto-Montreal, Calgary-Edmonton and Montreal-Boston, but none have moved beyond preliminary studies since January 2014.

Germany: 41 thousand km

The state-owned Deutsche Bahn operates a 41,000 km railway network, which accounts for about 80% of total freight traffic and 99% of long-distance passenger traffic.

In addition to Deutsche Bahn, there are more than 150 private railway companies operating on the network, providing regional passenger and freight services. The S-Bahn serves major suburban and urban areas, and Hamburg Cologne Express (HKX) is the major long-distance passenger operator after Deutsche Bahn.

Since mid-2013, the German railway network has had more than 1,300 km of high-speed lines and more than 400 km of new high-speed lines under construction. In 1991, Deutsche Bahn pioneered the InterCity Express (ICE) high-speed service. Now, a high-speed network, allowing express trains to reach speeds of up to 320 km/h, connects major German cities and neighboring countries such as France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria.

Australia: 40 thousand km

The Australian rail network is the seventh largest in the world. Most of The rail network infrastructure is owned and maintained by the Australian Government at either the federal or state level. However, most trains are operated by private companies.

Aurizon (formerly QR National), Genesee and Wyoming Australia, and Pacific National are among the country's major cargo operators. Great Southern Railway, NSW TrainLink and Queensland Rail are the leading long distance freight operators. Metro Trains Melbourne, Sydney Trains, V/Line and Adelaide Metro provide commuter passenger services to major Australian destinations. In addition, the country has a number of private mountain railways.

On this moment The Australian rail network does not have a high speed line. So far there are only plans for its construction - it should connect Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. With an estimated construction cost of $114 billion, the first phase of the 1,748-kilometer high-speed network won't be delivered until 2035.

Argentina: 36 thousand km

Argentina's current rail network of over 36,000 km ranks eighth in the world. At the end of World War II, Argentina had about 47 thousand km of railway tracks, which were operated mainly by British and French railway companies. But declining profits and increased highway construction in subsequent decades led to a reduction in the network to 36 thousand km, which remains at this level to this day. In 1948, the railway companies operating on the network were nationalized and the state railway corporation Ferrocarriles Argentinos was formed.

The Argentine Railway was privatized between 1992 and 1995, with concessions awarded to various private companies to operate six divisions of the formerly state-owned railway network. Cities such as Buenos Aires, Resistencia and Mendoza offer extensive commuter passenger services as well as long-distance domestic passenger services.

Argentina's much-discussed high-speed rail is still only a dream. In 2006, development of a 310-kilometer high-speed line between Buenos Aires and Rosario was announced. However, the project was not implemented. A second high-speed line of 400 km between Rosario and Cordoba has also been proposed.

France: 29 thousand km

The French railway network is the second largest in Europe and the ninth largest in the world. The French railway network is predominantly focused on passenger transport. More than 50% of the country's railway lines are electrified. Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) is the country's main railway operator.

The country's high-speed, long-distance passenger services are known as Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV), while standard long-distance passenger services are branded Intercités. Short and medium distance passenger transport services are known as Transport Express Régional (TER). The network offers connections to neighboring countries such as Belgium, Italy and the UK.

France was one of the first to develop technology for high-speed rail, with SNCF introducing the TGV high-speed rail in 1981. The country's current high-speed network exceeds 1,550 km. The Tours-Bordeaux high-speed rail project, which was due to be completed in 2017, will add another 302 km.

Brazil: 28 thousand km

The first railway line in Brazil began operating in 1984. In 1957, the railway network was nationalized and the Rede Ferroviária Federal Sociedade Anônima (RFFSA) was created. The country's railway network has been divided into different services, which have been operated by a number of private and public operators since 2007.

The 28,000 km network is mainly focused on freight and iron ore. Passenger transport services in the country are mainly concentrated in urban and suburban areas. Eight Brazilian cities have a metro system, the largest being the São Paulo Metro.

In 2012, the Brazilian government announced the construction of 10 thousand km of new freight and high-speed passenger lines by 2042. The country also plans to build a high-speed rail link between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro with a length of 511 km.

Railway network Russian Federation quite extensive. It consists of several sections of highways, which are owned by Russian Railways OJSC. Moreover, all regional roads are formally branches of JSC Russian Railways, while the company itself acts as a monopolist in Russia:

The road runs through the territory of the Irkutsk and Chita regions and the republics of Buryatia and Sakha-Yakutia. The length of the highway is 3848 km.

The road runs along two parallel latitudinal directions: Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod- Kirov and Moscow - Kazan - Yekaterinburg, which are connected by roads. The road connects the Central, North-Western and Northern regions of Russia with the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia. The Gorky road borders on the following railways: Moscow (Petushki and Cherusti stations), Sverdlovsk (Cheptsa, Druzhinino stations), Northern (Novki, Susolovka, Svecha stations), Kuibyshevskaya (Krasny Uzel, Tsilna stations). The total developed length of the road is 12066 km. The length of the main railway tracks is 7987 km.

The railway passes through the territory of five constituent entities of the Russian Federation - Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories, Amur and Jewish Autonomous Regions, and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Its service area also includes the Magadan, Sakhalin, Kamchatka regions and Chukotka - over 40% of the territory of Russia. Operating length - 5986 km.

The Trans-Baikal Railway runs in the south-east of Russia, through the territory of the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Amur Region, is located next to the border of the People's Republic of China and has the only direct land border railway crossing in Russia through the Zabaikalsk station. Operating length - 3370 km.

The West Siberian Railway passes through the territory of Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk regions, Altai Territory and partly the Republic of Kazakhstan. The developed length of the main tracks of the highway is 8986 km, the operational length is 5602 km.

The road operates in special geopolitical conditions. The shortest route from the center of Russia to the countries lies through Kaliningrad Western Europe. The road does not have common borders with Russian Railways. The total length of the highway is 1,100 km, the length of the main routes is over 900 kilometers.

The highway passes through four large regions - Kemerovo region, Khakassia, Irkutsk region and Krasnoyarsk region, connecting the Trans-Siberian and South Siberian railways. Figuratively speaking, it is a bridge between the European part of Russia, its Far East and Asia. The operational length of the Krasnoyarsk road is 3160 km. The total length is 4544 kilometers.

The railway stretches from the Moscow region to the Ural foothills, connecting the center and west of the Russian Federation with the large socio-economic regions of the Urals, Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The road consists of two almost parallel lines running from West to East: Kustarevka - Inza - Ulyanovsk and Ryazhsk - Samara, which connect at the Chishmy station, forming a double-track line ending at the spurs of the Ural Mountains. Two other lines of the road Ruzaevka - Penza - Rtishchevo and Ulyanovsk - Syzran - Saratov run from North to South.

Within its current boundaries, the Moscow Railway was organized in 1959 as a result of the full and partial unification of six roads: Moscow-Ryazan, Moscow-Kursk-Donbass, Moscow-Okruzhnaya, Moscow-Kiev, Kalinin and Northern. The deployed length is 13,000 km, the operational length is 8,800 km.

The Oktyabrskaya Mainline passes through the territory of eleven constituent entities of the Russian Federation - Leningrad, Pskov, Novgorod, Vologda, Murmansk, Tver, Moscow, Yaroslavl regions, the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg and the Republic of Karelia. Operating length - 10143 km.

The Volga (Ryazan-Ural) railway is located in the southeast of the European part of Russia in the region of the Lower Volga and the middle reaches of the Don and covers the territories of Saratov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions, as well as several stations located within Rostovskaya, Samara regions and Kazakhstan. The length of the road is 4191 km.

The highway connects the European and Asian parts of Russia, stretches for one and a half thousand kilometers from west to east and crosses the Arctic Circle in a northern direction. Passes through Nizhny Tagil, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Surgut, Tyumen. Also serves Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrugs. Operating length - 7154 km. The deployed length is 13,853 km.

The highway originates in the center of Russia and extends far to the north of the country. Most of the Northern Mainline is operated in the harsh conditions of the Far North and the Arctic. The unfolded length is 8500 kilometers.

In the service area of ​​the road there are 11 constituent entities of the Russian Federation Southern federal district, it directly borders Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The operational length of the highway is 6358 km.

The South-Eastern Railway occupies a central position in the railway network and connects the eastern regions and the Urals with the Center, as well as the regions of the North, North-West and Center with Northern Caucasus, Ukraine and the states of Transcaucasia. The South-Eastern Road borders on the Moscow, Kuibyshev, North Caucasus, and Southern Railways of Ukraine. Operating length - 4189 km.

The South Ural Railway is located in two parts of the world - at the junction of Europe and Asia. It includes Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Orenburg and Kartalinsk branches. Several mainline railway lines pass through the territory of Kazakhstan. The South-Eastern Road borders on the Moscow, Kuibyshev, North Caucasus, and Southern Railways of Ukraine. Operating length - 4189 km. The developed length is over 8000 km.

I am glad to welcome you, dear users and fans of railway transport. The topic of the article is the length of Russian railways. What do you think about this? Ever asked yourself a similar question? Does the length of railways in Russia reach a high level?

Remember how in high school in math class we studied problems about the movement of transport from point A to point B, we looked at everything possible solutions tasks, analyzed each action, and all the data in the task, we can easily attribute length to this topic. Yes, a rather strange word for a newcomer to the field of railway transport. But here everything is elementary simple. Length is the well-known length, width and height of a certain territory; it has the property of being measured in different forms.

Transport, routes and length

Rail transport in the Russian Federation can be called one of the largest railway networks around the world! In addition, this type of transport is one of the main ones, thanks to the work of railway vehicles, a number of freight and passenger transportation is carried out. About two percent of working-age citizens of Russia are involved in this area. It is known that today railway lines use great amount transport. Just imagine - more than 22 thousand locomotives, 890 thousand freight cars, 26 thousand passenger cars, as well as more than 15 thousand electric trains and diesel trains. Such numbers are mind-boggling!

As of 2013, the length of Russian railways is 85.3 thousand units. The total duration is the following mileage - 121 thousand, and this accompanies the fact that Russia ranks third, behind only the USA and China.

Electrification plays a significant role in railway transport in the Russian Federation. Thanks to this railway system, Russia ranks 2nd in the world, after China, where the electrified length of rail tracks is about 55.8 thousand kilometers, and is considered the largest railway.

Electrification is a system of working on a rail line using electric rolling stock, for example an electric train or an electric locomotive.

Back to the Future!

Railroads were popular back in the 19th century, when they were just emerging in Russia. The first railway is Tsarskoselskaya, with a duration of only some 27 km, it is located near the Tsarskoselskaya station and the village of Tsarskoye. Do you know anything about this?

The Nikolaev railway experienced great glory; its popularity dates back to the century before last. It was more developed compared to the first ways. The length of the Nikolaevskaya road at the time of its operation was 645 km. Over time, additional lines were added. I think many people have heard about the Nikolaev Railway!

At the beginning of the last century, probably the most colossal railway of that time was created - the Trans-Siberian Railway. With the help of this road, the European part of the country, also the Urals, was connected with the Far East, its length is 9288.2 km, this is far from 27 Tsarskoye Selo units!

During the Soviet period, everything railway territories were transferred to state ownership. As a result, almost all outdated transport underwent reconstruction, most roads were converted to diesel traction, rails were replaced, and automatic train control was installed. Conclusion - for the times Soviet power The railway sector felt the influence of maximum development and perfection. Since the 90s, the condition of the stations has deteriorated significantly, and the construction of new roads has stopped. But, after the 2000s, the development of the railway sector increased sharply.

As of 2030, the length of railways in the Russian Federation should be about 107.6 thousand. But if certain requirements are not met, the chances of achieving the desired result will be zero, and the development of the rail sector will remain at its level without any movement.

The longest duration of railways in the world is considered to be the American Railway, which is 293.6 thousand km, and this is the state for 2014. What can we say about 2016, probably over the course of two years, it underwent a number of changes and adjustments, became more popular and larger in size.

The duration of Russian rail tracks is increasing significantly, the difference can be seen year by year from 2013 to 2014, the difference in just one year already reaches 2 thousand kilometers of railway lines. Every year the length of Russia's railways is expected to increase and increase in size.

What do you think about the duration of railway lines all over the world, and not just about the three leading countries?! As of 2006, the world's length of railways reaches 1,370,782 kilometers. What can we say about the world length today. Just imagine how many changes have occurred over the course of 10 years. In countries former USSR as of 1990, the length reached 145.6 thousand kilometers.

I believe that length will always be relevant, not only in the field of rail transport, even if it is even a calculation of duration coastline Black Sea. This knowledge about length, width and height is laid down in us from childhood and adolescence. And then we ask ourselves, why do we need the subject of arithmetic?! Will these tasks of calculating cut and height really be useful in the future, because I want to become a humanist, and mathematical sciences have nothing to do with me. The answer has come naturally - logic, quick calculations, friendship with numbers and units should always go hand in hand with us, because the formula that remained on the page of the 8th grade textbook, and not in memory, could have benefited us right now, and perhaps would play an important role.

“There is a well-known theory, proven many times in practice, that no matter how big number There were no more people in the carriage; one more person could always enter. First with one leg, then with both legs, with his jacket sandwiched between the doors, but he will get in. Method mathematical induction proves: an infinite number of people can enter the carriage. " - Kitya Carlson.

I want to bring interesting example. What can you say about the Moscow metro? Have you ever thought about its length, height, width, in general, about its length? Its duration can be either operational or deployed. What's the difference?! The operational length is measured along the axis of the main track, and is 292.9 kilometers, while the deployed duration of the tracks is the sum of the lengths of all tracks, the developed duration reaches 801.3 km. The Moscow metro is considered the largest in terms of length in Russia. Did you know anything about this?

I want to believe that my article was quite instructive and informative, I hope you learned and found here everything you needed.

Thank you for your attention! All the best, see you soon!

The length of the train is measured by the number of cars loaded with ore, oil, etc., which are attached to the locomotive. The length of the car and the weight of the load can be limited by electric road sensors with a power of less than 3000 or 1500 V, which affects the traction force. Elevation changes, road bends, the length of the circular railway, and coupling devices are also limiting factors for the length of the train. It is not uncommon for the average length of a freight train to be 2,000 meters. Greater length can be achieved thanks to power plants, which allow the average length of the train to increase by 3-4 times, up to 8000 meters. The main advantage of using distributed power units is that they can pull long and heavy trains without the risk of derailment on sharp turns. The introduction of an additional locomotive in the middle of freight cars makes it possible to pull the cars more successfully, effectively distributing the load compared to how one locomotive does it, they are of course not but mega long.. So, without further ado, we present to you the list of 10 longest trains in the world.

10. "Ghan", Australia.

Ghan is passenger train, the only one on this list that runs between Adelaide and Darwin. The entire journey is 2,979 km and takes 54 hours. The train is named after the Afghan camel drivers who came to the country in the 1880s. and used this train to explore the area. The entire train consists of approximately 16-26 cars from of stainless steel. But sometimes it includes up to 99 cars, and then the total length is 1200 meters.

9. Maruti freight train. India

The train was launched in 2011 by Indian Railways and runs between Bilaspur and Busawal. average speed The train speed is on average 50 km/h and is pulled by 4 locomotives (2 in front and 2 in the middle). The train's cargo capacity is about 9,000-10,000 tons, consists of 118 cars and operates a total train length of up to 1,400 meters. Plans called for the train to be even longer, but issues related to the train's safety system, as well as sharp turns and slopes, were an obstacle to the plans. However, it is one of the longest freight trains in South-East Asia and, undoubtedly, the longest in the country. Ninth among longest trains.

8. Rio Tinto Railway Service, Australia

Rio Tinto owns and operates Australia's largest private rail network. They have access to 15 mines as their backbone network spans over 1,700 km. They have 173 locomotives and 10,500 carriages at their disposal. Hamersley Iron and Robe River Iron often use this company at their iron ore sites. They assembled huge trains that connected an average of 226 cars, each of which could hold 105 tons. One such fully loaded train can carry 30,000 tons of cargo and has a length of up to 2,400 m.

7. Mauritanian Mining Railways, Mauritania

Mauritanian Railways is the country's national railway company. The company's trains transport iron ore from the ore mines in the city of Zouerate to the city of Nouadhibou, a distance of 704 km. People rarely use this road to travel on regular passenger carriages, many jump onto the carriages of this train itself. The train on this railway has a train up to 2500 meters in length; the entire train is pulled by 3-4 electric diesel locomotives. The result is 200-210 wagons, and each wagon holds about 85 tons. More than 16 million tons of ore are transported annually.

6. Daqing Railways. China

Daqing railway trains are used to transport coal along a 653-kilometer transport network in northern China. The railway passes through the provinces of Piqing and Tianjin and is managed by a joint stock company. The railway was built in 1984 and consisted of one track, then another was added to meet increasing needs. Freight trains passing through Daqing carry up to 20,000 kilotons of goods, the highest carrying capacity in the country. This is possible thanks to the powerful locomotives of the HXD1 and HXD2 models, which have a power of up to 10 MV, more powerful than the previous DJ1 model. Trains carrying coal usually consist of about 210 cars, up to 3,200 meters long.

5. Freight trains in Carajas, Brazil

The length of railways in the province of Carajas is 892 kilometers. The road was officially launched in 1982. The road connects the largest iron ore mines in the world from Carajas to the port of Ponta De Madeira in São Luis. More than 120 million tons of iron ore and 350,000 passengers travel along this road, which is considered the most profitable road in Brazil. The income generated from these quarries contributes to the development of the Brazilian economy. 10,756 wagons and 217 locomotives depart along a given route. More than 35 different trains travel along this road, including one of the largest trains in the world, consisting of 330 cars. The length of the train is about 3300 meters.

4. Train S-400 Association of American Railways, USA

Freight trains generate revenues of up to $60 billion and play an important role in the country's economy. Freight wagons used to transport mineral and renewable resources. Most freight trains are owned by private companies, and 15 to 20 percent of their budget is invested to further develop the company. One of the largest operating freight locomotives in the Association of American Railroads, the S-400 has many safety features such as electronically controlled aerodynamic and air braking systems that prevent cars from derailing during tight turns. The S-400 locomotive consists of 180 cars and reaches a length of up to 3659 meters. Fourth place among longest trains.

3. Radio distribution power trains, South Africa

The railway for transporting iron ore is 861 kilometers long. The road, built in 1976, connects iron ore mines from Sisheni in the Northern Cape to the port of Saldanha in the western province, and was originally used to transport iron ore and was not used to transport passengers. The road is one track with dozens of turns so that trains can turn around and go the other way. Initially, the train on this route consisted of electric locomotives pulling 210 cars, each of which carried cargo weighing up to 80 tons. Now the train can consist of 342 cars, so the total length is 3780 meters. The train's carrying capacity is up to 4200 tons.

2. Double-stack container trains, Canada

Double-stack container trains travel on Canadian National Railway using multiple locomotives that carry the entire load. Until the 1990s, the average freight train was up to 1,500 meters long thanks to energy distribution devices. Nowadays you can hardly see trains with a carrying capacity of up to 18,000 tons and a length of up to 4,000 meters. Regular freight trains reach 3,700 meters in length, and freight trains average about 3,000 meters. The most long length a freight train in Canada is 4200 meters.

1. BHP Billitron mining train, Australia

The longest train in the world. BHP Billitron operates the Mount Newman Railway, which is used only for private transport of iron ore. The length of the route is 426 km, and in Australia it is one of the longest private railways. The road was officially launched in 1969. Train lines run from Newman to Port Hedland, a journey time of approximately 8 hours. They carry iron ore trains, consisting of an average of 250 wagons, with a total length of up to 2.6 km. But in 2001, the train broke all world records, becoming the heaviest and longest train in the world: another 682 cars were attached to the train, carrying 82,000 tons of ore. Thus, the total length of the train was 7350 meters. The train runs from Yandi Mine to Port Hedland using 8 locomotives.

Fewer railways were built in the USSR than in the Republic of Ingushetia.

Usage example

"IN Tsarist Russia in the period from 1880 to 1917, i.e. over 37 years, 58,251 km were built. For 38 years of Soviet power, i.e. by the end of 1956, only 36,250 km had been built. roads."

Reality

Length of railways

In 1890, the total length of railways in Russia was 24,041 versts (Russia 1913. section - transport, 1. Railways; table 2). Later, from the 90s. In the 19th century, active construction of railways was carried out in Russia. This was done both by the state and by commercial structures. The pace has been particularly high since 1890. In many ways, this is the indisputable merit of Sergei Yulievich Witte, who has done a lot in this area.

From the “Report of the Council of Congresses of Representatives of Industry and Trade on the issues of radical improvement of the work of railway and water transport, highways in connection with the increased demands of the Russian national economy. May 9, 1913"

"In 1904 shared network reached 55,614 versts, increasing over the five-year period by 9,052 versts, of which in European Russia - 7,144 versts and in Asian Russia - 1,908 versts. In 1909, the network amounted to 62,422 versts (without the Chinese Eastern Railway - 1,617 versts), having increased over 5 years by 6,808 versts, of which in European Russia - 4,882 versts, and in Asian Russia - 1,926 versts . By 1910, the total railway network of 62,422 versts was breaking up: into a government network in European Russia - 32,373 versts and in Asian Russia (including the Ussuriysk railway) -10,129 versts; in total there are 42,502 versts of state-owned railways. Private railways in European Russia - 17,805 versts and access roads common use private companies - 2,115 versts or total private - 19,920 versts.

In total, the network of Russian railways has increased by 41,691 versts over 30 years, of which in European Russia by 31,562 versts and in Asian Russia by 10,129 versts. Consequently, the network grew annually by an average of 1,390 versts. Largest quantity increased over the five-year period 1895-1899 - by 13,755 versts, or 2,751 versts per year. Then, in the five-year period 1900-1904, the network increased by 9,052 versts, or 1,810 versts per year. The remaining five years gave an increase in the network by 5000-5500 versts, or 1000 versts on average per year.”

Note that 1 verst = 0.14375 geographical miles = 1.06679 km

From this official document It follows that in 30 years, by 1910, 41,691 versts were built in Russia, which is about 44,475 km. The highest growth rates were achieved during the period from 1895-1899 by 2,751 versts annually, which is about 2,934 km. A less high figure was achieved in the period 1900-1904 in which the growth rate was 1,810 versts per year, which is about 1,930 km. And 1000 (1066 km) versts on average per year over the next five years.

Note that in 1911, 1579 versts were discovered; in 1912 - 750 versts; in 1913 - 981 versts. (Russia 1913. section - transport, 1. Railways, table 1).

By 1913, the total length of the railway in the Republic of Ingushetia was 68,370 versts (of which only 16,889 versts were double gauge), this number included 2,494 versts of private railways local significance.(Russia 1913; Transport; 1. Railways table 3) . This is the length of roads, both public and local. Converted to kilometers (68370 multiplied by 1.06679) it turns out to be approximately 72,936 km.

In the USSR by 1960, the length of railways common use, according to the statistical yearbook " National economy USSR in 1960,” amounted to 125 thousand km (Section: RAILWAY TRANSPORT. Table: OPERATING LENGTH OF RAILROADS OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS (at the end of the year; thousand kilometers) p. 353).

However, this number does not include local roads. On the same page, under the above table, there is a note: “In addition to the indicated operational length of public railways of the Ministry of Railways, there are railway access tracks industrial enterprises and organizations; The length of these non-public routes amounted to 102.4 thousand km at the beginning of 1961.” All these are local railways, which also played vital role in communications. And of course, they also had to be built.

In total, the total length of railways in the USSR was 227.8 thousand km. The difference with 1913 is 155 thousand km. Let's divide 155 by 40 (roughly from 1920 to 1960) and get an average of 3.8 thousand km. in year. Even such rough and primitive calculations give an idea of ​​the pace and scale of railway construction at that time. This despite the fact that the country suffered such terrible disasters How Civil War from the First World War and the Second World War.

Freight volume

Except total length ZhD, there is another one no less important indicator. These are cargo transportation volumes and railway capacity.

The fact that the capacity of the railways built before the revolution was insufficient is evidenced by some supply difficulties that emerged during the war. Railway communications, which worked normally in peacetime, turned out to be unprepared for wartime conditions. As General N.N. Golovin wrote: “As a result, even after the shocks caused by the evacuation were overcome by railway transport, the latter cannot cope with the tasks assigned to it in supplying supplies. Difficulties in this area are increasing as Russia emerges from a crisis in military supplies, and the latter are sent to the army in greater and greater quantities. From personal 18-month experience as Chief of Staff of the VII Army (from October 1915 to April 1917), the author can testify that, as a rule, the army did not receive on average 25% of the supplies it was entitled to. The reasons for this shortage should be entirely attributed to the insufficient carrying capacity of our railways.”

The situation especially worsened after the loss transport hubs Vilno, Lida, Baranovichi, due to the retreat of the Russian army. To be fair, it is important to add that it was during these years that a lot of railways were built. But these were more like “firefighting” (emergency) actions.

“Such a weak railway connection was, of course, completely unsatisfactory. With possible urgency, in a very unfavorable time of year, a branch line from the Sinyavka station to Budy was built to bypass the Baranovichi junction, the construction of the track on the northern section of the Podolsk railway (Kalinkovichi - Korosten) was completed and a temporary wooden bridge was built across the river. Pripyat. After this the situation improved somewhat. The railway transfer of troops to the Southwestern Front carried out during 1916 amounted to several thousand trains. And yet, the size of this transportation did not satisfy the strategic requirements of the current situation.

One of the reasons that the Galician victory in 1916 did not produce the strategic results that could have been expected is that the operational transportation required for this turned out to be completely beyond the capabilities of our railways.”N. N. Golovin

Under Soviet rule (especially in the first decades), the task was set not only to build new railways, but also to increase throughput old By 1940, the volume of cargo transportation and railway density increased many times, as evidenced by the following figures:

Freight turnover of railway transport by individual cargo
(billions of tariff ton-kilometers)

Rail density
(km per 1000 km2 territory)

additional literature

Discussion

Dear, I have read quite a lot on this topic, so your claims to absolute knowledge are groundless, both in the indiscriminate designation of most of the WWII railway times as temporary buildings, and in the conviction that in the USSR the same 30-40 did not exist. It was even worse. Well, in any case, including roads built during WWI in favor of the USSR is a delight. And the author to whom I referred did not come up with these numbers himself, but took them from a monograph, the author of which is much more in the subject than I am, you and especially the wrestlers are higher in the comments. The fact that the “myth-fighter” lies like a gray gelding and is not familiar with the topic even to a minimal extent cannot be changed in any way. The fact that he took into account both the roads built in the Republic of Ingushetia and those captured by the USSR as those built by the USSR is a fact. So the opus can be safely scrapped. Its value is at the noise level.