Construction and operation of local railway networksin Galicia before World War I

Abstract

The Purpose of the Research. In Galicia local railways of contributed to all local socio-economic goals, including passenger transportation. However, the issue of historical reconstruction of a holistic picture of the railways development, and the volumes of passenger and freight transportation, and infrastructure on the basis of new data remain unresolved. Therefore, the purpose of the article is a comprehensive study of the local railways network from the beginning of their construction to World War I. The Research Methodology. In the article, the following methods have been applied: the method of periodization, the historical genetic method (for a sequential disclosing the scope and features of construction, railways operation and staffing), the comparative historical method (to compare the development of local railways in different crown lands and voivodeships during different periods), the elements of the historical systemic method for the analysis of the territorial structure and functions, internal and external railway connections of regional importance in Galicia. The scientific novelty of the article consists in the complex analysis of railways in Galicia as an administrative territorial unit of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

The Conclusions. The construction of local railways became possible with the assistance of enterprises that built the first main railway arteries in Galicia. At the end of 1890, there were 41 km of such access lines in Galicia, including: 13.3 km on the C. K. Privileged North Railway of the Emperor Ferdinand; 6.5 km on state railways; the 23.8 km long line Tlumach – Palahychi; 3.9 km along private railways. By the end of 1890, there were 892.5 km of local railways. Railways were built at the expense of local budgets or private investments under the guarantee of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria. During the period of 1896 – 1912, 940.835 km of railways were built with a total cost of 95 million Kr. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 37.3 thousand trains operated on 15 private local railway lines with a total length of 811 km. In 1902, they transported almost 1,750 thousand passengers and over 138,000 tons of freight. In Bukovyna, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were 16 railway lines with a total length of over 520 km. In terms of the length of local railways, Galicia ranked second among the 14 crown regions of Austria, although in terms of density per 100,000 people, it occupied only the 12th place