Contiguous railroad trackage crossing a continental landmass
Transcontinental railroads in and near the United States by 1887
Atranscontinental railroad ortranscontinental railway is contiguousrailroad trackage[1] that crosses acontinental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via thetracks of a single railroad, or via several railroads owned or controlled by multiplerailway 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 historicOrient Express.Transcontinental railroads helped open up interior regions of continents not previously colonized 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 such as theTrans-Siberian Railway even have passenger trains going from one end to the other.
There are several ways to crossAfrica transcontinentally via connecting east–west railways. One is theBenguela railway, completed in 1929. It starts inLobito, Angola, and connects throughKatanga to theZambia Railways system. From Zambia several ports are accessible on the Indian Ocean:Dar es Salaam in Tanzania through theTAZARA, and, through Zimbabwe,Beira andMaputo in Mozambique. Following the end of theAngolan Civil War, a multi-billion-dollar reconstruction led by Chinese firms fully restored the line to the border with theDemocratic Republic of the Congo in 2014.[2] Another west–east corridor leads from the Atlantic harbours inNamibia, eitherWalvis Bay orLuderitz to theSouth African rail system that, in turn, links to ports on theIndian Ocean (i.e.Durban,Maputo).
A 1015 km gap in the east–west line betweenKinshasa andIlebo is filled by riverboats. It could be plugged if a new railway were to be built, as was discussed in 2009.[3]
Development of these corridors remains hampered by the lack ofrail gauge standardization and complexborder-crossing customs procedures across differing legal regimes.[4]
There are two active proposals for a line from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Guinea, includingTransAfricaRail.
In 2010, aproposal sought to linkDakar toPort Sudan. Thirteen countries would be on the main route; another six would be served by branches.
A north-south transcontinental railway had been proposed byCecil Rhodes, who termed it theCape-Cairo railway. This system would act as a direct route from the northernmost British possession in Africa,Egypt, to the southernmost one, theCape Colony. The project was never completed. During its development, a competing French colonial project for a competing line fromAlgiers orDakar toAbidjan was abandoned after theFashoda 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 toNigeria which would connect with the proposedAfricaRail network.
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, theIndian Pacific was inaugurated.
The Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor, completed in 2004. Construction of the first of its five constituent lines had started 87 years earlier – and itsill-fated predecessor 39 years before that.
Australia'snorth–south transcontinental rail corridor was built in stages during the 20th century, leaving a 1420-kilometre (880-mile) gap to be finished after the 828 kilometres (514 miles)Tarcoola toAlice Springs section was completed in 1980.[6] That final section, from Alice Springs toDarwin, was opened in 2004. The total length of the corridor, fromAdelaide to Darwin, is 2975 kilometres (1849 miles). Completion of the corridor ended 126 years of freight and passengers alike having to be transferred between trains ontracks of different gauges: the corridor is now entirely 1435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in) standard gauge. The corridor is an important route for freight. An upmarketexperiential tourism passenger train,The Ghan, operated byJourney Beyond, makes the journey once a week in each direction fromAdelaide to Darwin,[7] and the company's east–westIndian Pacific runs on the southernmost 727 kilometres (452 miles) before heading west toPerth.[8] There is no intermediate passenger traffic on the line.
TheTrans-Siberian Railway, completed in 1905, was the first network of railways connecting Europe and Asia. It connectsWestern Russia to theRussian Far East,[10] and is the longest railway line in the world,[11] with a length of over 9,289 kilometres (5,772 miles). The railway starts from Russia's capitalMoscow, which is the largest city in Europe, and ends atVladivostok, on the coast of thePacific Ocean. Expansion of the railway system continues as of 2021[update],[12] with connecting rails going into Asia, namelyMongolia,China andNorth Korea.[13] There are also plans to connectTokyo, the capital ofJapan, to the railway.[13]
A second rail line connects Istanbul in Turkey withChina viaIran,Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan andKazakhstan. This route imposes abreak of gauge at the Iranian border with Turkmenistan and at the Chinese border. En route there is atrain ferry in eastern Turkey acrossLake Van. The European and Asian parts of Istanbul was linked 2019 linked by theMarmarayundersea 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 inKazakhstan. A decision to make the internal railways of Afghanistan1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) gauge potentially opens up a new standard gauge route to China, since China abuts this country.[14]
TheTrans-Asian Railway is a project to linkSingapore toIstanbul and is to a large degree complete with missing pieces primarily inMyanmar. The project has also linking corridors toChina, the central Asian states, andRussia. This transcontinental line unfortunately uses a number of different gauges,1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in),1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in),1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) and1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in), though this problem may be lessened with the use ofvariable gauge axle systems such as theSUW 2000.
TheKunming-Singapore Railway is a network of railways connecting China with mainland Southeast Asia, with the routes culminating inBangkok,Thailand before continuing on in a single line toMalaysia andSingapore. The opening of theBoten-Vientiane railway inLaos in 2021 has completed an almost-seamless railway passage, though a major break-of-gauge exists between Laos and Thailand.
The TransKazakhstan Trunk Railways project byKazakhstan Temir Zholy will connectChina and Europe with standard gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). Construction is set to start in 2006. Initially the line will go to westernKazakhstan, south throughTurkmenistan toIran, then toTurkey and Europe. A shorter to-be-constructed1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) link from Kazakhstan is considered going through Russia and eitherBelarus orUkraine.
TheBaghdad 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.[citation needed][clarification needed]
The ceremony for the driving of the "Last Spike," the joining of the tracks of theCPRR andUPRR grades atPromontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, Andrew J. Russell's "East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of Last Rail." May 10, 1869.
Atranscontinental 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 theMissouri orMississippi Rivers and the U.S. Atlantic coast. The first concrete plan for a transcontinental railroad in the United States was presented to Congress byAsa Whitney in 1845.[15]
The U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp in 1944, on the 75th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad in America. The engraving depicts the driving of the "Golden Spike" atPromontory, Utah in 1869.
The United States'first transcontinental railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network atCouncil Bluffs, Iowa, with the Pacific coast at theOakland Long Wharf onSan Francisco Bay. 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, it served as a vital link for trade, commerce, and travel and opened up vast regions of the North American heartland for settlement. Much of the original route, especially on the Sierra grade west of Reno, Nevada, is currently used by Amtrak'sCalifornia Zephyr, although many parts have been rerouted.[16]
The resulting coast-to-coast railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of theAmerican West.[N 1][N 2] It brought the western states and territories into alignment with the northern Union states and made transporting passengers and goods coast-to-coast considerably quicker, safer and less expensive. It replaced most of the far slower and more hazardousstagecoach lines andwagon trains. The number of emigrants taking theOregon andCalifornia 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".[20]
The Union Pacific recruited laborers from Army veterans andIrish immigrants, while most of the engineers were ex-Army men who had learned their trade keeping the trains running during theAmerican Civil War.[21]
The Central Pacific Railroad faced a labor shortage in the more sparsely settled West. It recruitedCantonese laborers in China, who built the line over and through theSierra Nevada mountains and then acrossNevada to their meeting innorthern Utah. Chinese workers made up ninety percent of the workforce on the line.[22] TheChinese Labor Strike of 1867 was peaceful, with no violence, organized across the entire Sierra Nevada route, and was carried out according to a peaceful Confucian model of protest.[23] The strike began with theSummer Solstice in June, 1867 and lasted for eight days.[23]
During the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad (1863 to 1869), Chinese immigrants became the primary labor force for the Central Pacific Railroad. Initially, the company was hesitant to hire Chinese workers due to prevalent anti-Chinese sentiment and concerns that white laborers would refuse to work alongside them. However, a labor shortage and the high turnover of white workers eventually forced a shift in policy.
The majority of these laborers hailed from Guangdong, a southern province in China then plagued by civil war and poverty. Having been pushed out of California's goldfields by discriminatory policies like the foreign miners' taxes,[24] many sought steady wages on the "Iron Road." At the height of construction, Chinese workers comprised up to 90% of the Central Pacific's workforce, totaling roughly 12,000 to 15,000 individuals.[25]
They were assigned the most hazardous tasks, including carving tunnels through the Sierra Nevada and working through high-altitude winters. Despite their vital role, they were paid significantly less than white workers. They averaged $27 to $30 per month compared to the $35 or more paid to white laborers. Furthermore, they were required to pay for their own food and lodging.[25] In 1867, these conditions led to a massive, peaceful labor strike organized across the Sierra Nevada route, though it was eventually broken by the railroad company through the withholding of supplies.
Diplomatic relations initially supported this labor flow. The Burlingame Treaty of 1868, negotiated by Anson Burlingame and William H. Seward, ensured the rights of free travel and residence between the U.S. and China.[26] However, the economic downturn following the Panic of 1873 shifted political rhetoric. Chinese workers were increasingly scapegoated by white labor groups, leading to a series of restrictive laws.
The transition from reliance to exclusion was marked by the Page Act of 1875, which restricted the entry of Chinese women, and culminated in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.[27] This landmark legislation prohibited further immigration of Chinese laborers and barred them from attaining U.S. citizenship. Further restrictions followed with the Geary Act of 1892, which required Chinese residents to carry internal passports and denied them legal protections like bail in habeas corpus proceedings.[28]
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 theGadsden Purchase of land from Mexico in 1853 was to obtain suitable terrain for a southern transcontinental railroad, as the southern portion of theMexican Cession was too mountainous. TheSouthern Pacific Railroad was completed in 1881.
ThePacific Railroad Act of 1862 (based on an earlier bill in 1856) authorized land grants for new lines that would "aid in the construction of a railroad andtelegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean".[29]
The rails of the "first transcontinental railroad" were joined on May 10, 1869, with the ceremonial driving of the "Last Spike" atPromontory Summit, Utah, after track was laid over a 2,826 km (1,756 mi) gap betweenSacramento andOmaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa[30] in six years by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad.[31] Although through train service between Omaha and Sacramento was in operation as of that date, the road was not completed to the Pacific Ocean until September 6, 1869, when the first through train reached San Francisco Bay atAlameda Terminal, and on November 8, 1869, when it reached the terminus atOakland Long Wharf. Later, November 6, 1869, was deemed to be the official completion date of the Pacific Railroad.[32] (A physical connection between Omaha, Nebraska, and thestatutory Eastern terminus of the Pacific road at Council Bluffs, Iowa, located immediately across theMissouri 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 theCouncil Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company.[33][34])
The first permanent, continuous line of railroad track from coast to coast was completed 15 months later on August 15, 1870, by theKansas Pacific Railroad near itscrossing of Comanche Creek atStrasburg, Colorado. This route connected to the eastern rail network via theHannibal Bridge across the Missouri River atKansas City completed June 30, 1869, passed throughDenver, Colorado, and north to the Union Pacific Railroad atCheyenne, Wyoming, making it theoretically possible for the first time to board a train atJersey City, New Jersey, travel entirely by rail, and step down at the Alameda Wharf onSan Francisco Bay in Oakland. This singularity existed until March 25, 1873, when the Union Pacific constructed the Missouri River Bridge in Omaha.[35][36]
Almost 12 years afterPromontory Summit, theSouthern Pacific Railroad (SP) constructed the second transcontinental railroad, building eastwards through theGadsden 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:
InColorado, the3-foot gaugeDenver & Rio Grande (D&RG) extended its route fromDenver viaPueblo across theRocky Mountains toGrand Junction in 1882. In centralUtah, the D&RG acquired a number of independentnarrow gauge companies, which were incorporated into the first (1881–1889)Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway (D&RGW). Tracks were extended north throughSalt 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 toOgden (where it met the Central Pacific) was completed on May 14, 1883, and through traffic between Denver and Ogden began a few days later. Thebreak of gauge made direct interchange ofrolling stock withstandard gauge railroads at both ends of thisbridge line impossible for several years. The D&RG in 1887 began rebuilding its mainline in standard gauge, including a new route and tunnel atTennessee Pass. The first D&RGW was reincorporated as theRio 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.[38]
TheCalifornia Southern Railroad (chartered January 10, 1882) was completed fromNational City onSan Diego Bay via Temecula Cañon to Colton andSan Bernardino in September, 1883, and extended through the Cajon Pass to Barstow, a junction of theAtlantic and Pacific Railroad, in November, 1885. In September, 1885, the line of the Southern Pacific from Colton to Los Angeles, a distance of 93 km (58 mi), 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 101.13 km (62.84 mi), 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 130.20 km (80.90 mi), and these two divisions formed 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.[40]
TheGreat Northern Railway was built without federal aid byJames J. Hill, who bought up smaller railways and consolidated them into the Great Northern. It was completed in June, 1893, and stretched fromSt. Paul toSeattle.
TheChicago, Rock Island & Pacific reachedSanta Rosa, New Mexico, from the east in late 1901, shortly before theEl 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.[37] Through passenger service was provided by theGolden 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.
TheWestern Pacific Railway (WP), financed by the Denver & Rio Grande on behalf of theGould System, completed its new line (theFeather 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 theExposition Flyer 1939 to 1949 and its successor, theCalifornia Zephyr 1949 to 1970, both jointly operated by the WP, theD&RGW and theChicago, Burlington & Quincy.
In 1909, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (orMilwaukee Road) completed a privately built Pacific extension to Seattle. On completion, the line was renamed theChicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific. Although the Pacific Extension was privately funded, predecessor roads did benefit from thefederal land grant act, so it cannot be said to have been built without federal aid.
In 1993,Amtrak'sSunset Limited daily railroad train was extended eastward toMiami, Florida, later rerouted toOrlando, making it the first regularly scheduled transcontinentalpassenger train route in the United States to be operated by a single company.Hurricane Katrina cut this rail route inLouisiana in 2005. The train now runs from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
For a time in 1997 and 1998, Amtrak effectively operated the Washington–ChicagoCapitol Limited and Chicago–Los AngelesSouthwest Chief as a single train.
The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway with the driving of theLast Spike atCraigellachie, British Columbia, on November 7, 1885, was an important milestone inCanadian history. Between 1881 and 1885, theCanadian Pacific Railway (CPR) completed a line that spanned from the port of Montreal to the Pacific coast, fulfilling a condition ofBritish Columbia's 1871 entry into theCanadian Confederation. The City ofVancouver, 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 itsInternational Railway of Maine opened, connecting CPR to the Atlantic coast.
The construction of a transcontinental railway strengthened the connection of British Columbia and theNorth-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: theCanadian Northern Railway (CNoR) opened another line to the Pacific in 1915, and the combinedGrand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR)/National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) system opened in 1917 following the completion of theQuebec Bridge, although its line to the Pacific opened in 1914. The CNoR, GTPR, and NTR werenationalized to form theCanadian 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.
There is activity to revive the connection betweenValparaíso andSantiago inChile andMendoza, Argentina, through theTransandino project. Mendoza has an active connection toBuenos Aires. Technically a complete transcontinental link exists fromArica, Chile, toLa 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. While initial construction was delayed, the project was revitalized in 2024 through renewed diplomatic agreements under the G20 framework to establish the Bioceanic Railway Integration Corridor.[41] The new railway is planned to be 3750 km in length. There are two possible tracks in discussion: Both have an Atlantic end inSantos, Brazil but the Pacific ends are inIlo andMatarani in Peru.
Furthermore, the Bioceanic Corridor road network, which serves as a precursor to the rail link, reached 90% completion in the Chaco region by late 2025.[42] Another longer Transcontinental freight-only railroad linkingLima, Peru, toRio de Janeiro, Brazil remains in the early feasibility and environmental impact assessment stages.
The first railroad to directly connect two oceans (although not by crossing a broad "continental" land mass[43]) was thePanama Canal Railway. Opened in 1855, this 77 km (48 mi) line was designated instead as an "inter-oceanic"[44] railroad crossing Country at its narrowest point, theIsthmus of Panama, when that area was still part ofColombia. (Panamasplit off from Colombia in 1903 and became the independent Republic ofPanama). Given the tropicalrain forest environment, the terrain, and diseases such asmalaria andcholera, 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."[45]
This railway was built to provide a shorter and more secure path between the United States'East andWest Coasts. This need was mainly triggered by theCalifornia Gold Rush. Over the years the railway played a key role in the construction and the subsequent operation of thePanama 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.
A second Central American inter-oceanic railroad began operation in 1908 as a connection betweenPuerto San José andPuerto Barrios in Guatemala, but ceased passenger service to Puerto San José in 1989.
A third Central American inter-oceanic railroad began operation in 1910 as a connection betweenPuntarenas andLimón in1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge. It currently sees no regular transcontinental passenger service, though limited tourism excursions and freight operations occur on segments of the line.
^"The charter of the last-named Company [Western Pacific Railroad] contemplated a line from Sacramento toward San Francisco, making the circuit of the Bay of that name [to San José]. Their franchise has recently [late 1867] been assigned to parties in the interest of the Central Pacific Railroad Company; and it is probable that this line will be formally incorporated with the Central Pacific Railroad, and the road extended from Sacramento to San Francisco by the"best, most direct and practicable route" so soon as the overland connection is completed. In the meantime the travel is abundantly accommodated by first-class steamers." – Central Pacific Railroad Company of California"Railroad Across the Continent, with an account of the Central Pacific Railroad of California", pp. 9-10, New York: Brown & Hewitt, Printers. September 1868.
^The legal "date of completion" of the WPRR grade was subsequently designated to be January 22, 1870.[17] The formal consolidation of the Central Pacific Railroad of California with the Western Pacific Railroad Co., San Joaquin Valley Railroad Co., and San Francisco, Oakland & Alameda Railroad Co. under the name of the Central Pacific Railroad Company became effective on June 22, 1870, with the filing of Articles of Consolidation drawn under the laws of California with the California Secretary of State.[18][19]
^"PIB Project Update"(PDF).Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. AusIMM Cairns. August 2019.Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved30 August 2020.
^Cooper, Bruce Clement (2005).Riding the Transcontinental Rails: Overland Travel on the Pacific Railroad 1865–1881. Philadelphia: Polyglot Press, 445 pages.ISBN1411599934. p. 1-15
^Letter from Charles F. Conant, Assistant Secretary, US Department of the Treasury, to US Rep. William Lawrence (R-OH8), March 9, 1876
^Letter from Z.B. Sturgus, Chief, Lands and Railroad Division, Office of the Secretary, US Department of the Interior, to US Rep. William Lawrence (R-OH8), April 28, 1876
^Speech by Rep. William A. Piper (D-CA1) in the US House of Representatives, April 8, 1876
^Richard White, Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (2012)
^Collins, R.M. (2010).Irish Gandy Dancer: A tale of building the Transcontinental Railroad. Seattle: Create Space. p. 198.ISBN978-1-4528-2631-8.
^Chang, Gordon H; Fishkin, Shelley Fisher (2019).The Chinese and the iron road: Building the transcontinental railroad. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.ISBN9781503608290.
^"Eleventh Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of California for the year ending December 31, 1890" Sacramento: California State Office, J.D. Young, Superintendent of State Printing, 1890. p. 21
