Tsarskoye Selo Railway | |
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Overview | |
Native name | Царскосельская железная дорога |
Status | Passenger and cargo service |
Termini | |
History | |
Opened | 1837 |
Closed | 1899 |
Technical | |
Line length | 27 km (17 mi) |
Character | Passenger and freight |
Track gauge | 6 ft (1,829 mm) |
Operating speed | 30–45 km/h (19–28 mph) |
The Tsarskoye Selo Railway (Russian: Царскосе́льская желе́зная доро́га) was the first public railway line in the Russian Empire.[1][2] It ran for 27 km (17 mi) from Saint Petersburg to Pavlovsk through the nearby (4 km) Tsarskoye Selo. Construction began in May 1836, and the first test trips were carried out the same year between Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk, using horse-drawn trains. The line was officially opened on 30 October 1837, when an 8-carriage train was hauled by a steam locomotive between Saint Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo. Until the construction of the Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway in 1851, it was the only passenger train line in Russia.[3] In 1899 it was merged into the Moscow-Windau-Rybinsk Railway and now forms part of the Oktyabrskaya Railway.