Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a railway that crosses a continent, typically from "sea to sea". Terminals are at or connected to different Oceans. Because Europe is criss-crossed by railroads, railroads within Europe are usually not considered, the Orient Express perhaps being an exception.
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Americas
Panama (then part of Colombia)
- The first transcontinental railroad was the Panama Railway, completed in 1855. Near the narrowest point on the continent, it is only 48 miles long.
United States
- The First Transcontinental Railroad was the name of the first coast-to-coast railroad across the United States. It was completed in 1869, after track was laid over a 1,756 mile (2,826 km) gap between Sacramento and Omaha in six years by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads.
- In 1882, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, connected Atchison, Kansas with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Deming, New Mexico, thus completing a second link, to Los Angeles.
- The Southern Pacific Railroad linked New Orleans with Los Angeles, in 1883, linking the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean.
- The Northern Pacific Railway, again completed in 1883, linked Chicago with Seattle.
- The Great Northern Railroad was built without federal aid by James J. Hill; it stretched from St. Paul to Seattle.
- John D. Spreckels completes his privately-funded San Diego & Arizona Railway in 1919, thereby creating a direct link between San Diego and the Eastern United States.
Canada
- Canada's transcontinental railway connection opened in 1885 when the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) completed a line to the Pacific coast. 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.
- Two other transcontinental lines were built in Canada: the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) opened another line to the Pacific in 1912, 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 Railways, which remains Canada's "other" transcontinental railway.
South America
- There is activity to revive the connection between Valparaiso and Santiago in Chile and Mendoza, Argentina 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, to La Paz, Bolivia, to Buenos Aires, but this transandean crossing is for freight only.
Asia
- The first Asian transcontinental railroad was the Trans-Siberian railway (with connecting lines in Europe), completed in 1905. It is the world's longest rail line at 9,289km (5,772 miles) long.
Australia
- The first trans-Australian railway was completed 1912. This line connects Sydney to the western city of Perth and crosses the Nullarbor desert. Since 1970 this train has been called the Indian Pacific.
- The first north-south trans-Australia railway opened in January 2004 and links Darwin to Adelaide through the Ghan.
Africa
East-West
- There are two African transcontinental east-west railroads. One is the Benguela railway that was completed in 1929. It starts in Lobito, Angola and connects through Katanga to the Zambia railways system. From Zambia three 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. The second east-west corridor is further South with the starting point at Walvis Bay in Namibia. It is connected to the South African rail system that, in turn, links to ports on the Indian Ocean ( i.e. Durban, Maputo).
North-South
- A North-South transcontinental railroad had been proposed by Cecil Rhodes: the Cape-Cairo railway. This system was seen as the backbone for the African possessions of the British Empire, but was not completed. During its development, an interfering French colonial project for a Trans-Sahara line from Algiers or Dakar to Abidjan was abandoned after the Fashoda incident.