Typology of Passenger Railway Stations in the Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries (Russian Experience)

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify the background for the establishment of the passenger service infrastructure in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The author considers the specifics of railway terminals and stations of a new type that appeared during that time. The period from the second half of the 19th century till the early 20th century was the time of scientific and technical development in various industries, expansion of commercial manufacturing, and development of transportation lines. A new transportation industry—the railroad—was intended to connect vast territories of the Russian state. The significance of railroad transport in the country’s economy required radical changes in the Directorate of Transportation. The Ministry of Transportation established in the 1860s made it possible to create a clear structure for management of the public road system that implied its rational division into administrative and technical components. The factual basis of the study included legislative instruments and regulations issued with regard to railway track facilities, as well as regulatory documents concerning design of railway terminals and stations.