The Warsaw–St Petersburg Railway: Construction in Stages and Full Operation in 1862

In 1851, the Russian government decided to build the St Petersburg–Warsaw Railway. From the imperial capital on the Neva it ran south through Gatchina, Luga, Pskov, Dinaburg (now Daugavpils), Wilno (now Vilnius), Grodno and Białystok to Warsaw. The Warsaw terminal was in Praga on the right bank of the Vistula; the railway’s arrival did not yet mean a crossing through the entire city.

Adam Honory Kirkor’s 1862 guide to Wilno placed routes toward St Petersburg, Warsaw, Riga and the Prussian frontier on a common map and in tables. The line from Landwarów (now Lentvaris) through Kaunas to the frontier was a branch, separate from the route to Warsaw. Wilno became a choice of directions for passengers, while the main line gave the government a means of moving resources west.

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Construction began from the St Petersburg end in 1852 under Eduard Gerstfeld, with Stanisław Kierbedź in the technical leadership. By 1853 trains ran on approximately 45 kilometers between St Petersburg and Gatchina, but the Crimean War and financial pressure slowed and interrupted work elsewhere. In 1857 construction passed to the Main Society of Russian Railways, significantly financed by French capital, allowing the remaining sections to advance.

The railway used the Russian broad gauge of 1,524 millimeters. Much of the line initially had a single track, with earthworks and major structures prepared for two. Kierbedź directed construction of the metal railway bridge over the Luga between 1853 and 1857, with two main spans of about 56.1 meters each. Such crossings replaced reliance on ferries. Bridges, earthworks and tracklaying remained different operations, so trains running on an early section did not establish completion of the whole route.

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Construction required a substantial workforce as well as engineers. Citing an 1859 report, Wincenty Szydlik’s study gives approximately 15,000 workers employed in earthworks. Free peasants could negotiate with contractors in groups, whereas laborers still subject to serfdom were hired through landowners. People on the same site thus had different freedom of movement and terms of payment.

The study also records management withholding workers’ documents to prevent departure and cutting off food after conflict over work quotas. A stoppage near Łapy around 1861 shows how pressure to accelerate construction extended beyond technical questions of speed and cost. Land acquisition also brought delayed compensation, crop losses and drainage disputes. The subsequent transport benefits and the costs borne by farmers along the route were parts of the same project.

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On 18 May 1862, the Warsaw–Białystok section held opening events and began limited service. Page VIII of Kirkor’s guide records the transitional timetable: passenger trains from Warsaw toward Landwarów left at nine on Sunday and Thursday mornings, with freight on Wednesdays. Passenger trains in the reverse direction departed early on Mondays and Fridays. These were several weekly services, preceding daily main-line operation.

The complete St Petersburg–Warsaw connection entered regular daily operation on 27 December 1862, or 15 December in the Russian calendar. A Warsaw postal notice explained deadlines for catching the 11:05 train, with different cutoffs for different letter-deposit locations. The connected tracks became a schedule shared by postal and railway services. Opening meant both joined infrastructure and repeatable transport.

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The 1862 guide lists Wilno to Warsaw as 387 versts, with fares of 11 rubles 61 kopecks in first class, 8 rubles 70 kopecks in second and 4 rubles 83 kopecks in third. Prices divided the same journey into different consumption levels. Separate charges for goods, livestock and vehicles show that the railway moved production and everyday supplies as well as passengers.

Rules allowed one pud of free luggage per passenger, approximately 16.4 kilograms. They specified ticket-office hours at large and small stations, closure of sales five minutes before departure and compensation limits for lost luggage. Travelers could calculate costs and plan arrival times in advance. During the January Uprising of 1863, the railway also became an object of military transport and sabotage. Its effects included closer connections between local towns, commercial schedules and imperial military administration.

References: [1] [3]