The

Imperial and Royal The phrase Imperial and Royal (, ) refers to the court/government of the Habsburgs in a broader historical perspective. Some modern authors restrict its use to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. During that period, it in ...

privileged Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis (, ) was a privately owned railway company in the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

province of Galicia operating during the time of the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

in the second half of the 19th century. The company was managed by Prince Leon Sapieha, under a license granted to him by Emperor

Francis Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reig ...

on 7 April 1858. Once finished, the line crossed whole Galicia from west to east at the foothills of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

, connecting the main urban centers of the province -

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(Lemberg) and

Tarnopol Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret (river), Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia (Central Europe ...

. It started in Kraków and ended at the border rail station of Podwołoczyska (today Pidvolochysk), where it was connected over

Zbruch The Zbruch (; ) is a river in Western Ukraine, a left tributary of the Dniester.Збруч

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

at Wołoczyska ( Volochysk). Apart from the main, west-east line, the company also built several branch lines of secondary importance. The railway was named in honor of

Archduke Charles Louis of Austria Archduke Karl Ludwig Josef Maria of Austria (30 July 1833 – 19 May 1896) was the younger brother of both Franz Joseph I of Austria and Maximilian I of Mexico, and the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863–1914), whose assassina ...

, younger brother of the Emperor (and father of the future crown prince Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria). The company was formed from the

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

of the Austrian Eastern National Railway, whose asset west of Kraków were transferred to the

Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (; ; ) was a railway company during the time of the Austrian Empire. Its main line was intended to connect Vienna with the salt mines in Bochnia near Kraków. The name is still used today in referring to a ...

, while a 111 kilometer long line from Kraków to

Dębica Dębica (; ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been in the Tarnów Voiv ...

through

Bochnia Bochnia is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland, administrative seat of Bochnia County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted ...

and

, along with a 5 kilometer branch line from Bieżanów (today a part of Kraków) to the salt mine in

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...

, was assigned to the newly created Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Luis. In 1858 the company constructed another 5 kilometer branch line from Podłęże to

Niepołomice Niepołomice (pronounced ) is a town in southern Poland, seat of Gmina Niepołomice in the Wieliczka County in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is situated on the Vistula River, on the verge of the large virgin Niepołomice Forest. There is ...

and extended the main line 47 kilometers to

. By 1859 the line was extended 37 kilometers to

Przeworsk Przeworsk (; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 15,675 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Since 1999 it has been in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, and is the capital of Przeworsk County. The ancient Przeworsk culture was named after the town ...

, 1860 - 50 kilometers to

, and in 1861 reached the Galician capital of Lwów, another 100 kilometers east. By 1869 the line was extended 75 kilometers to Krasne and

Złoczów Zolochiv (, ; ; ; ) is a small List of cities in Ukraine, city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine, and the administrative center of Zolochiv Raion. It hosts the administration of Zolochiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city is lo ...

, along with a 42 kilometers long branch from Krasne to

Brody Brody (, ; ; ; ) is a city in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr, Styr River, approximately northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv. Brody hosts the administrati ...

. In 1871 a 64 kilometers long segment was built to

, followed by 53 kilometers to

Podwołoczyska Pidvolochysk (; ; ) is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated on the right side of the Zbruch, Zbruch River, opposite Volochysk in neighboring ...

, on the border with the Russian controlled

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

. In 1873 the branch to Brody was extended to

Radziwiłłów Radziwiłłów is a Polish toponym referring to the Radziwiłł noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wie ...

in Russian controlled

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

. By 1884 the company built a 150 kilometers long branch line from Jarosław to Sokal, and by 1887 a 110 kilometers long branch from Dębica through Sobów (today a part of

Tarnobrzeg Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Polish: ''Województwo podkarpackie'') since ...

) forking to Rozwadów (today a part of

Stalowa Wola Stalowa Wola () is the largest city and capital of Stalowa Wola County with a population of 58,545 inhabitants, as at 31 December 2021. It is located in southeastern Poland in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. The city lies in historic Lesser Poland ...

) and Nadbrzezie (today in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

, which at the time was in Russian controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

), at the northern outskirts of Galicia, reaching a total length of 850 kilometers. To the west, the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis was connected with the rail systems of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and Austria at the junctions of

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

and

Bohumín Bohumín (; , ) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Bohumín consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 202 ...

. In 1866 the Lwów-Czerniowce-Jassy Railway connected Lwów with Czerniowce, the capital of the

Duchy of Bukovina The Duchy of Bukovina (; ; ) was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1849 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until 1918. Name The name ''Bukovina'' came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation ...

and a year later with Jassy, the capital of

Principality of Moldova Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later autonom ...

outside the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1873 the Railway of Archduke Albrecht connected Lwów with Stanisławów through Stryj and Dolina. In 1887 the Lwów–Bełżec (Tomaszów) Railway connected Lwów with

Bełżec Belzec (English: or , Polish: , approximately ) was a Nazi German extermination camp in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland. It was built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to ...

. In 1872 the First Hungarian-Galician Railway connected Przemyśl with

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (German language, German: ''Neustadt am Zeltberg''; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom;'' Yiddish: ''איהעל'') is a border town located in Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hu ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, creating a direct connection between Lwów and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. In 1876 the Tarnów- Leluchów railway formed a second connection between Galicia and Hungary. By the end of century the company had 175 steam engines, 345 passenger cars and 3755 freight cars. In 1892 the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis was purchased by the

Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways The Imperial-Royal State Railways () abbr. ''kkStB'') or Imperial-Royal Austrian State Railways (''k.k. österreichische Staatsbahnen'',The name incorporating "Austrian" appears, for example, in the 1907 official state handbook (''Staatshandbuch'' ...

in accordance with the terms of the concession. POL rail 91 map

Today the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis remains one of Poland's most important trunk lines. The line from Kraków to

Medyka Medyka () is a village in Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the municipality (gmina) called Gmina Medyka. It lies approximately east of Przemyśl and east of the r ...

on the Polish-Ukrainian border is designated by the national

railway infrastructure manager A railway infrastructure manager is a rail transport company or body of other type, responsible for maintaining railway infrastructure. The European Union defines it as "any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and ...

PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe (; PKP PLK) is the Polish railway infrastructure manager, responsible for maintenance of rail tracks, conducting trains across the country, scheduling train timetables, and management of railway land. The company was founded in 2001 as part o ...

as Polish line number 91, the line has double tracks between Kraków and Przemyśl, is electrified along its entire length starting since the 1950 and finished in 1972. After the soviet occupation of Eastern Galicia as a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the segment from Medyka to Lwów and beyond has been converted to Russian broad gauge along with almost all other lines in present day

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and remains as such as of . This greatly limits interoperability with the European rail network, despite many low key efforts to improve the situation since the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. Poland however maintains one of the tracks from Medyka to the main railway station in Przemyśl ( pl:Przemyśl Główny) at Russian gauge, designated separately as line number 92, which allows Ukrainian trains to reach the city. POL rail 25 map

The branch line from Kraków to Wieliczka is designated as line nr 109, it has a single track electrified along its entire length, today the line is used exclusively by electric multiple units forming part of the Kraków public transport system. The branch to Niepołomice was designated as line nr 113, all traffic on the line was suspended in 2000 and in 2005 the track was dismantled and a local road was built in its place, as of 2022 the current government of Poland is considering the construction of a new railway line from Kraków to Niepołomice along a different trail. The branch from Dębica to Nadbrzezie was in 1915, following the Russian occupation of Galicia at the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, connected with a branch line of the Iwangorodzko-Dąbrowska Railway to

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (), often referred to as Ostrowiec, is a city in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland, with 66,258 residents (as of 2021). The town is one of the historic centers of Polish industry and metallurgy ...

, constructed in Russian controlled Congress Poland in 1885, today along with a second branch of the same railway they form line nr 25 from Dębica to Łódź Kaliska. The segment from Sobów to Stalowa Wola is designated line nr 74. The branch Jarosław to Sokal is designated as line nr 101, diverting from the original route at Werchrata towards Hrebenne.

See also