Fifty Years of Railways in Manchuria

As in many cases throughout the world, the development ofrailway lines and railway systems is closely linked to geopoliticalissues. This is also true in Manchuria. The completionof the Trans-Siberian by the end of the 19'h century and the afterall successful attempts of Japan to establish a large territorialstronghold on the continent have triggered a vigorous constructionactivity to match the Russian transit interests and the Japanesegoals of widespread colonization (settlement, agriculture,industry) in Manchuria. While this pattern shaped the first50-year period, the second (1953-2003) is subject to the strikingdevelopment in China.