Railroad connecting the german

Railway construction was a key factor in Germany’s rapid industrial growth and unification during the third quarter of the nineteenth century. Here, we see that the total length of railroad track in the country quadrupled between 1850 and 1873. Initially, German railways transported more passengers than freight cargo. By the end of the period under consideration, however, that situation had been reversed. The railway also became the largest employer in Germany: between 1850 and 1870 the number of employees increased tenfold. This table also shows that railway construction, which demanded huge amounts of capital, played a central role in the development of Germany’s financial institutions.

Figures Indicating the Success of German Railway Construction, 1850-1873 1850	1855	1860	1865	1870	1873
1	German Confederation/ German Reich Prussia	5,875 2,967	7,862 3,822	11,157 5,762	14,034 6,895	18,810 11,460	23,853 14,461
2	Workers employed (Germany) ad hoc basis Permanently In Prussia, permanently	78,700 26,084 13,706	112,800 51,480 27,380	171,300 85,608 44,852	189,100 113,570 62,294	220,400 161,014 106,542	396,900 234,114 162,114
3	Passengers per km Freight per km	783 303	1,090 1,095	1,733 1,675	2,676 3,672	4,447 5,876	5,693 10,060
4	Capital stock	891	1,329	2,152	2,772	3,945	5,531
5	Net investments	41	85	241	153	320	654
6	Average dividend of Prussian private railroads	4.4	6.6	5.4	8.9	7.6	5.6
7	Net domestic product German Reich Prussia	48.2 28.9	102.4 56.9	173.2 96.1	275.9 157.0	397.8 274.5	537.5 365.5