https://doi.org/10.31261/WSN.2007.07.09
The study presented discusses the development of selected railway companies of the Habsbourg’s monarchy at the turning point between the seventies and eighties of the second half of the 19th century. The author aimed to evaluate particular companies being privately owned enterprises, investigate the role of the country in the railway activity in Habsbourg’s empire, and, to a large extent, analyse the course of the economic crisis in the transport sector. The conditions under which the railway enterprise in the territory of the Habsbourg’s empire was conducted after 1854 can be evaluated as beneficial. The system of state guarantees of benefits and tax allowances stimulated a private development of railways. The evidence lies in the actual railway boom lasting, with some breaks, from the second half of the fifties to to the crisis year, that is 1873. The state guarantees, primarily intended only in exceptional cases, became an instrument sine qua non of the state transporting politics, and were given to the majority of establishing railway companies. It was only coal and industrial railways that were totally deprived of the state guarantees. These, however, made use of their special position, and guaranteed themselves huge benefits due to unproportionate rate fares. Also, the possibility of maintaining high fare rates in the Habsbourg’s monarchy belonged to some of the big railway companies, which became dominant in the market, because of the lack of alternative means of transport. These unquestionably included Ferdinand’s North Railways, whose special position made it possible to retain an unusually high fare rate charged for freight transport, but also relatively high fare rates for stopping trains. As a result of it, the companies had big incomes. In a way, a worse situation could be observed in the biggest Austrian-Hungarian private company, i.e. in the company of South Railways. It struggled with the financial problems since it was established in 1859, practically till it was nationalised. It was also reflected in low rates of the company shares, as well as relatively difficult manifestations of the economic crisis in the South railways in the seventies. The economic crisis of 1873 clearly showed the economic power of particular railway companies. Big transport companies, which previously gained position in the market, and had wellprospering freight trains, dealt with the crisis in the best manner. Minor crisis problems experienced railway companies established by the half of the sixties of the 19th century. Bigger problems encountered South Railways whose actions temporarily lost about 60% of their value in the period of the crisis. A worse situation was visible in the companies which began their railway activity at the beginning of the seventies. They went through the crisis years (the seventies) facing bigger problems than the earlier-mentioned companies. Obviously, the position of particular railway companies was influenced by numerous factors; not only their efficiency, but general financial situation, debts, operating costs, bad management, etc. It can be seen from the analysis of the railway company shares that the crisis influenced transporting companies in a negative way as early as in 1873, reacing its peak in the middle of 1870s. A large number of transport companies got out of the crisis already at the beginning of 1880s. Were it not for an efficient state intervention, some railway companies would have certainly gone bankrupt. The state assistance covered many areas: payments of state quarantees, and their rise, tax allowances, permissions for fare rise, lack of obligation for further railway development, etc. It all was only a harbinger of a subsequent wave of the state railway development, and the era of nationalising private railway companies.
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Vol. 5 (2007)
Published: 2025-08-13
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