Which railway, opened in 1855, became the world’s first transcontinental railway?

The Panama Railway became the world’s first transcontinental railway when it opened across the Isthmus of Panama in 1855. It connected the Caribbean port of Colón with Panama City on the Pacific coast.

The railway was built during the California Gold Rush, when travelers wanted a faster alternative to the long sea route around Cape Horn. Passengers could cross the isthmus by rail and continue by ship to California.

Construction was extremely difficult. Workers faced dense jungle, heavy rainfall, disease, landslides, and challenging terrain. Thousands of laborers died, although historical estimates vary because records were incomplete.

The Panama Railway crossed a continent at its narrowest point rather than running across the full width of North America. The United States’ first transcontinental railroad was completed later, in 1869, linking rail networks across the United States.