Chapter 28, The Headache-Inducing Strategy

Franz's dilemma wasn't considered a problem to the people of his era.

When analyzed in terms of construction costs, the largest gap between these four standards was no more than 1.2%, meaning that the cost of railway construction wasn't the main factor influencing the decision.

Thinking about it, it makes sense since the gauge of railways in this era was generally quite wide; Russia's first railway gauge was 1829mm, and later, for the sake of profiteering, bureaucrats took the suggestions of American engineers to change it to 1524mm.

How much cost was saved by reducing the gauge from six feet to five feet?

It saved 3% on the budget, but of course, given the style of Tsarist bureaucrats, it was certain that not much money would end up being saved.

The standard gauge was something the British promoted to the entire world. Starting from 1846, John Bull enacted laws that established the 1435mm system as the standard gauge for both the United Kingdom and its colonies.