Connecting Line

The Connecting Line (Russian: Соединительная ветвь, romanized: Soyedinitel'naya vetv') is a historical railway line in the southern part of Saint Petersburg, Russia, that may be considered the initial step in the process of forming a unified Russian railway network. It was constructed in 1853 and started operation in 1854. Before that, Russian railways consisted only of several separate lines connecting a few major cities. Decades later, in the first half of the 20th century, the line was merged with the later-built neighboring Putilovskaya Line (Путиловская ветвь), also known as the Port Line (Портовая ветвь), and was lengthened to the city's northern territories forming the so-called Northern Semi-Ring (Северное полукольцо) and the consequent massive Saint Petersburg railway hub.