ABSTRACT
This work looks at the impact that the railroad network has had on the distribution of population and urbanization. It fits into what constitutes quite a wide space for reflection about how transport infrastructure has shaped territorial change throughout history. 1 The analysis of the railroad network is particularly relevant in this respect given its rapid expansion throughout Europe from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. The transport network established was completely different from any previous (road, navigable waterways and ports) infrastructure and its efficiency for transporting passengers and goods over long distances left it without any direct competition. In fact, this remained the case until the appearance of the automobile, whose hegemony was not definitively established until the 1950s. There was therefore a significant period (1840–1940) during which the railroad served as the main means of transport wherever it had been introduced.
