The dynamics of transnational railway governance in Europe during the long nineteenth century

Despite fierce international rivalries and commercial competition among companies, regions, and states in Europe, a transnational community of managers and engineers was able to promote interoperability of railways across national frontiers in the long nineteenth century. If at first they collaborated informally and ad hoc, around 1850 their activities became institutionalized. The main aim of this article is to explore the origins, working method, and spatial reach of their newly established institutions, of which the Verein Deutscher Eisenbahn-Verwaltungen (Association of German Railway Companies) is the most important. We argue that through its method of technification (or de-politicization), the Verein became a key transnational player in promoting collaboration and interoperability across national frontiers. Together with other railway organizations, including their engineers, the Verein contributed to creating a European transnational space - one that was not fully controlled by national governments and that paved the way for new forms of infrastructural Europeanism. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.