El único Panamá - Week 25
Welcome to our weekly series about the uniqueness of Panama!
Photo:Catskill Archive
The Panama Railroad is the most expensive rail network ever built!
Costing more than $8 million dollars and taking 5 years to finish, the PRR is the most expensive rail construction project per mile. At $295 a share, the Panama Railroad was at one time the highest-priced stock on the New York Stock Exchange. An estimated 12,000 workers died during the construction of the railroad. The main reason for building the rail line was the vast increase in traffic to California following the 1849 California Gold Rush. It became of vital importance during the construction of the Panama Canal.
Still in use today, it provides both PASSENGER and freight service. The Panama Canal Railway line runs parallel to the Panama Canal, linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in Central America. The route stretches 47.6 miles (76.6 km) across the Isthmus of Panama from Colón on the Atlantic side to close to Panama City on the Pacific Ocean.
![LORE Magazine [APR 2017]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/efd2cc_d864efcf8e4c487c9cdf235942b98e12~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_220,h_123,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/efd2cc_d864efcf8e4c487c9cdf235942b98e12~mv2.jpeg)
