The difficulties in Franz's eyes are not a problem in the eyes of people of this era.

From the perspective of construction costs, the biggest gap between these four sets of standards is only 1.2%, which means that the construction cost of railways is not the main factor affecting the decision.

Just think about it, the railway gauge was generally relatively large in this era. The first railway gauge of the Russians was still 1829mm. Later, in order to make money, the bureaucrats listened to the suggestions of American engineers to change it to 1524mm.

How much cost is it saved to shrink from six feet to five feet?

I saved 3% on the budget, of course, with the style of Tsarist Russian bureaucrats, I will definitely not save much money in the end.

The standard gauge was sold to the world by the British. Since 1846, John Bull has issued laws. From this time on, the 1435mm system has become the standard gauge for the British native and colonial areas.

However, India soon became an exception. The standard gauge could not meet their transportation requirements. The British were pragmatic and they were magnified. Therefore, most of the Indian railways were 1676mm standard, and there were naturally many other messy gauge railways.

After nearly a hundred years of efforts by the British, the 1435mm system became the international standard gauge in the mid-20th century. The original purpose of Niu Niu was to promote the British technical system.

It is unknown whether there is a purpose of limiting the freight capacity of mainland countries. Anyway, Franz does not believe that John Bull would be so kind.

With the technology in the mid-19th century, the freight volume of wide-gauge railways exceeded that of narrow-gauge railways, and the safety and speed were much higher, which was completely different from the 21st century.

Later generations relied on technology to solve the problem of train stability, and the freight capacity and speed of narrow-gauge railways were improved, which could not be done in this era.

The cost of railway maintenance is actually similar. After the railway is built, the structure is exactly the same, and the difference is just the length of the sleeper. The simple statement of narrow-gauge railway maintenance is unfounded.

The issue of land area is completely nonsense. Who has no isolation belts on both sides of the railway? Do you still have to use the land under the train?

...(No more, it's almost popular science)

"Your Majesty, since you want to unify the standards, it may be better to let the Holy Roman League unify the standards together, gather everyone together, and set a common standard." Metternier suggested

"Is it time? Our railway has started construction?" Felix asked with concern.

"No problem, railway construction has just begun. If you make a decision within one year, it will not affect the construction." Railway Minister Stein replied

Railway construction was really slow in this era, and now it has started demolition. After that, the roadbed construction cannot be achieved without a year or two.

"Then let's take everyone together. The Ministry of Railways is responsible for selecting an optimal plan, as our opinion, and try to convince everyone to implement it together.

If there is a constant dispute, take out these sets of standards and let everyone vote. Anyway, these plans are suitable for Austria." Franz said indifferently.

"Then let's get 1676mm. This standard can meet our needs and is safe." Stein quickly gave the answer

As for the international railway standards, is there such a thing in this era? Who admits it?

You should know that when the British were building the Western Railway, they found that their standard system could not be guaranteed by technology, so they switched to wide rails. It was not until the technical standards reached the end of the 19th century that they were demolished and rebuilt.

Once the Holy Roman League establishes new standards, then the international railway gauge standards may become two sets in the future.

Not to mention anything else, the railway standards of the South German state have been unified, but Prussia will follow up or not?

If you don’t follow up, both sides will be cut off economically; if you follow up, China and southern Europe will unify the standard system, and the impact will undoubtedly be huge.

As an emperor, many things have to be considered political and military. For example, now, if the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russians unify the railway standards, Franz will immediately be afraid.

Not only does it mean that any country and bear are neighbors must be careful. Even if everyone is an ally, what should be guarded against should be taken.

During this period, the major European powers actually looked a bit strong and at the same time. Austria was no exception. Social reform had just begun and had not had time to transform into national strength.

The British's national strength has not reached its peak, India has not been completely eaten by them, Australia and New Zealand still have indigenous forces, South Africa has only established some strongholds in the coastal areas, Southeast Asian colonization is in progress, Egypt is still dominated by the French, and the Great Colonial Empire has not yet completed the puzzle.

The French are busy with internal struggles, and the internal conflicts of the Russians are simply suppressed and just waiting to be detonated by external forces.

The Prussian Kingdom also had to rely on foreign wars to divert social conflicts. Internal reforms had just begun. On the surface, the military strength was good, but the domestic economy was not strong.

Spain continues to decline, and social reform has not yet begun; the United States, far away on the ocean, is just an agricultural country with a population of just over 20 million in this era, with its main economic income being exported to cotton, and there has been a sharp rise in the contradiction between the north and the south.

Thinking of this, Franz suddenly had an idea, should he find an opportunity to do something about South Africa?

South Africa is so big that the British only established colonial rule along the coast, and the inland areas are still unparalleled. Except for the Cape of Good Hope, the British in other areas did not pay attention to it at all.

The British are very busy now and don’t care about more areas in Africa. They have so many entry points. If they join in now, they might be able to share a piece of meat.

If it really doesn't work, start from Namibia and occupy Botswana and play a strait ball; or start from Tanzania and occupy Zambia and Zimbabwe, and break into the hinterland of South Africa from the inland.

They are all pretty good in theory, but they don’t seem very reliable in actual operation. The African continent in this era is not cute at all. There are diseases, poisonous insects and beasts. If you want to colonize, you will be ready to endure the extremely high mortality rate.

It is not very high in theory. As long as you are careful and keep the mortality rate within 10%, there is probably no problem.

This is OK. If you really implement it, you will find that everyone is not so brave. Who would like to take risks when you are alive?

Except for interest stimulus, for example, when gold mines in South Africa are discovered, everyone will become brave all of a sudden. Diseases, poisonous insects, and beasts are nothing.

Unfortunately, when the gold is discovered, it will not be Austria's turn. Unless it is occupied in advance and then joining forces with the Boers, it will not be able to rob the British at all.

Reason is rationality, and as soon as this idea came out, Franz could no longer linger.

Anyway, it is still long before South Africa discovers gold, so at most it can support the African colonial factions in China and let them go and build strongholds first.

By the time the British-British War broke out, Austria might have already risen. At that time, whether it is supporting the Boers to cause trouble for Johnniu or joining in and dividing up a share, it is necessary to gain a foothold.

The time to do something must be chosen, preferably when the British are unable to take care of themselves, and suddenly launch a certain fact.

The international law of this era is that whoever takes the land of the unparalleled land is his own, and the prerequisite is that it can be preserved.

It's still early, so there's no need to rush to do it. Franz is not a blind person, and it seems that he still needs to promote the construction of the Suez Canal.

Austria does not have the ability to dominate this canal, but it is still possible to become an international co-managed canal after a stimulus.

When the Suez Canal was dug in history, the British government opposed it. They believed that this canal would threaten their maritime hegemony.

British people believe that this canal cannot pass through large ships, and the stock of the canal company is almost unwelcome to the UK.

On the contrary, it sold well in France. The Canal Company was short of funds and stopped working in the middle, which almost turned into an unfinished project. Finally, it was successfully completed with the Rosselder family's handling.

Historically, the canal has been open for navigation in 1869. After such a long time, the Austrian navy was almost a bit important.

I can't guarantee anything else, but it can still be done by becoming a shareholder of the canal.

Historically, France could not withstand the pressure from the British and was forced to give up only when there were financial problems. If France and Austria jointly dominated the Suez Canal, the result would be different.

Franz had a headache when he operated specifically. The relationship between the great powers was very complicated, and everyone was working together and stabbing each other.

Let’s join forces here today, and we will have another battle tomorrow.

If you want to reduce conflicts, unless you want to think about the secret agreement between Russia and Austria, everyone will take what they need and make clear the sphere of influence in advance.

As long as you imagine it is impossible, Austria can make concessions to Russia, which is our core strategy without conflict.

Franz also knew that once the Russian strategy was launched, it would be beaten by the British, French and Ottoman countries. The national strength of the bear could not support this long-term war of attrition, and failure was inevitable.

Unless Britain and France proactively invade Russia, Austria will be brought into war due to the influence of the alliance. However, you can tell that unless Russia leads it, it will be difficult for Britain and France to attack Russia.

Obviously, this kind of thing cannot happen again. Austria can only choose a big country as an ally. Erwuzi, who is swaying from side to side, can easily be shot to death.
Chapter completed!