 The line was constructed in order to connect already existing lines into a continuous east-west route parallel to the main Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis route Kraków - Lwów, which would be less exposed to attacks in a war with the Russian Empire.The railway was also supposed to activate underdeveloped mountainous areas of Galicia.The Transversal Railway started at Čadca (present day Slovakia), and ended in Husiatyn (present day Ukraine), with total length of around 800 kilometers.