Date: June 20th
Category: Global History | Resistance Movements | Railways & Revolt
Trains donāt just move people.
They move ideas.
They move armies, uprisings, revolutions ā and sometimes, entire futures.
Throughout history, the railway has been more than a machine of progress. It’s been a site of struggle, a target for sabotage, a tool of occupation, and a weapon of the people.
Today, The Time Travellerās Guild invites you to board the Express of Upheaval, as we explore five pivotal moments when railways and resistance collided ā and history took a different track.
1. š·šŗ The Russian Revolution & the Red Train
Date: 1917
Location: PetrogradāMoscowābeyond
Vladimir Lenin arrived at Finland Station in Petrograd by sealed train, having travelled through Germany during WWI. That one journey lit the fuse for the October Revolution.
- Revolutionary newspapers were printed on train presses
- Train depots were used as organising spaces for Bolsheviks
- The āRed Train,ā an armoured propaganda engine, criss-crossed Russia broadcasting revolutionary messages
š āEvery stop was a speech. Every mile was a manifesto.ā
2. š®š³ The Indian Independence Movement & the Salt Train Protests
Date: 1930s
Location: Gujarat, Bombay, Bengal
Trains in British India were symbols of control ā and also tools of rebellion.
- Mahatma Gandhi used the railway to spread non-violent protest across India
- During the Salt March, supporters boarded trains to spread word of civil disobedience
- Railway workers refused to carry British troops or salt shipments, disrupting supply lines
ā āWe use their trains ā to carry our freedom.ā
3. šæš¦ Apartheid South Africa & the Rail Boycotts
Date: 1950sā1980s
Location: Johannesburg & surrounding townships
Under apartheid, segregated trains carried Black South Africans into white cities to work ā often in inhumane conditions.
- In 1957, the Alexandra Bus Boycott expanded into train fare protests
- Commuters walked 20km daily to resist fare hikes and poor conditions
- Rail sabotage became a key tactic of Umkhonto we Sizwe (the ANCās armed wing)
š§ āIf we must walk to be free, we will walk past every station.ā
4. šŖšø The Spanish Civil War & Sabotage on the Rails
Date: 1936ā1939
Location: Republican-held zones
The war was as much about trains as trenches.
- Anarchists and syndicalists seized railway lines and ran them cooperatively
- Republican forces used trains to move civilians, wounded fighters, and printing presses
- Trains were often targeted by fascist bombers, leading to an underground movement to repair, rebuild, and reroute in secret
š ļø āTrains were bloodlines ā the workers kept them pumping.ā
5. šŗšø The Civil Rights Movement & The Freedom Riders
Date: 1961
Location: American South
Though better known for their bus journeys, Freedom Riders also used trains to challenge segregation in Southern railway stations.
- They staged sit-ins at āWhites Onlyā waiting rooms
- Protested at rail terminals in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia
- Were often met with violence and arrest, but pushed the issue into the national spotlight
š§³ āEvery mile we rode, we claimed a little more of our dignity back.ā
š What These Journeys Show Us
- Railways are never neutral ā they reflect who controls the power, and whoās willing to disrupt it
- Trains can spread tyranny or carry resistance ā and sometimes both
- Every ticket punched in protest is a tiny revolution on a timetable
āØ The next great uprising might just start between stations.
š Want to Know More?
- The Train: A History by Matthew Beaumont
- The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux (includes reflections on resistance)
- Underground Asia by Tim Harper (brilliant on colonial-era subversion)
- The Railway & Empire Archive ā University of Leeds
š¬ Share a Story of Resistance on the Rails: #EnginesOfChange
Know a local tale of rail protest? Visited a resistance route?
Post your photos, art, or quotes using #EnginesOfChange and tag @TimeTravellersGuild ā weāll feature the most powerful in our Global Tracks of Protest gallery.
