Grand opening of St. Petersburg – Peterhof railway, Baltic terminus unveiled

The construction of the railway line to Peterhof coincided with the outbreak of the Crimean War, which devastated the state treasury. It was the "chief manager of the Railways", a well-known banker, entrepreneur and philanthropist Baron Alexander Stieglitz who joined in as a heaven-send to this project, who intended to return 2 million rubles of investments after the railway launch by issuing shares.

The trunk line construction commenced in 1853. At first, the progress was slow and even suspended for one year, but after the Crimean War ended, the project made headway.

On July 21, 1857 (old style), the first train of 14 carriages successfully delivered 300 passengers from St. Petersburg to Peterhof in 1 hour and 10 minutes.

The surviving statistical data indicate that from July 21 to September 1, 1857, 429 trains departed from the Baltic station, with almost 57,000 passengers and 30.5 tonnes of luggage and hand luggage transported. The royal family used the railway 10 times during that period.

Different railways belonged to different owners, which was one of the reasons why two connected trunk lines had separate termini rather than sharing a single one. This accounts for the Baltic and Varshavsky (Warsaw) termini standing side-by-side in St. Petersburg. Railway termini were still few and far between, so project designers tended to considered them as mass leisure amenities rather than purely transport facilities. The fourth St. Petersburg terminus (originally the St. Petersburg station of the Peterhof railway), later renamed the Baltic terminus, was built in 1855 by the architect A. Krakau and became his crowning achievement.

It was the Gare de l'Est ("Eastern Station") in Paris that inspired the architect. The edifice occupied an area of 12 thousand sq. meters, with the main facade 56.6 meters long. What makes the difference in its layout are two-story side wings: the left once accommodated the royal chambers, and the right one housed service premises.

Opening of the terminus, ranked the first class, was timed to coincide with the St. Petersburg – Peterhof line launch. In the same year, the Gatchina – Luga line began scheduled services.