Ministry of Railways (Soviet Union)

{{Short description|Government ministry of the Soviet Union}}

{{More citations needed|date=January 2011}}

{{Infobox government agency

|agency_name = Ministry of Railways of the USSR

|dissolved = 20 January 1992

|formed = 6 July 1923

|headquarters = Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union

|jurisdiction = Government of the Soviet Union

|logo = Coat of arms of the Soviet Union 1.svg

|logo_caption = All ministry seals of the Soviet Union used the Soviet coat of arms

|seal = 1985. USSR - Ministry of Railways.jpg

|nativename = Министерство путей сообщения СССР

|preceding1 = People's Commissariat of Communication Routes

|superseding = {{ill|Ministry of Railways (Russia)|lt=Ministry of Railways of the Russian Federation|ru|Министерство путей сообщения Российской Федерации}}

}}

The Ministry of Railways ({{langx|ru|Министерство путей сообщения (МПС) Российской империи/СССР/РФ or Народный комиссариат путей сообщения (НКПС)}}, more correctly translated as Ministry/People's Commisariat of Transportation{{cite web|script-title=ru:Министерство путей сообщения|url=http://forum.lingvo.ru/actualthread.aspx?tid=12645|language=ru|access-date=2012-06-25|archive-date=2017-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918063640/http://forum.lingvo.ru/actualthread.aspx?tid=12645|url-status=dead}}) oversaw Soviet Railways, which operated the railways of the Soviet Union. It was divided into 32 agencies, which among them had millions of employees. The ministry was responsible for centralized departments (such as electrification), which applied to all subsidiaries.

Before 1946 the ministry was known as the People's Commissariat of Communication Routes, although the term "Ministry of Railways" had been used by the pre-Soviet ministry (founded in 1865).