This article uses the evolution of the railways to examine the relationship between the level of economic integration and external political influences in the Balkans over a period of 150 years. The analysis focuses on two key themes: the long-term spatial evolution of the railway network and external influences on this infrastructure. To undertake this territorial analysis, we first established a Historical Geographical Information System (HGIS) that allowed us to interpret data on the evolution of the railway network and then related this to other data on themes such as changing international borders and the nationality of investment.