Would the improved railway make Imperial Russia an attractive destination for immigrants?
Short answerThe railway would not remove the conditions that drove people away, including Russian rule over Poland and Russification affecting Ukrainians.
NotesImproved transport would leave Imperial Russia's treatment of its subjects unchanged. Many Eastern Europeans who emigrated already knew the conditions inside the empire. The Polish diaspora provides an example of people fleeing Russian rule, while Ukrainians faced heavy Russification. In this counterfactual, railway capacity alone would give these migrants little reason to choose the empire as a destination.