On the Japanese half of the island, a 42.5-kilometre-long (26.4 mi) railway was built from Korsakov (大泊 (Ōtomari)) to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (豊原 (Toyohara)), with a gauge of 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in).

Between 1918 and 1921, the towns of Nevelsk (本斗 (Honto)), Kholmsk (真岡 (Maoka)), Chekhov (野田 (Noda)) and Tomari (泊居 (Tomarioru)) were also connected to the network.

Since 1973, a train ferry has connected Vanino (on the mainland near Sovetskaya Gavan) with the town of Kholmsk on Sakhalin.

There have been some calls from politicians to revive the concept of building a bridge or tunnel between Sakhalin and the mainland, although there have been concerns that the costs of the project would outweigh the benefits.

[5] However, Russian President Dimitry Medvedev announced his support for the project in November 2008, suggesting the link could be completed by 2030, with bridge rather than a tunnel, and far more northerly route.

[7] There have also been proposals to connect the southern tip of Sakhalin to the Japanese island of Hokkaido via a 40-kilometre-long (25 mi) bridge or tunnel.