Why did many small Saskatchewan towns develop along railway lines?

Many small towns in Saskatchewan developed along railway lines because they were created specifically to service the rural population. Due to the province's Dominion Land Survey System, which resulted in dispersed and isolated farmsteads, these urban settlements were established at relatively equal intervals along railway main lines and branch lines to provide necessary services.1

The railway network was central to the province's development, as it facilitated the transport of settlers and supplies into the region and grain out to external markets. Consequently, cities and towns grew as nodes within this essential transportation infrastructure.21