It runs through eleven time zones and there is the possibility that the route may become longer. Today the route remains the longest railroad journey in the world. The Trans-Siberian Railway was of great economic and political importance for the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. They succeeded in connecting Europe to the Pacific and opened Siberia to settlement and industrialization. The latter was mostly solved by using prisoners and soldiers as workers, who worked at a record pace to complete the railway in only twelve years. Apart from the difficult terrain, the cost of such an endeavor and the required manpower were also problematic for the Russian government. They also constructed bridges across the mountain river canyons. In the region around Baikal Lake, workers were force to use dynamite to create the mountain tunnels. The forests and large rivers which run through Siberia also were obstacles in laying down track. Due to the harsh weather conditions, construction was extremely difficult. The construction of the railway began in 1891 simultaneously in the west, from Moscow, and in the east from Vladivostok. A trip all the way across the Trans-Siberian Railway, from Moscow to Nakhodka, takes about eight days.
About 130 miles of the Trans-Siberian follows along the banks of Baikal Lake and, nearing the railway’s end, about 24 miles are along the coast of the Sea of Japan. The railway passes 87 cities and towns and crosses sixteen rivers including the Volga, Ob, and Amur Rivers.
Also known in Russia as the Great Siberian Way, it runs a total of 5,867 miles from Moscow to the port of Nakhodka, just beyond the city of Vladivostok. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest single rail line in the world.
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