What is it like to cross vast expanses in a carriage, taking part in a journey that seems to have no end? Those who have travelled at least once in their lives on the Trans-Siberian Railway
[/P]With a length of 9.288 km, it is the longest railway in the world and crosses 1/3 of the planet, connecting Moscow to Vladivostok in the Pacific Ocean via southern Siberia. It spans 8 hour zones (a record number), with a travel time of 7 days without stops, and crosses 1/3 of the planet.
The main route starts in Moscow, Russia at Yaroslavsky Vokzal station and passes through the cities of Yaroslavl, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, and Khabarovsk, to end in Vladivostok.
In parallel, there is a second route Trans - Mongolian Railway[/B][BR], which starts in Moscow, passes through Mongolia and ends in Beijing,[/B] and a third (Trans-Manchurian Railway) starting in Russia and ending in China[/B] without passing through Mongolia.
The origins of the Trans-Siberian can be traced back to the late 19th century, when the development of Siberia was hampered by the region's almost non-existent transport links.
On 9 March 1891 Russia issued an imperial decree announcing its intentions to build a project of pharaonic proportions to serve its eastward expansionist tendencies.
The official start date for the construction of the Trans-Siberian was 31 May 1891, when the heir to the Russian throne and future Emperor Nicholas II "lifted the first stone" to build the Ussuri railway near Vladivostok. Since then the imposing project swept across the country, and was completed 25 years later.
It was inaugurated on 5 October 1916 a few months before the fall of the Tsarist regime through the Russian Revolution and about a year before the outbreak of the October Revolution (7 November 1917).
The completion of the Trans-Siberian marked a new era for Russia, based mainly on the unlimited potential for exploiting its natural wealth, and contributed greatly to the transformation of the railway stations into major urban centres.
Source: carandmotor.gr
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