The world’s longest railway line, the Trans-Siberian Railway is a definite staple in every globetrotter’s portfolio. Everybody knows it takes about a week to cross Russia by train. So sure, you may postpone your research to the first days of your trip – seeing as you’ll certainly have a lot of spare time on the train. However, for the curious ones we’ve prepared a list of things you should know about the Trans-Siberian Railway’s history that may inspire you to take this adventurous trip!
1. Passion project
The construction works of the Trans-Siberian Railway started in 1891 nearby Vladivostok, with the imperator-to-be Nikolay putting the first rock and a silver plate into the ground himself. It was a passion project (and an ambitious one) of his father, Alexander III, intended to “unite the rich yields of Siberian nature with the network of Russian railways”. There was an economic backbone to this poetic motivation obviously – the economy or Russian empire was in desperate need of better connection between industrial cities.
2. What it took to build the Trans-Siberian Railway?
Overall, the construction spanned for about 25 years, with over 100 000 people involved, and cost about 1.5 billion rubles (which would amount to 25 billion US dollars in today’s world).
It was not an easy task. First of all, building in Siberia… Yes, you guessed right, harsh climatic conditions created many a challenge! Large rivers that run through Siberia, lakes, waterlogged or permafrosted areas – Siberian taiga is not that construction friendly; a lot of extra work was also required in Baikal region, from blowing up mountains to building tunnels and bridges.
3. Lost in translation?
The name it is know by nowadays both worldwide and in Russia – the Trans-Siberian Railway – was not how the railway was called originally. Its historic name is Великий Сибирский Путь, which all the Russian learners out there will easily translate as Grand Siberian Railway. However, in the West in came to be known as the Trans-Siberian railway, shifting the meaning of the name a little bit. What is interesting, the translation was switched back to Russian, and nowadays the railway is known as Транссибирская магистраль (“Transsibirskaya magistral”) or simply Транссиб (“Transsib”).
Did you know these facts about the world’s largest railway? Do you know that all the wonderful stops of the Trans-Siberian, such as the beautiful Irkutsk? Is taking a train on the Transsib from Moscow all the way to Russian Far East on your bucket list? Let us know in the comments or through our Facebook page!