Trans-Siberian Railway ... Probably, you rarely see a person who has never in his life heard this name ... It has been and continues to be found in books, songs and in many modern films about Russia. So what kind of place is this? And why does it attract so much attention in itself?
Trans-Siberian Railway. general information
This railway has several names. Some of them, such as the Great Siberian Way, even have already managed to become obsolete and go down in history.
Today, this largest railway, which runs across Eurasia, bears the sonorous name of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and is entrusted with the role of connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg with the major industrial cities of Eastern Siberia and the Far East.
The total length of the highway is a huge figure of 9298.2 km. This makes the Trans-Siberian Railway the longest railway in the world.
Currently, it connects Russian centers from Europe to the Pacific. The Trans-Siberian Railway is a direction that, due to its technical capabilities, makes it possible to transport approximately 100 million tons of cargo annually. But on this, according to experts, its throughput is completely exhausted.
Trans-Siberian Railway. Construction history
At the official level, the construction of the railway began at the very end of May 1891 from Vladivostok. The event was so significant that the future Emperor Nicholas II himself granted the bookmark.
The leading engineer of that time N.S. Svityagin. It was in honor of him that the station of the same name was subsequently named. Loads were delivered mainly along the Northern Sea Route: from Murmansk to the mouth of the Yenisei.
10 years pass, and the first passengers appear on the world famous railway. At first, the Trans-Siberian Railway was purely a journey for workers.
Regular communication between Petersburg and Vladivostok began in 1903, when the road was put into so-called permanent operation. However, the rail track was not continuous. At first, trains had to be transported via Lake Baikal on a ferry specially built for this purpose.
Passenger traffic originates from the moment the ring road appears. In 1905, the opportunity was opened for movement solely on rails. The situation was somewhat complicated by the fact that the route passed through Manchuria, and after the Russo-Japanese war, it became necessary to build a road that runs exclusively through the territory of the Russian Empire. That is why a fateful decision was made to build a bridge across the river. Cupid near Khabarovsk.
Full electrification of the road was completed in 2002.
Trans-Siberian Railway: An Interesting and Unusual Railway
It is not surprising that a lot of interesting facts are associated with such a symbolic place. We list just a few of them:
- It is rightfully considered the longest railway on the planet.
- It passes through the territory of two parts of the world at once : Europe and Asia.
- Its highest point can be considered the Apple pass, located at a distance of 1019 meters above sea level.
- At first glance, it is difficult to imagine, but nevertheless, along it, there are currently 87 cities, of which 14 are considered centers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
- The Transsib crosses about 30 rivers, the most important of which are the Amur, Bureya, Volga, Vyatka, Yenisei, Zeya, Irtysh, Kama, Ob, Oka, Selenga, Tobol, Tom, Ussuri, Khor and Chulym.
- 207 km of road laid along the shores of the majestic Lake Baikal.