Trans-Siberian Railways: The world’s longest train journey
Travelling by railways calls is a fun experience for sure and more so, if you are in a voyage with Trans-Siberian Railways that holds a place in Guinness World Records. Okay so, what is the record for? Actually, this railway service is a record holder for three reasons.
One record is for offering the world's longest railway journey of 9288.2 kilometers (5772 miles) extending from Moscow, the capital of Russia, to Vladivostok, located along the Sea of Japan. Another one is for the world's longest nonstop train ride (10,214 kilometers), connecting Moscow with Pyongyang in North Korea. The third one is for the fact that the Trans-Siberian Railway follows the southern shore of Lake Baikal, the deepest, most prominent, and oldest lake in the world.
Construction began 25 years after proposal
The Trans-Siberian Railway was the brainchild of Tsar Alexander II, who first proposed it in the middle of the nineteenth century. Actual construction was super delayed and started taking shape in 1891, 25 years later! Wait, there’s more! The mighty railway construction finished and was finally inaugurated in 1904, 13 years later!
This enormous project had to be completed by laborers using crude hand tools in the most inhospitable and inaccessible locations on Earth. Almost 100,000 people were engaged in building this engineering marvel.
It was not designed for tourists
You will be surprised to know that the Trans-Siberian Railways was not designed as a tourist attraction but to guard the ‘Dalniy Vostok’ (the Russian name for "Pacific Ocean Territory") and for trading. In the 18th century, Siberia's regional transportation system was subpar. So, the Tsar felt a need for change. In addition, trade and commerce suffered during World War II because rivers, which were the prime transportation routes, were frozen during the winters. Till date, the Trans-Siberian railroad continues to be Russia's most important transportation route, carrying 30% of its annual exports, thus massively contributing to the Russian economy. Despite being an attraction for tourists, most of the passengers are native Russians travelling across the nation for various reasons.
Trans-Siberian Railroad passes through 8 different time zones
Every trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad passes through some of the vast spaces on Earth. This journey takes you through different time zones even! Passengers move forward in time from west to east. They move backward from east to west. A total of eight time zones are crossed during the trip from Moscow to Beijing. The entire trip lasts for seven days, crossing several time zones, several mighty rivers, and Lake Baikal.
Crosses past the most ancient lake
The Trans-Siberian Railway passes through Lake Baikal, the largest (207 kilometers) freshwater lake in the world that contains nearly one-fifth of the fresh water on Earth.
This 20 to 25-million-year-old lake curves through southern Siberia for about 400 kilometers, just north of the Mongolian border. In addition, it is 5,000 feet deep!
As you ride, you can explore Russia's most well-known, unique, and breathtakingly gorgeous locations on the Trans-Siberian Railway. From the magnificent Novosibirsk station to Sludyanka station (the only marble station), to Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Ulan-Ude, the Buddhist Mongol culture in Siberia, and lastly, the Kamchatka Peninsula's resort city of Vladivostok, each destination is spectacular!