View source for Trans-Siberian Railway

{{Short description|Railway network spanning Russia}}
{{Other uses|Trans-Siberian (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width                       = 300px
| name                            = Trans-Siberian Railway
| other_name                      = 
| native_name                     = {{nativename|ru|Транссибирская магистраль}}
| native_name_lang                = ru
| color                           = FF0000
| logo                            = 
| logo_width                      = 
| logo_alt                        = 
| image                           = File:VL 85-022 container train.jpg
| image_width                     = 300px
| image_alt                       = 
| caption                         = [[VL85]] container haul along the coast of [[Lake Baikal]] (2008)
| type                            = {{hlist|[[Regional rail|Regional]]|[[Commuter rail|commuter]]|[[Rail freight transport|freight]]}}
| system                          = [[Far Eastern Railway|FER]], [[Northern Railway (Russia)|SZhD]], [[East Siberian Railway|V-SibZhD]], [[West Siberian Railway|Z-SibZhD]], [[Krasnoyarsk Railway|KrasZhD]], [[Sverdlovsk Railway|SvZhD]], [[Trans–Baikal Railway|ZabZhD]]
| status                          = Operational
| locale                          = [[Russia]]
| start                           = {{stnlnk|Moscow Yaroslavsky}}
| end                             = {{stnlnk|Vladivostok}}
| stations                        = 
| routes                          = 
| daily_ridership                 = 
| ridership2                      = 
| planopen                        = <!--{{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}}-->
| open                            = {{Start date|1904|6|21}}
| yearcommenced                   = {{Start date|1891|3|9}}
| yearcompleted                   = <!--{{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}}-->
| close                           = <!--{{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}}-->
| event1label                     = 
| event1                          = 
| event2label                     = 
| event2                          = 
| event3label                     = 
| event3                          = 
| owner                           = [[Government of Russia]]
| operator                        = [[Russian Railways]]
| character                       = Long-haul route
| depot                           = 
| stock                           = 
| linelength_km                   = 9289
| linelength_mi                   = 
| linelength                      = 
| tracklength_km                  = 
| tracklength_mi                  = 
| tracklength                     = 
| tracks                          = 3
| gauge                           = {{track gauge|1520mm|lk=on|al=on}}
| old_gauge                       = 
| load_gauge                      = 
| minradius                       = 
| racksystem                      = 
| routenumber                     = 
| linenumber                      = 
| electrification                 = {{nowrap|[[3 kV DC]]}}/{{nowrap|[[25 kV 50 Hz AC]]}} [[overhead line]]
| speed_km/h                      = 60-140
| speed_mph                       = 37-86
| speed                           = 
| signalling                      = 
| elevation_m                     = 
| elevation_ft                    = 
| elevation                       = 
| website                         = 
| map                             = {{Trans-Siberian Railway|inline=yes}}
| map_name                        = 
| map_state                       = collapsed
| embedded                        = 
}}

The '''Trans-Siberian Railway''',{{efn|{{langx|ru|Транссибирская магистраль|Transsibírskaya magistrál}}, {{IPA|ru|trənsːʲɪˈbʲirskəjə məɡʲɪˈstralʲ|pron}}}} historically known as the '''Great Siberian Route'''{{efn|{{langx|ru|label=none|Великий Сибирский Путь|Velíkiy Sibírskiy Put}}, {{IPA|ru|vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj sʲɪˈbʲirʲsʲkʲɪj putʲ|pron}}}} and often shortened to '''Transsib''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|r|æ|n|s|ɪ|b}} {{respell|TRAN|sib}}; {{langx|ru|label=none|Транссиб}}, {{IPA|ru|trɐnˈsːʲip|pron}}}} is a large railway system that connects [[European Russia]] to the [[Russian Far East]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lonely Planet Guide to the Trans-Siberian Railway |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shop_pickandmix/free_chapters/trans-sib-rail-3-getting-started.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905151439/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shop_pickandmix/free_chapters/trans-sib-rail-3-getting-started.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2012 |publisher=Lonely Planet Publications}}</ref> Spanning a length of over {{convert|9,289|km|abbr=off|sp=us}}, it is the longest railway line in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Bryn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PMPPzQEACAAJ |title=Trans-Siberian Handbook: The Guide to the World's Longest Railway Journey with 90 Maps and Guides to the Route, Cities and Towns in Russia, Mongolia and China |last2=McCrohan |first2=Daniel |date=2019 |publisher=Trailblazer Publications |isbn=978-1912716081 |edition=10 |author-link2=Daniel McCrohan |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref> It runs from the city of [[Moscow]] in the west to the city of [[Vladivostok]] in the east.

During the period of the [[Russian Empire]], government ministers—personally appointed by [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]] and his son [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]—supervised the building of the railway network between 1891 and 1916. Even before its completion, the line attracted travelers who documented their experiences.<ref>Meakin, Annette, ''A Ribbon of Iron'' (1901), reprinted in 1970 as part of the Russia Observed series (Arno Press/New York Times)({{oclc|118166}}).</ref> Since 1916, the Trans-Siberian Railway has directly connected Moscow with Vladivostok. {{As of|2021}}, expansion projects remain underway, with connections being built to Russia's neighbors [[Mongolia]], [[China]], and [[North Korea]].<ref name="Asia" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-08 |title=New 8,400 mile train journey will connect London to Tokyo |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/london-tokyo-train-link-8400-mile-route-new-railway-trans-siberian-uk-japan-a7935961.html |access-date=2020-11-11 |website=[[The Independent]] }}</ref> Additionally, there have been proposals and talks to expand the network to [[Tokyo]], Japan, with new bridges or [[Sakhalin Tunnel|tunnels]] that would connect the mainland railway via the Russian island of [[Sakhalin]] and the Japanese island of [[Hokkaido]].<ref name="Asia">{{Cite web |title=Russia offers a bridge across history to connect Tokyo to the Trans-Siberian railway |url=https://siberiantimes.com/business/investment/news/russia-offers-a-bridge-across-history-to-connect-tokyo-to-the-trans-siberian-railway/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201095834/https://siberiantimes.com/business/investment/news/russia-offers-a-bridge-across-history-to-connect-tokyo-to-the-trans-siberian-railway/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-12-01 |access-date=2017-12-11 |website=siberiantimes.com}}</ref>

== Route ==
[[File:Transsib international.svg|300px|thumb|Trans-Siberian line in red; [[Baikal–Amur Mainline]] in green]]

The railway is often associated with the main transcontinental Russian line that connects many large and small cities of the European and Asian parts of Russia. At a Moscow–Vladivostok track length of {{convert|9,289|km|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}},<ref name="MoscowVlad">{{Cite web |title=CIS railway timetable, route No. 002, Moscow-Vladivostok |url=http://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=898975%3A%C0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5lkUp91UV?url=http://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=898975%3A%C0 |archive-date=3 December 2009}}</ref> it spans a record eight [[time zone]]s.<ref>Moscow is at UTC+3, Vladivostok is at UTC+10; therefore the line passes through 8 time zones; see [[Time Zone Map|map]]</ref> Taking eight days to complete the journey, it was the third-longest single continuous service in the world,{{when|date=August 2023}} after the Moscow–[[Pyongyang]] service {{convert|10267|km|0|abbr=out|sp=us}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIS railway timetable, route No. 002, Moscow-Pyongyang |url=http://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=881437%3A%C1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406164323/https://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=881437%3A%EF%BF%BD |archive-date=6 April 2020}}</ref> and the former<!-- (as of 2009, was apparently still active) --> [[Kyiv|Kiev]]–Vladivostok service {{convert|11085|km|0|abbr=out|sp=us}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIS railway timetable, route No. 350, Kiev-Vladivostok |url=http://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=907081%3A%D4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406164332/https://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=907081%3A%EF%BF%BD |archive-date=6 April 2020}}</ref> both of which also follow the Trans-Siberian for much of their routes.<ref name="britannica">{{Cite web |title=Trans-Siberian Railroad |date=December 7, 2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trans-Siberian-Railroad}}</ref>

The main route begins in Moscow at [[Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal|Yaroslavsky Vokzal]], runs through [[Yaroslavl]] or [[Chelyabinsk]], [[Omsk]], [[Novosibirsk]], [[Krasnoyarsk]], [[Irkutsk]], [[Ulan-Ude]], [[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]], and [[Khabarovsk]] to [[Vladivostok]] via southern Siberia. A second primary route is the Trans-Manchurian, which coincides with the Trans-Siberian east of Chita as far as Tarskaya (a stop {{convert|12|km|0|abbr=on}} east of Karymskoye, in [[Chita Oblast]]), about {{convert|1000|km|0|abbr=on}} east of [[Lake Baikal]]. From Tarskaya the Trans-Manchurian heads southeast, via [[Harbin]] [[Harbin–Manzhouli railway]] and [[Mudanjiang]] [[Harbin–Suifenhe railway]] in China's [[Manchuria|Northeastern provinces]] (from where a connection to Beijing is used by one of the Moscow–Beijing trains), joining the main route in [[Ussuriysk]] just north of [[Vladivostok]].

The third primary route is the [[Trans-Mongolian Railway]], which coincides with the Trans-Siberian as far as [[Ulan-Ude]] on [[Lake Baikal]]'s eastern shore. From Ulan-Ude the Trans-Mongolian heads south to [[Ulaanbaatar]] before making its way southeast to Beijing. In 1991, a fourth route running further to the north was finally completed, after more than five decades of sporadic work. Known as the [[Baikal–Amur Mainline]] (BAM), this recent extension departs from the Trans-Siberian line at [[Taishet]] several hundred miles west of [[Lake Baikal]] and passes the lake at its northernmost extremity. It crosses the [[Amur River]] at [[Komsomolsk-na-Amure]] (north of [[Khabarovsk]]), and reaches the [[Tatar Strait]] at [[Sovetskaya Gavan]].<ref name="britannica" />

==History==

===Demand and design===
In the late 19th century, the development of Siberia was hampered by poor transport links within the region and with the rest of the country. Aside from the [[Siberian Route|Great Siberian Route]], roads suitable for wheeled transport were rare. For about five months of the year, rivers were the main means of transport. During winter, cargo and passengers traveled by horse-drawn sledges over the [[winter road]]s, many of which were the same rivers but frozen.<ref>P. E. Garbutt, "The Trans-Siberian Railway." ''Journal of Transport History'' 4 (1954): 238–249.</ref>

The first steamboat on the [[Ob River|River Ob]], Nikita Myasnikov's ''Osnova'', was launched in 1844. However, early innovation had proven to be difficult, and it was not until 1857 that steamboat shipping had begun major development on the Ob system. Steamboats began operation on the [[Yenisei]] in 1863, and on the [[Lena River|Lena]] and [[Amur River|Amur]] in the 1870s. While the comparative flatness of [[West Siberian Plain|Western Siberia]] was served by good river systems, the major river systems [[Ob River|Ob]]–[[Irtysh]]–[[Tobol]]–[[Chulym River (Ob River)|Chulym]] of [[East Siberian economic region|Eastern Siberia]] had difficulties. The Yenisei, the upper course of the [[Angara River]] below [[Bratsk]] which was not easily navigable because of the rapids, and the Lena, were mostly navigable only in the north–south direction, making west–east transportation difficult. An attempt to partially remedy the situation by building the [[Ob–Yenisei Canal]] had not yielded great success. These issues in the region created the need for a railway to be constructed.<ref name="britannica" />

The first railway projects in Siberia emerged after the completion of the [[Saint Petersburg–Moscow Railway]] in 1851.<ref name="problemregions">{{Cite book |title=Problem Regions of Resource Type: Economical Integration of European North-East, Ural and Siberia |publisher=IEIE |year=2002 |isbn=5-89665-060-4 |editor-last=Alexeev |editor-first=V.V. |editor-last2=Bandman |editor-first2=M.K. |editor-last3=Kuleshov–Novosibirsk |editor-first3=V. V.}}</ref> One of the first was the [[Irkutsk]]–[[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]] project, proposed by the American entrepreneur [[Perry Collins]] and supported by Transport Minister [[Constantine Possiet]] with a view toward connecting Moscow to the [[Amur River]], and consequently the Pacific Ocean. Siberia's governor, [[Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky]], was anxious to advance [[Russian imperialism#Russian colonial expansion|Russian colonization]] of the now [[Russian Far East]], but his plans were unfeasible due to colonists importing grain and food from China and Korea.<ref>{{Cite book |last=March |first=G. Patrick |title=Eastern Destiny: Russia in Asia and the North Pacific |publisher=Praeger/Greenwood |year=1996 |isbn=0-275-95648-2 |pages=152–53}}</ref> It was on Muravyov's initiative that surveys for a railway in the [[Khabarovsk]] region were conducted.

Before 1880, the central government had virtually ignored these projects, due to weaknesses in Siberian enterprises, an inefficient bureaucracy, and financial risk. By 1880, there was a large number of rejected and upcoming applications for permission to construct railways in order to connect Siberia with the Pacific, but not Eastern Russia. This worried the government and made connecting Siberia with Central Russia a pressing concern. The design process lasted 10 years. Along with the actual route constructed, alternative projects were proposed:
* Southern route: via [[Kazakhstan]], [[Barnaul]], [[Abakan]] and Mongolia.
* Northern route: via [[Tyumen]], [[Tobolsk]], [[Tomsk]], [[Yeniseysk]] and the modern [[Baikal Amur Mainline]] or even through [[Yakutsk]].

The line was divided into seven sections, most or all of which was simultaneously worked on by 62,000 workers. With financial support provided by leading European financier, [[Baron Henri Hottinguer]] of the Parisian bankers [[Hottinger & Cie]], the total cost estimated at £35 million was raised with the first section (Chelyabinsk to the River Ob) and finished at a cost of £900,000 lower than anticipated.<ref>"The Great Siberian Iron Road", ''The Daily News'' (London), 30 December 1896, p. 7.</ref> Railwaymen argued against suggestions to save funds, such as installing ferryboats instead of bridges over the rivers until traffic increased.

Unlike the rejected private projects that intended to connect the existing cities that required transport, the Trans-Siberian did not have such a priority. Thus, to save money and avoid clashes with land owners, it was decided to lay the railway outside the existing cities. However, due to the swampy banks of the Ob River near [[Tomsk]] (the largest settlement at the time), the idea to construct a bridge was rejected.

The railway was laid {{convert|70|km|0|abbr=on}} to the south (instead crossing the Ob at Novonikolaevsk, later renamed [[Novosibirsk]]); a dead-end branch line connected with Tomsk, depriving the city of the prospective transit railway traffic and trade.<ref name="britannica" />

===Construction===

[[File:Clearing on the right-of-way of the Eastern Siberian Railway, A LCCN2004708023 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Clearing on the right-of-way of the Eastern Siberian Railway, 1895]]
[[File:Construction work on the Eastern Siberian Railway near Khabarovsk LCCN2004708079.jpg|thumb|right|Construction work being performed by convicts on the Eastern Siberian Railway near [[Khabarovsk]], 1895]]

On 9 March 1891, the Russian government issued an [[imperial rescript]] in which it announced its intention to construct a railway across Siberia.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Clarence B. |url=https://www.questia.com/read/71900198/railway-imperialism |title=Railway Imperialism |last2=Wilburn |first2=Kenneth E. Jr |last3=Robinson |first3=Ronald E. |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0313259661 |location=Westport, Connecticut |page=140 |chapter=Russia, the Soviet Union, and the Chinese Eastern Railway |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406164345/https://www.questia.com/read/71900198/railway-imperialism |archive-date=2020-04-06 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Tsarevich Nicholas (later Tsar Nicholas II) inaugurated the construction of the railway in Vladivostok on 19 May that year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pleshakov |first=Constantine |url=https://www.questia.com/read/100959210/the-tsar-s-last-armada-the-epic-journey-to-the-battle |title=The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Journey to the Battle of Tsushima |publisher=Basic Books |year=2002 |isbn=0465057926 |location=New York |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603130123/https://www.questia.com/read/100959210/the-tsar-s-last-armada-the-epic-journey-to-the-battle |archive-date=2019-06-03 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lake Baikal is more than {{convert|640|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} long and more than {{convert|1600|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} deep. Until the [[Circum-Baikal Railway]] was built the line ended on either side of the lake. The [[Icebreaker|ice-breaking]] [[train ferry]] {{SS|Baikal}} built in 1897 and smaller ferry ''SS Angara'' built in about 1900 made the four-hour crossing to link the two railheads.<ref name="BaikalTravel">{{Cite web|title=Irkutsk: Ice-Breaker "Angara" |url=http://www.lakebaikaltravel.com/baikal-travel-guide/landmarks-baikal/83-irkutsk-ice-breaker-angara.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924190950/http://www.lakebaikaltravel.com/baikal-travel-guide/landmarks-baikal/83-irkutsk-ice-breaker-angara.html |archive-date=24 September 2011 |access-date=15 September 2011 |website=Lake Baikal Travel Company }}</ref><ref name="BaikalHomepage">{{Cite web |last=Babanine |first=Fedor |year=2003 |title=Circumbaikal Railway |url=http://www.irkutsk.org/baikal/railway.htm |access-date=15 September 2011 |website=Lake Baikal Homepage |publisher=Fedor Babanine}}</ref>

The Russian admiral and explorer [[Stepan Makarov]] (1849–1904) designed ''Baikal'' and ''Angara'' but they were built in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], by [[Armstrong Whitworth]]. They were "knock down" vessels; that is, each ship was bolted together in the United Kingdom, every part of the ship was marked with a number, the ship was disassembled into many hundreds of parts and transported in kit form to [[Listvyanka, Irkutsky District, Irkutsk Oblast|Listvyanka]] where a shipyard was built especially to reassemble them.<ref name=BaikalHomepage/> Their boilers, engines and some other components were built in [[Saint Petersburg]]<ref name=BaikalHomepage/> and transported to Listvyanka to be installed. ''Baikal'' had 15 boilers, four funnels, and was {{convert|64|m|sp=us}} long. it could carry 24 railway coaches and one locomotive on the middle deck. ''Angara'' was smaller, with two funnels.<ref name=BaikalTravel/><ref name=BaikalHomepage/>

Completion of the Circum-Baikal Railway in 1904 bypassed the ferries, but from time to time the Circum-Baikal Railway suffered from derailments or rockfalls so both ships were held in reserve until 1916. ''Baikal'' was burnt out and destroyed in the [[Russian Civil War]]<ref name=BaikalTravel/><ref name=BaikalHomepage/> but ''Angara'' survives. It has been restored and is permanently moored at Irkutsk where it serves as an office and a museum.<ref name=BaikalTravel/>

In winter, sleighs were used to move passengers and cargo from one side of the lake to the other until the completion of the Lake Baikal spur along the southern edge of the lake. With the Amur River Line north of the Chinese border being completed in 1916, there was a continuous railway from [[Petrograd]] to Vladivostok that, to this day, is the world's second longest railway line. Electrification of the line, begun in 1929 and completed in 2002, allowed a doubling of train weights to {{convert|6000|t|sp=us}}. There were expectations upon electrification that it would increase rail traffic on the line by 40 percent.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 December 2002 |title=Russia's legendary Trans-Siberian railroad line completely electrified |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-70603200.html |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription |access-date=14 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904061530/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-70603200.html |archive-date=4 September 2015 |via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref>

The entire length of the Trans-Siberian Railway was double track by 1939.<ref>{{cite book |last=Manley |first=Deborah |author-link= |date=2011 |title=The Trans-Siberian Railway: A Traveller's Anthology |url= |location= |publisher=Andrews UK Limited |page=xviii |isbn=}}</ref>

===Effects===
[[File:Siberian peasants watching a train at a station, (1902).jpg|thumb|Siberian peasants watching a train at a station, 1902]]

Siberian agriculture began to send cheap grain westwards beginning around 1869.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} Agriculture in Central Russia was still under economic pressure after the end of [[serfdom]], which was [[Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia|formally abolished]] in 1861. To defend the central territory and prevent possible social destabilization, the Tsarist government introduced the [[Chelyabinsk]] [[tariff]]-break ({{lang|ru|Челябинский тарифный перелом}}) in 1896, a tariff barrier for grain passing through Chelyabinsk, and a similar barrier in [[Manchuria]]. This measure changed the nature of export: mills emerged to produce bread from grain in [[Altai Krai]], [[Novosibirsk]] and [[Tomsk]], and many farms switched to [[Maize|corn]] (maize) production.

The railway immediately filled to capacity with local traffic, mostly wheat. From 1896 until 1913 Siberia exported on average {{convert|501932|t|sp=us}} (30,643,000 [[pood]]) of grain and flour annually.<ref name="hramkov">{{Cite book |last=Храмков |first=А. А. |url=http://new.hist.asu.ru/biblio/predpri3/index.html |title=Предприниматели и предпринимательство в Сибири. Вып.3 |publisher=Изд-во АГУ |year=2001 |isbn=5-7904-0195-3 |location=Barnaul |trans-title=Entrepreneurs and business undertakings in Siberia. 3rd issue |chapter=Железнодорожные перевозки хлеба из Сибири в западном направлении в конце XIX – начале XX вв |trans-chapter=Railroad transportation of bread from Siberia westwards in the late 19th–early 20th centuries |access-date=2006-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184610/http://new.hist.asu.ru/biblio/predpri3/index.html |archive-date=2007-09-30 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904–1905, military traffic to the east disrupted the flow of civil freight.

The Trans-Siberian Railway brought with it millions of peasant-migrants from the Western regions of Russia and Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Subtelny |first=Orest |url=https://archive.org/details/ukrainehistory00subt_0 |title=Ukraine: a history |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-8020-8390-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ukrainehistory00subt_0/page/262 262] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Between 1906 and 1914, the peak migration years, about four million peasants arrived in Siberia.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dronin |first1=N. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9a5j_JL6cqIC&pg=PA38 |title=Climate dependence and food problems in Russia, 1900–1990: the interaction of climate and agricultural policy and their effect on food problems |last2=Bellinger |first2=E. G. |publisher=Central European University Press |year=2005 |isbn=963-7326-10-3 |page=38}}</ref>

Historian [[Christian Wolmar]] argues that the railroad was a failure, because it was built for narrow political reasons, with poor supervision and planning. The costs were vastly exaggerated to enrich greedy bureaucrats. The planners hoped it would stimulate settlement, but the Siberian lands were too infertile and cold and distant. There was little settlement beyond {{convert|30|mi|km}} from the line. The fragile system could not handle the heavy traffic demanded in wartime, so the Japanese in 1904 knew they were safe in [[Russo-Japanese War|their war with Russia]]. Wolmar concludes:

{{blockquote|The railway, which was single track throughout, with the occasional passing loop, had, unsurprisingly, been built to a deficient standard in virtually every way. The permanent way was flimsy, with lightweight rails that broke easily, insufficient [[Track ballast|ballast]], and railroad ties often carved from green wood that rotted in the first year of use. The small bridges were made of soft pine and rotted easily. The embankments were too shallow and narrow, often just {{convert|10|ft|m}} wide instead of the {{convert|16|ft|m}} prescribed in the design, and easily washed away. There were vicious gradients and narrow curves that wore out the fringe flanges on the wheels of the rolling stock after as little as six weeks use.<ref>Christian Wolmar, ''Blood, iron, and gold: How the railroads transformed the world'' (Public Affairs, 2011), pp 169–70.</ref>}}

===War and revolution===
[[File:War. Russian National Dance.jpg|thumb|Trans-Siberian Railway, c. 1904]]
In the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905), the strategic importance and limitations of the Trans-Siberian Railway contributed to Russia's defeat in the war. As the line was single-track, transit was slower as trains had to wait in crossing sidings for opposing trains to cross. This limited the capacity of the line and increased transit times. A troop train or a train carrying injured personnel traveling from east to west would delay the arrival of troops or supplies and ammunition in a train traveling from west to east. The supply difficulties meant the Russian forces had limited troops and supplies while Japanese forces with shorter lines of communication were able to attack and advance.

After the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917, the railway served as the vital line of communication for the [[Czechoslovak Legions|Czechoslovak Legion]] and the allied armies that landed troops at Vladivostok during the [[Siberian Intervention]] of the [[Russian Civil War]]. These forces supported the [[White movement|White Russian]] government of Admiral [[Alexander Kolchak]], based in [[Omsk]], and White Russian soldiers fighting the Bolsheviks on the [[Ural Mountains|Ural]] front. The intervention was weakened, and ultimately defeated, by partisan fighters who blew up bridges and sections of track, particularly in the volatile region between [[Krasnoyarsk]] and [[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]].<ref name="Isitt">{{Cite journal |last=Isitt |first=Benjamin |year=2006 |title=Mutiny from Victoria to Vladivostok, December 1918 |url=http://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/CHR/87.2.223 |journal=Canadian Historical Review |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=223–64 |doi=10.3138/chr/87.2.223 |access-date=3 October 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The leader of legions politician [[Milan Rastislav Štefánik|Milan Rastislav Stefanik]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kšiňan |first=Michal |title=Milan Rastislav Štefánik – Muž, ktorý sa rozprával s hviezdami |publisher=Slovart |year=2021 |isbn=9788055639048}}</ref> traveled from Moscow to Vladivostok in March to August 1918, on his journey to Japan and the United States of America.<ref>Preclík, Vratislav. Masaryk a legie (Masaryk and legions), váz. kniha, 219 str., vydalo nakladatelství Paris Karviná, Žižkova 2379 (734 01 Karviná) ve spolupráci s Masarykovým demokratickým hnutím (Masaryk Democratic Movement, Prague), 2019, {{ISBN|978-80-87173-47-3}}, pp. 38–50, 52–102, 104–22, 124–28, 140–48, 184–90</ref>
The Trans-Siberian Railway also played a very direct role during parts of Russia's history, with the [[Czechoslovak Legions|Czechoslovak Legion]] using heavily armed and [[armored train]]s to control large amounts of the railway (and of Russia itself) during the [[Russian Civil War]] at the end of World War I.<ref name="WILLMOTT251">{{Cite book |last=Willmott |first=H.P. |title=First World War |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |year=2003 |page=251}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> As one of the few fighting forces left in the aftermath of the imperial collapse, and before the [[Red Army]] took control, the [[Czechs]] and [[Slovaks]] were able to use their organization and the resources of the railway to establish a temporary zone of control before eventually continuing onwards towards Vladivostok, from where they emigrated back to [[Czechoslovakia]].

===World War II===
{{main|Pacific Route}}
During World War II, the Trans-Siberian Railway played an important role in the supply of the powers fighting in Europe.  In 1939–1941 it was a source of rubber for Germany thanks to the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|USSR-Germany pact]]. While Germany's merchant shipping was shut down, the Trans-Siberian Railway (along with its [[Chinese Eastern Railway|Trans-Manchurian branch]]) served as the essential link between Germany and Japan, especially for rubber. By March 1941, {{convert|300|t|sp=us}} of this material would, on average, traverse the Trans-Siberian Railway every day on its way to Germany.<ref>{{Citation |last=Martin |first=Bernd |title=Deutschland und Japan Im Zweiten Weltkrieg |page=155 |year=1969 |publisher=Musterschmidt Verlag}}</ref>

At the same time, a number of Jews and anti-Nazis used the Trans-Siberian Railway to escape Europe, including the mathematician [[Kurt Gödel]] and Betty Ehrlich Löwenstein, mother of British actor, director and producer [[Heinz Bernard]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lowenstein |first=Jonathan |date=26 April 2010 |title=The Journey of a Lifetime: my grandmother's escape on the Trans-Siberian railway |url=http://jonathanlowenstein.blogspot.co.il/2010/04/journey-of-lifetime-my-grandmother.html |journal=Telaviv1}}</ref> Several thousand Jewish refugees were able to make this trip thanks to the Curaçao visas issued by the Dutch consul [[Jan Zwartendijk]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jan Zwartendijk. – Collections Search – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |url=https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/pa1072299}}</ref> and the Japanese visas issued by the Japanese consul, [[Chiune Sugihara]], in [[Kaunas]], Lithuania. Typically, they took the TSR to [[Vladivostok]], then by ship to US. Until June 1941, pro-Nazi ethnic Germans from the Americas used the TSR to go to Germany.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170123092603/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/GERMAN%20INTELLIGENCE%20ACTIVITIES_0001.pdf "German Intelligence Activities in China during WW I."]}} United States War Department Strategic Services Unit, March 1, 1946</ref>

The situation reversed after 22 June 1941. By [[Operation Barbarossa|invading the Soviet Union]], Germany cut off its only reliable trade route to Japan. Instead, it had to use fast merchant ships and later large oceanic submarines to evade the Allied blockade. On the other hand, the USSR received [[Lend-Lease]] supplies from the US. Even after Japan went to war with the US, despite German complaints, Japan usually allowed Soviet ships to sail between the US and Vladivostok unmolested.<ref>{{harvnb|Martin|1969|p=174}}</ref> As a result, the [[Pacific Route]] – via northern Pacific Ocean and the TSR – became the safest connection between the US and the USSR.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

Accordingly, it accounted for as much freight as the [[Arctic convoys of World War II|North Atlantic–Arctic]] and [[Persian Corridor|Iranian]] routes combined, though cargoes were limited to raw materials and non-military goods. From 1941 to 1942 the TSR also played an important role in relocating Soviet industries from European Russia to Siberia in the face of the German invasion. The TSR also transported Soviet troops west from the Far East to take part in [[Battle of Moscow|the Soviet counter-offensive in December 1941]].

In 1944–45 the TSR was used to prepare for the [[Soviet–Japanese War]] of August 1945; see [[Pacific Route]].  When an Anglo-American delegation visited Moscow in October 1944 to discuss the Soviet Union joining the war against Japan, [[Alanbrooke]] was told by General Antonov and Stalin himself that the line capacity was 36 pairs of trains per day, but only 26 could be counted on for military traffic; see [[Pacific Route]]. The capacity of each train was from 600 to 700 tons.<ref>{{cite book | last = Alanbrooke | first = Field Marshal Lord  | authorlink = Alan Brooke  | title = War Diaries 1939–1945 | publisher = Phoenix Press | date = 2001 | location =  | pages = 607, 608| url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1-84212-526-5 }}</ref>

Although the Japanese estimated that an attack was not likely before Spring 1946, ''Stavka'' had planned for a mid-August 1945 offensive, and had concealed the buildup of a force of 90 divisions; many had crossed Siberia in their vehicles to avoid straining the rail link.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glantz |first=David M. |url=https://archive.org/details/whentitansclashe00glan_0/page/278 |title=When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler |date=1995 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=0-7006-0899-0 |location=Kansas |page=[https://archive.org/details/whentitansclashe00glan_0/page/278 278] |author-link=David M. Glantz}}</ref>

===Post World War II===
[[File:Gare de Omsk (4871704288).jpg|thumb|The Trans-Siberian is a vital link to the [[Russian Far East]].]]

A trainload of containers can be taken from Beijing to [[Hamburg]], via the Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Siberian lines in as little as 15 days, but typical cargo transit times are usually significantly longer<ref>{{Cite news |last=Donahue |first=Patrick |date=24 January 2008 |title=China-to-Germany Cargo Train Completes Trial Run in 15 Days |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aqUyRa4wf95g&refer=germany}}</ref> and typical cargo transit time from Japan to major destinations in European Russia was reported as around 25 days.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kachi |first=Hiroyuki |date=20 July 2007 |title=Mitsui talking to Russian railway operator on trans-Siberian freight service |work=MarketWatch.com |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mitsui-talking-to-russian-railway-operator-on-trans-siberian-freight-service}}</ref>

According to a 2009 report, the best travel times for cargo [[block train]]s from Russia's Pacific ports to the western border (of Russia, or perhaps of [[Belarus]]) were around 12 days, with trains making around {{convert|900|km|-2|abbr=on}} per day, at a maximum operating speed of {{convert|80|km/h|0|abbr=on}}. In early 2009; however, Russian Railways announced an ambitious "Trans-Siberian in Seven Days" plan. According to this plan, $11 billion will be invested over the next five years to make it possible for goods traffic to cover the same {{convert|9000|km|-3|abbr=on}} distance in just seven days. The plan will involve increasing the cargo trains' speed to {{convert|90|km/h|-1|abbr=on}} in 2010–2012, and, at least on some sections, to {{convert|100|km/h|-1|abbr=on}} by 2015. At these speeds, goods trains will be able to cover {{convert|1500|km|-2|abbr=on}} per day.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 May 2009 |title=Trans-Siberian in seven days |url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/trans-siberian-in-seven-days.html |website=[[Railway Gazette International]] |access-date=April 9, 2010 |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126211935/https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/trans-siberian-in-seven-days.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Crime ====

From February to May 1993, a number of [[Beijing]]-based gangs routinely robbed, beat, and raped railway passengers.<ref>{{cite news |date=20 October 1993 |title=Chinese, Russian police nab Trans-Siberian 'great train robbers' |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/10/20/Chinese-Russian-police-nab-Trans-Siberian-great-train-robbers/4361751089600/}}</ref>
The criminals took advantage of the fact that Chinese police disembarked the train before the border crossing into Mongolia, but no Mongolian police ever boarded to replace them, and Russian authorities did not board until the train had been in Siberia for an entire day. During the interim, there was no effective security on the trains, and no practical resistance to criminals armed with knives, sticks, and cattle prods.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 December 2021 |title=In 1993, when a Chinese-Russian train was looted and raped by bandits for several days, the central authorities issued an instruction: cross-border pursuit |url=https://www.laitimes.com/en/article/18tbu_1a33c.html}}</ref>

===Developments in shipping===
{{Main article|Trans-Eurasia Logistics}}
On January 11, 2008, China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and Germany agreed to collaborate on a cargo train service between Beijing and Hamburg.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 January 2008 |title=Beijing to Hamburg fast cargo rail link planned |work=The China Post |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/2008/01/11/138592/Beijing-to.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030144503/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/2008/01/11/138592/Beijing-to.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |access-date=23 April 2012}}</ref>

The railway can typically deliver containers in {{frac|1|3}} to {{frac|1|2}} of the time of a sea voyage, and in late 2009 announced a 20% reduction in its container shipping rates.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} With its 2009 rate schedule, the Trans-Siberian Railway will transport a forty-foot container to Poland from [[Yokohama]] for $2,820, or from [[Busan]] for $2,154.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2010 |title=Chapter 4: Freight Rates |url=http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/rmt2010_en.pdf |journal=Review of Maritime Transport |publisher=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |page=89 |issn=0566-7682 |access-date=31 December 2011}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="230" heights="180">
File:Yaroslavsky rail terminal front side.jpg|Start of the Trans-Siberian railway in Moscow
File:Нулевой километр.JPG|The "Zero Kilometer" kilometer marker at Yaroslavsky Station in Moscow indicates the length of the Trans-Siberian Railway—the distance from Moscow to Vladivostok.
File:Prokudin-Gorskii-23.jpg|[[Bashkirs|Bashkir]] switchman near the town [[Ust-Katav|Ust' Katav]] on the [[Yuryuzan River]] between [[Ufa]] and [[Chelyabinsk]] in the [[Ural Mountains]] region, c. 1910
File:Simskaia train station.jpg|View from the rear platform of the Simskaia railway station of the Samara–Zlatoust Railway, c. 1910
File:Транссибирска железница.JPG|Almost every station on Trans-Siberian Railway has food sellers, often local vendors who sell local food such as fish (like [[Omul|Baikal omul]]), [[pirozhki]], and potatoes. Besides food stands, there are also small kiosks.
File:Trans Sibir.JPG|Snow in late April at [[Nazyvayevsk]] station, Siberia
File:SS Baikal.jpg|The icebreaking train ferry {{SS|Baikal}} in service on Lake Baikal
File:Trans-Siberian tunnel.jpg|Train entering a Circum-Baikal tunnel west of [[Kultuk, Slyudyansky District, Irkutsk Oblast|Kultuk]]
File:Vladstation.jpg|[[Vladivostok]] terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway
File:Vladivostok distencemonument.JPG|The marker for kilometer 9,288 (mile 5,771.3) at the end of the Trans-Siberian Railway at [[Vladivostok railway station]]
File:Prokudin-Gorskii-25.jpg|Bridge over the [[Kama River]], near [[Perm, Russia|Perm]], built in 1912
</gallery>

==Routes==

===Trans-Siberian line===
A commonly used main line route is as follows. Distances and travel times are from the schedule of train No. 002M, Moscow–Vladivostok.<ref name=MoscowVlad/>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Location
! Distance
! Travel<br />Time
! Time Zone
! Notes
|-
|Moscow, [[Moscow Yaroslavskaya railway station|Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal]]
|{{convert|0|km|0|abbr=on}}
|
|Moscow<br />Time (MT)
|
|-
|[[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]]
|{{convert|210|km|0|abbr=on}}
|
|MT
|
|-
|[[Nizhny Novgorod]]
|{{convert|461|km|0|abbr=on}}
|6 hours
|MT
|On the [[Volga River]]
|-
|[[Kirov, Kirov Oblast|Kirov]]
|{{convert|917|km|0|abbr=on}}
|13 hours
|MT
|On the [[Vyatka River]]
|-
|[[Perm, Russia|Perm]]
|{{convert|1397|km|0|abbr=on}}
|20 hours
|MT+2
|On the [[Kama River]]
|-
|[[Yekaterinburg]]
|{{convert|1,816|km|0|abbr=on}}
|1 day 2 hours
|MT+2
|In the [[Urals]], still called by its old Soviet name Sverdlovsk in most timetables
|-
|[[Tyumen]]
|{{convert|2104|km|0|abbr=on}}
|
|MT+2
|
|-
|[[Omsk]]
|{{convert|2676|km|0|abbr=on}}
|1 day 14 hours
|MT+3
|On the [[Irtysh River]]
|-
|[[Novosibirsk]]
|{{convert|3303|km|0|abbr=on}}
|1 day 22 hours
|MT+4
|On the [[Ob River]]; [[Turk-Sib]] railway branches from here
|-
|[[Krasnoyarsk]]
|{{convert|4065|km|0|abbr=on}}
|2 days 11 hours
|MT+4
|On the [[Yenisei River]]
|-
|[[Taishet]]
|{{convert|4483|km|0|abbr=on}}
|
|MT+5
|Junction with the [[Baikal-Amur Mainline]]
|-
|[[Irkutsk]]
|{{convert|5153|km|0|abbr=on}}
|3 days 4 hours
|MT+5
|Near [[Lake Baikal]]'s southern extremity
|-
|[[Ulan Ude]]
|{{convert|5609|km|0|abbr=on}}
|3 days 12 hours
|MT+5
|Eastern shore of [[Lake Baikal]]
|-
|Junction with the Trans-Mongolian line
|{{convert|5622|km|0|abbr=on}}
|
|
|
|-
|[[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]]
|{{convert|6166|km|0|abbr=on}}
|3 days 22 hours
|MT+6
|
|-
|Junction with the Trans-Manchurian line at Tarskaya
|{{convert|6274|km|0|abbr=on}}
|
|MT+6
|
|-
|[[Birobidzhan]]
|{{convert|8312|km|0|abbr=on}}
|5 days 13 hours
|MT+7
|Capital of the [[Jewish Autonomous Region]]
|-
|[[Khabarovsk]]
|{{convert|8493|km|0|abbr=on}}
|5 days 15 hours
|MT+7
|On the [[Amur River]]
|-
|[[Ussuriysk]]
|{{convert|9147|km|0|abbr=on}}
|
|MT+7
|Junction with the Trans-Manchurian line and Korea branch; located in Baranovsky, {{convert|13|km|0|abbr=in}} from Ussuriysk
|-
|[[Vladivostok]]
|{{convert|9289|km|0|abbr=on}}
|6 days 4 hours
|MT+7
|On the Pacific Ocean
|-
|colspan=5|Services to North Korea continue from Ussuriysk via:
|-
|Primorskaya station
|{{convert|9257|km|0|abbr=on}}
|6 days 14 hours
|MT+7
|
|-
|[[Khasan (urban-type settlement)|Khasan]]
|{{convert|9407|km|0|abbr=on}}
|6 days 19 hours
|MT+7
|Border with [[North Korea]]
|-
|[[Tumangang]]
|{{convert|9412|km|0|abbr=on}}
|{{nowrap|1=7 days 10 hours}}
|MT+6
|[[North Korea]]n side of the border
|-
|[[Pyongyang]]
|{{nowrap|1={{convert|10267|km|0|abbr=on}}}}
|9 days 2 hours
|MT+6
|
|}

There are many alternative routings between Moscow and Siberia. For example:
[[File:RZD ED9MK-0029 at Polovinniy stop, Circum-Baikal Railway, 2009 (32356262012).jpg|thumb|[[Circum-Baikal railway]]]]
* Some trains would leave Moscow from [[Kazansky Rail Terminal]] instead of [[Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal]]; this would save some {{convert|20|km|0|abbr=on}} off the distances, because it provides a shorter exit from Moscow onto the Nizhny Novgorod main line.
* One can take a night train from Moscow's [[Kursky Rail Terminal]] to [[Nizhny Novgorod]], make a stopover in the Nizhny and then transfer to a Siberia-bound train
* From 1956 to 2001 many trains went between Moscow and Kirov via [[Yaroslavl]] instead of [[Nizhny Novgorod]]. This would add some {{convert|29|km|0|abbr=on}} to the distances from Moscow, making the total distance to Vladivostok at {{convert|9288|km|0|abbr=on}}.
* Other trains get from Moscow (Kazansky Terminal) to Yekaterinburg via [[Kazan]].
* Between Yekaterinburg and Omsk it is possible to travel via Kurgan [[Petropavl]]ovsk (in [[Kazakhstan]]) instead of Tyumen.
* One can bypass Yekaterinburg altogether by traveling via [[Samara, Russia|Samara]], [[Ufa]], [[Chelyabinsk]] and Petropavlovsk; this was historically the earliest configuration.

Depending on the route taken, the distances from Moscow to the same station in Siberia may differ by several tens of km (a few dozen miles).

===Trans-Manchurian line===
{{Main article|Chinese Eastern Railway}}
The Trans–Manchurian line, as e.g. used by train No.020, Moscow–Beijing<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIS railway timetable, route No. 020, Moscow-Beijing |url=http://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=886684%3A%C0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406164500/https://www.poezda.net/en/train_timetable?tr_code=886684%3A%EF%BF%BD |archive-date=April 6, 2020}}</ref> follows the same route as the Trans-Siberian between Moscow and [[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]] and then follows this
route to China:
* Branch off from the Trans-Siberian-line at Tarskaya ({{convert|6274|km|0|abbr=on}} from Moscow)
* [[Zabaikalsk]] ({{convert|6,626|km|0|abbr=on}}), Russian border town; there is a [[break-of-gauge]]
* [[Manzhouli]] ({{convert|6638|km|0|abbr=on}} from Moscow, {{convert|2323|km|0|abbr=on}} from [[Beijing]]), Chinese border city<!-- {{convert|935|km|0|abbr=on}} to Harbin -->
* [[Harbin]] ({{convert|7573|km|0|abbr=on}}, 1,388 km) Chinese city
* [[Changchun]] ({{convert|7820|km|0|abbr=on}} from Moscow) Chinese city
* [[Beijing]] ({{convert|8961|km|0|abbr=on}} from Moscow) the Chinese capital

The express train (No. 020) travel time from Moscow to Beijing is just over six days. There is no direct passenger service along the entire original Trans-Manchurian route (i.e., from Moscow or anywhere in Russia, west of Manchuria, to Vladivostok via Harbin), due to the obvious administrative and technical ([[Rail gauge|gauge]] break) inconveniences of crossing the border twice. Assuming sufficient patience and possession of appropriate visas, however, it is still possible to travel all the way along the original route, with a few stopovers (e.g. in [[Harbin]], [[Grodekovo]] and [[Ussuriysk]]).{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

Such an itinerary would pass through the following points from Harbin east:
* [[Harbin]] ({{convert|7573|km|0|abbr=on}} from Moscow)
* [[Mudanjiang]] ({{convert|7,928|km|0|abbr=on}}) <!-- {{convert|355|km|0|abbr=on}} from Harbin -->
* [[Suifenhe]] ({{convert|8,121|km|0|abbr=on}}), the Chinese border station <!-- 548 from Harbin -->
* [[Grodekovo]] ({{convert|8,147|km|0|abbr=on}}), Russia <!-- {{convert|26|km|0|abbr=on}} from Suifenhe; 97 to Ussuriysk -->
* [[Ussuriysk]] ({{convert|8,244|km|0|abbr=on}}) <!-- {{convert|112|km|0|abbr=on}} to Vladivostok -->
* [[Vladivostok]] ({{convert|8,356|km|0|abbr=on}})

===Trans-Mongolian line===
{{Main article|Trans-Mongolian Railway}}
[[File:Trans Mongolian Railway.jpg|thumb|Trans–Mongolian Railway]]
The Trans–Mongolian line follows the same route as the Trans-Siberian between Moscow and [[Ulan Ude]], and then follows this route to [[Mongolia]] and China:
* Branch off from the Trans-Siberian line ({{convert|5655|km|0|abbr=on}} from Moscow)
* Naushki ({{convert|5895|km|0|abbr=on}}, MT+5), Russian border town
* Russian–[[Mongolia]]n border ({{convert|5900|km|0|abbr=on}}, MT+5)
* [[Sükhbaatar (city)|Sükhbaatar]] ({{convert|5921|km|0|abbr=on}}, MT+5), Mongolian border town
* [[Ulaanbaatar]] ({{convert|6304|km|0|abbr=on}}, MT+5), the Mongolian capital
* [[Zamyn-Üüd]] ({{convert|7013|km|0|abbr=on}}, MT+5), Mongolian border city
* [[Erenhot]] ({{convert|842|km|0|abbr=on}} from [[Beijing]], MT+5), Chinese border city
* [[Datong]] ({{convert|371|km|0|abbr=on}}, MT+5) Chinese city
* [[Beijing]] (MT+5) the Chinese capital

==Highest point==
The highest point of Trans–Siberian Railroad is at Yablonovy pass at an altitude of 1070m situated in the [[Yablonoi Mountains]], in [[Transbaikal]] (mainly in [[Zabaykalsky Krai]]), [[Siberia]], Russia. The Trans–Siberian Railroad passes the mountains at Chita and runs parallel to the range before going through a tunnel to bypass the heights.<ref name="Yab">{{Cite web |title=Yablonovy Range |url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Yablonoi+Mountains |access-date=30 January 2013 |publisher=Farlex, Inc.}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Siberia|Railways}}
* [[Baikal–Amur Mainline]]
* [[Famous trains]]
* [[History of Siberia]]
* [[Russian gauge]]
** [[Broad gauge#Russian gauge|Broad gauge]]
* [[Russian Railways]]
* [[Sibirjak]]
* ''[[Starlight Express]]'', a train musical in which a character is modeled on the Trans-Siberian Express.
* [[Trans-Siberian Railway Panorama]]
* [[Eastbound]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Travel handbooks==
* {{cite book |last= Richmond |first= Simon |title= Trans-Siberian Railway  |accessdate=  |edition=  6 |orig-date= |year=  2018 |publisher= Lonely Planet |location= London |isbn=  978-1-78657-459-6  |oclc=  |page=  |pages= }}  
* {{cite book |last= Thomas  |first= Bryn |title= Trans-Siberian Handbook  |accessdate=  |edition=  9 |orig-date= 1988 |year=  2014 |publisher= Trailblazer |location= London |isbn=  978-1-905864-56-0  |oclc=  |page=  |pages= }} 

==Further reading==
* {{Cite journal |last=Ames |first=Edward |year=1947 |title=A century of Russian railroad construction: 1837–1936 |journal=American Slavic and East European Review |volume=6 |issue=3/4 |pages=57–74 |doi=10.2307/2491700 |jstor=2491700}}
* Banerjee, Anindita. "The Trans-Siberian Railroad and Russia's Asia: Literature, Geopolitics, Philosophy of History" ''Clio''. Fall2004/Winter2005, Vol. 34 Issue 1/2, pp 19–40.
* Cherkashin, A. "Trans-Siberian railway and interrelation of economic development of regions." ''IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science'' Vol. 190. No. 1. 2018 [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/190/1/012050/pdf online].
* {{Cite journal |last=Dawson |first=John W. Jr. |year=2002 |title=Max Dehn, Kurt Gödel, and the Trans-Siberian escape route |journal=Notices of the AMS |volume=49 |issue=9}}
* Dmitriev-Mamanov, A.I. and A. F. Zdziarski, eds. ''Guide to the Great Siberian Railway 1900'' (reprinted by David & Charles, 1971), the official guide; also covers the local towns and people. [https://archive.org/details/guidetogreatsibe00russuoft online]
* {{Cite book |last=Faulstich |first=Edith M. |title=The Siberian Sojourn |year=1972–1977 |location=Yonkers, New York}}
* Garbutt, P. E. "The Trans-Siberian Railway." ''Journal of Transport History'' 4 (1954): 238–249. 
* Grams, Grant W. (2021). ''Return Migration of German Nationals from the United States and Canada, 1933–1941'' (Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland Publications_
* Hookham, Hilda. "Builders of the Trans-Siberian Railway" ''History Today'' (Aug 1966), Vol. 16 Issue 8, pp. 528–37
* Jefferson, Robert L. ''Roughing it in Siberia'' ((Sampson Low, Marston, 1987)
* {{Cite book |last=Marks |first=S.G. |url=https://archive.org/details/roadtopowertrans00mark |title=Road to Power: The Trans-Siberian Railroad and the Colonization of Asian Russia, 1850–1917 |year=1991 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=0-8014-2533-6}}
* Meakin, Annette M. B. ''A Ribbon of  Iron'' (BiblioLife, 2009).
* {{Cite journal |last=Metzer |first=Jacob |year=1976 |title=Railroads in Tsarist Russia: Direct gains and implications |journal=Explorations in Economic History |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=85–111 |doi=10.1016/0014-4983(76)90006-1}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Miller |first=Elisa B. |year=1978 |title=The Trans-Siberian landbridge, a new trade route between Japan and Europe: issues and prospects |journal=Soviet Geography |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=223–43 |doi=10.1080/00385417.1978.10640225}}
* Mironova, Marina Nikolaevna, Natalia Gennadievna Kuznetsova, and Aleksandr Nikolaevich Sholudko. "Types of cities of the Trans-Siberian railway: Dynamics of population and industrial functions." ''RUDN Journal of Economics'' 25.4 (2017): 553–565.
* {{Cite book |last=North |first=Robert N. |title=Transport in western Siberia: Tsarist and Soviet development |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |year=1979}}
* Pepe, Jacopo Maria. "The "Eastern Polygon" of the Trans-Siberian rail line: a critical factor for assessing Russia's strategy toward Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific." ''Asia Europe Journal'' 18.3 (2020): 305–324.
* Read, Arnot. ''From Peking to Petersburg'' (BiblioLife, 2009
* {{Cite journal |last=Reichman |first=Henry |year=1988 |title=The 1905 Revolution on the Siberian Railroad |journal=Russian Review |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=25–48 |doi=10.2307/130442 |jstor=130442}}
* {{Cite book |last=Richmond |first=Simon |title=Trans-Siberian Railway |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2009}} Guide book for travelers
* Sahi, Juha. "The Trans-Siberian railway as a corridor of trade between Finland and Japan in the midst of world crises." ''Journal of Transport History'' 36.1 (2015): 58–76.
* {{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Bryn |title=The Trans-Siberian Handbook |publisher=Trailblazer |year=2003 |isbn=1-873756-70-4 |edition=6th}} Guide book for travelers
* {{Cite book |last=Tupper |first=Harmon |url=https://archive.org/details/togreatoceansibe00tupp |title=To the great ocean: Siberia and the Trans-Siberian Railway |publisher=Little, Brown |year=1965 |url-access=registration}}, wide-ranging popular history.
* {{Cite book |last=Westwood |first=John Norton |title=A history of Russian railways |publisher=G. Allen and Unwin |year=1964}}
* {{Cite book |last=Калиничев |first=В.П. |title=Великий Сибирский путь (историко-экономический очерк) |publisher=Транспорт |year=1991 |isbn=5-277-00758-X |location=Москва |language=ru}}
* {{Cite book |last=Omrani |first=Bijan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7USQgAACAAJ&q=omrani+asia+overland |title=Asia Overland: Tales of Travel on the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road |publisher=Odyssey Publications |year=2010 |isbn=978-962-217-811-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Robert |url=https://trans-siberian-railway-encyclopedia.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712015856/https://trans-siberian-railway-encyclopedia.com/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 12, 2017 |title=The Trans-Siberian Railway Encyclopedia}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wolmar |first=Christian |title=To the Edge of the World: The Story of the Trans-Siberian Express, the World's Greatest Railroad |publisher=Atlantic Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-0857890375 |location=London}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML}}
{{Commons category|Trans-Siberian railway}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{external media
 |topic     = on [[RT Documentary]] Official YouTube Channel{{in lang|en}}
 |video1    = {{YouTube|z_GHi9RLKOo|Trans-Siberian Odyssey (Trailer)|}}
 |video2    = {{YouTube|HTE04hyCRBw|Sad holiday parting & bumpy start – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E1)|}}
 |video3    = {{YouTube|AljqjyfJNO4|Irate passengers, strange guests & holiday cheer – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E2)|}}
 |video4    = {{YouTube|k-9zsaLElPU|Father Frost and a Snowmaiden pay the train a visit – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E3)|}}
 |video5    = {{YouTube|xCumpYibZFw|Father Frost and a Snowmaiden pay the train a visit – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E4)|}}
 |video6    = {{YouTube|o1obeBSpMQ0|Cabin fever, Christmas carols, and a concerning call – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E5)|}}
 |video7    = {{YouTube|KGhBPJyoKmY|Bargains in Russia's Far East & short circuit in a freight car – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E6)|}}
 |video8    = {{YouTube|0dadeIu3xN8|Food poisoning on board & a tough decision – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E7)|}}
 |video9    = {{YouTube|jRyJiL41Umg|Raw nerves, ruined rendezvous, and a tragedy dodged – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E8)|}}
 |video10   = {{YouTube|aXnrm5wVfeg|A joyous arrival & nervous reunion – Trans-Siberian Odyssey (E9)|}}
}}
* [http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/trans-siberian-train/detail Trans-Siberian Railway], National Geographic Expeditions website
* [https://www.theguardian.com/travel/ng-interactive/2016/dec/27/trans-siberian-railway-moscow-vladivostok-in-pictures Trans-Siberian Railway: a view from Moscow to Vladivostok – a photo essay] (27 December 2016), ''[[The Guardian (UK)|The Guardian]]''. <small> Photographs of "life on board the Trans-Siberian Railway, and beyond the carriage window". </small>
* [http://eng.rzd.ru/ Russian Railways official  website]
* [http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm Overview of passenger travel today]
* {{Cite web |title=A 1903 map of Trans-Siberian railway |url=http://www.parovoz.com/maps/transsib.jpg}}
* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.ndlpcoop/mtfxtx.nb0004 ''Guide to the Great Siberian Railway''] (1900)
* {{Cite journal |last=Mikhailoff |first=M. |date=May 1900 |title=[[s:The North American Review/Volume 170/Issue 522/The Great Siberian Railway|The Great Siberian Railway]] |journal=[[the North American Review]] |volume=170 |issue=522}}
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.signalbooks.co.uk/book.php?a=1904955495 |title=The Trans-Siberian Railway: A Traveller's Anthology |date=2009 |publisher=Signal Books |isbn=978-1-904955-49-8 |editor-last=Manley |editor-first=Deborah |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305094919/http://www.signalbooks.co.uk/book.php?a=1904955495 |archive-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}
* {{Citation |title=Railway Wonders of the World |pages=451–57 |year=1936 |editor-last=Winchester |editor-first=Clarence |chapter=The Trans-Siberian Express |chapter-url=http://www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com/trans-siberian-express.html}} illustrated description of the route and the train
* {{YouTube|W4lzuYFZs3E|Trans-Siberian Train № 1 "Russia". Depart Fast Train}}
* [https://altai-touristic.ru/eng/trans-siberian-tours.html#trans_siberian_cities_list List of cities (with photos) most visited by tourists traveling along the Trans-Siberian Railway]

{{Russian Railways}}
{{Eurasian Land Bridge}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Trans-Siberian Railway| ]]<!-- Please leave the empty space as per [[WP:EPONYMOUS]]. -->
[[Category:1916 in rail transport]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Siberia]]
[[Category:Rail transport in the Russian Far East]]
[[Category:Railway lines in Russia]]
[[Category:Train-related introductions in 1916]]