Trans-Siberian Railroad, rail line, linking European Russia with the Pacific coast. Its construction began in 1891, on the initiative of Count S. Y. Witte Witte, Count Sergei Yulyevich (syĭrgā` y
..... Click the link for more information. , and was completed in 1905. The completion of the railroad greatly affected the history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and modern Russia by opening up Siberia Siberia (sībēr`ēə), Rus. Sibir, vast geographical region of Russia, covering c.
..... Click the link for more information. to development.

The original line began at Chelyabinsk and ran generally east through Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, and Chita; it traversed Manchuria and reentered Russian territory before ending at Vladivostok. The Manchurian section of the line is known as the Chinese Eastern RR. The present Trans-Siberian RR branches off from the original line at Chita to follow, roughly, the Amur and Ussuri rivers and reaches Vladivostok by way of Khabarovsk; it lies entirely in Russian territory. The Moscow-Vladivostok run is 5,785 mi (9,310 km); the electrification of the entire line was only completed in 2002. The line carries both freight and passengers.

The Trans-Siberian RR now has several branch lines, notably the line connecting Omsk with Yekaterinburg. A branch to Ust-Kut connects with the Baykal-Amur Mainline Baykal-Amur Mainline (BAM), railroad line linking central Siberian Russia with the Pacific. The BAM parallels the Trans-Siberian RR but passes north rather than south of Lake Baykal. It is 1,928 mi (3,102 km) long, with 1,987 bridges.
..... Click the link for more information. (BAM). The railroad is also linked with the Turkistan-Siberia RR Turkistan-Siberia Railroad, abbreviated as Turk-Sib, important railroad in Central Asia, providing the shortest link between Siberia and Central Asia.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Trans-Siberian Railroad

Longest single rail system in Russia, running from Moscow to Vladivostok, a distance of 5,778 mi (9,198 km). Conceived by Tsar Alexander III, its construction began in 1891 and proceeded simultaneously along its entire length, which traversed a section of Manchuria. It was completed in 1904, but the impending Japanese takeover of Manchuria compelled construction of a parallel section within Russian territory, completed in 1916. The railroad opened large areas of Siberia to settlement and industrialization by means of spur lines linking outlying areas with the main line. The complete trip takes about eight days.