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It Is The Longest Train Journey In The World
If you want to say that you have taken the longest train journey in the world, then you’ll need to ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Running from the Yaroslavsky Terminal in Moscow, Russia, the railway runs all the way to the coastal city of Vladivostok.
Along the way, there are 64 stops. The railway passes through a total of 87 cities and towns and crosses over 16 rivers. One of the tunnels on the route is over a mile long. Overall, the railway is longer than the Great Wall of China. [source #10 https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/longest-train-service-routes-in-the-world.html]
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It Travels Through Eight Different Time Zones
Geographically speaking, Russia is the world’s largest country. So you might have guessed that there is more than one time-zone in the colossal nation. Since the Trans-Siberian Railway travels right across Russia, it comes as no surprise that it crosses eight different time zones. When you’re a passenger riding on this route, it’s best to avoid setting your watch until after you arrive at your final destination!
It’s always a good idea to be aware of the time differences when planning your journey on the railway. It’s easy to be caught out and miss the train because you got confused between the different time-zones. [source #9 https://telanganatoday.com/russia-spans-11-time-zones]
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A Famous Ballet Dancer Was Born On The Railway
March 17. Birth of Rudolf Nureyev, fourth child and only son of Hamet and Farida Nureyev, aboard the Trans-Siberian express, near Lake Baikal. He spent his childhood and youth in Ufa, capital of the Soviet Republic of Bashkir. Russia is famous for its ballet, giving both spectacular productions and successful professional ballerinas to the world. Therefore, if a ballet dancer was going to be born on any railway, it would have to be the Trans-Siberian! [source #8 https://nureyev.org/rudolf-nureyev-biography/main-dates-of-his-life/]
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There Are Three Rail Routes On The Railway
Today the railway comprises three different rail routes, allowing passengers to travel across Russia, Mongolia, and China. In addition to the Trans-Siberian, which runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, there is also the Trans-Mongolian and the Trans-Manchurian lines.
The Trans-Mongolian allows passengers to travel from Moscow to Beijing, while the Trans-Manchurian takes travelers from Siberia to Beijing. The longest possible train journey requires seven days of continuous travel, but the sights you’d see through your window would be absolutely breathtaking!
The Moscow-Vladivostok route is the classic route and the longest one — it crosses the entire territory of Russia from the capital all the way to Vladivostok in the East. While the city itself is not a major tourist destination, its location — just a ferry ride away from Japan — makes it very interesting. This route takes almost a week to travel. It offers two-berth compartments, four-berth compartments, and open carriages, where the row of seats converts into beds at night. This is the only route that also offers open sleeping carriages.
The Trans-Mongolian line — the shortest of all three routes — ends in Beijing but makes its way across Mongolia first, cutting through the Gobi desert filled with yurts and camels and stopping by the country's capital, Ulaanbaatar. This is the nicest and most comfortable of the trains, with deluxe 2-berth compartments (complete with shared showers), as well as larger berths for four travelers.
For the first few days, the train has a Russian restaurant car, offering typical Russian foods and drinks, surrounded by an old-Soviet style décor. Once you reach the Mongolia border, the restaurant car is actually switched, and you'll find yourself in an ornate white and gold car serving traditional Mongolian food. The restaurant car is switched again at the Chinese border at Erlan — this one serves the best food on the entire route, so it's worth trying.
Finally, there's the Trans-Manchurian line, which runs only once a week, heading to Beijing via Manchuria. The route is slightly shorter (one day less), and the trains only offer basic 2-berth and 4-berth compartments, no open carriages. Since this route skips the beautiful scenery of the Mongolian desert, it's the less popular of all three routes — the exception being in winter, as this line stops at the Harbin Ice & Snow Festival, the largest ice and snow festival in the world, held in China. [source #7
https://www.planetware.com/russia/how-to-do-a-trans-siberian-railway-journey-routes-stops-r-1-6.htm]
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The Railway Was Installed Under The Romanov Dynasty
The Trans-Siberian Railway has been standing for more than a century and is one of the remaining legacies of the Romanov Dynasty. The last family to rule Imperial Russia, the Romanovs oversaw the construction of the railway, which was personally supervised by Tsar Alexander III and Prince Nikolai.
The prince was given the role of heading the construction so he could gain experience that would help him rule over Russia when he ascended to the throne. He later became Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia before the Revolution.
Conceived by Tsar Alexander III, the construction of the railroad began in 1891 and proceeded simultaneously in several sections—from the west (Moscow) and from the east (Vladivostok) and across intermediate reaches by way of the Mid-Siberian Railway, the Transbaikal Railway, and other lines. Originally, in the east, the Russians secured Chinese permission to build a line directly across Manchuria (the Chinese Eastern Railway) from the Transbaikal region to Vladivostok; this trans-Manchurian line was completed in 1901. [source #6 https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trans-Siberian-Railroad]
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It Took 60,000 Workers To Complete
The longest railway in the world, the Trans-Siberian certainly didn’t go up overnight. It actually took 25 years to complete the project, with construction lasting from 1891 until 1916. The railway was funded by state money as the Tsar wanted to ensure that Russia had ownership over what would become an incredibly important supply line. [source #5 https://www.travelallrussia.com/blog/100th-anniversary-trans-siberian-railway]
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There Were Lots Of Delays Once It Started Running
The construction of the railway ended up being a strenuous burden on the Russian government. To cut as many costs as possible, the quality of construction was compromised and shortcuts were taken. Although this did cut costs and result in faster completion of the railway, it also meant that there were delays once it did start running.
In the early days, the railway suffered from many complications which took time and money to sort out. To this day, the tracks still undergo regular maintenance checks to make sure they run smoothly. [source #4 https://ethw.org/Trans-Siberian_Railway]
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Passengers Are Allowed To Leave The Trains
Even though traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway is often a long journey, it’s not necessary to do it all in one go. Passengers often only travel to a particular destination along the way and then leave the train, or they might stop in a couple of towns and cities as they slowly make their way around Russia. If you don't want to, you never have to stay on the train for seven days straight.
Of course, many people choose to travel the Trans-Siberian Railway purely to experience the long train journey.
Try their best to fit in as many Russian locations as possible into their 30 days of Russian visa time. The Ho-Ho itinerary offers the best chance to see plenty of Russia. The idea is to use individual overnight trains to hop between destinations, allowing you to explore a city by day and then travel to your next destination by night. This allows you to use the shower facilities at stations, and gives you the option to take a break from the train and stay at a local hotel if you want to spend longer in a place or just fancy a bed that doesn't violently lurch to a stop in the middle of the night. Ho-Ho travel, however, does take some forethought and planning. Tickets need to be bought individually for each leg and come at a premium; hopping on and off between Moscow and Vladivostok may cost you as much as 50% more than just riding a single train all the way. [source #3 http://transsiberianrailway.org/trans-siberian-route.html]
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Carriages Come In Three Classes
For those traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, there is the option of staying in three classes. The carriages on most of the trains frequenting the line offer first class, second class, and third class experiences. Although it can be costly, first might be the way to go if you plan on staying on the train for most of the journey without stopping.
The third class offers bunk beds instead of fold-out sleeper seats, but it might be an option for those looking for budget travel ideas. Otherwise, the second class offers a combination of the first class's luxury and the economic benefits of the third class. [source# 2 https://www.thetranssiberianexpress.com/railway-classes]
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It Is Often Regarded As The Best Way To See Russia
If you’re traveling to Russia, keep the Trans-Siberian Railway in mind as it’s often regarded as the single best way to see Russia. Traveling past so many cities and towns and making so many stops along the way, it’s a great option if you’re interested in seeing a lot of the country.
56th Parallel also points out that many of the train stations that you’ll stop in are stunning, and unless you were traveling on the railway, you wouldn’t have the chance to experience them. The Trans-Siberian is convenient and easy, and often takes you past landmarks that you’d go out of your way to visit anyway! [source #1 https://www.mircorp.com/train/trans-siberian-railway/]
