Going on the Trans-Siberian Train
On March 29th 1891, the Russian Tsar Alexander III gave wings to a project that would take around 14 years to be completed. The Trans Siberian Railway today stretches up to 9288 kilometers, connecting European Russia with Siberia and the Far Eastern provinces.
It was a long, arduous process that, at times, involved more than 89 000 workers, who helped building the railroad by hand. In those days, modern construction equipment was not available; therefore the main tools used were hammers, axes and shovels. During and after World War I, some reconstructions had to take place, and the railway was inactive for a few years.
If you go on a trips, you will have the chance to see the озеро Байкал (Lake Baikal), the Уральские горы (Ural Mountains), Владивосток (Vladivostock), Beijing, visit Buddhist temples, among other incredible experiences.
The main route starts in Moscow and goes to Владивосток, passing through Екатеринбург (Yekaterinburg), Челябинск (Chelyabinsk), Омск (Omsk), Новосибирск, (Novosibirsk), Иркутск (Irkutsk), Улан-Удэ (Ulan Ude), Чита (Chita), Благовещенск (Blagoveshchensk) and Хабаровск (Khabarovsk) (around 9259 kilometers). The train travels through 7 time zones and takes 8 days to complete. The “fastest” train on Transsib is train No. 1/2 “Rossiya” from Moscow to Vladivostok. It covers Transsib in 6 days and 2 hours.
The railway passes through 87 cities. The Rossiya train make 64 stops on the way from Moscow to Vladivostok, including a stop called Ерофей Павлович (Yerofey Pavlovich) – by name of a village about 4.5 days away from Moscow.
One of the stations along Transsib not far from the lake Baykal – Слюдянка-1 (Slyudyanka-1) – is built entirely from marble. It is the only building in Russia like that.
If you have the time – and the financial resources – I say you should take advantage of the fact that you are already in Saint Petersburg – or Moscow – and do the trip while you are here!
