Russia’s railroad network is exceeded in size only by those of the US and China, so it is perhaps fitting that it features the world’s longest continuous railway line. At around 5,750 miles (9,250km) in length, the Trans-Siberian Railway straddles the Russian interior, linking the country’s heartland in the European west to its hinterland in the Asian east. A broad-gauge, double-track line that was fully electrified in 2002, it is a vital artery that has spread industry and commerce across this vast territory.
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RUSSIAN TIME ZONES
Such is the length of the Trans-Siberian Railway that the journey from Moscow to Vladivostok crosses seven time zones. Timetables and station clocks are set to Moscow time (MT), which results in discrepancies between local and railroad time. These discrepancies increase from two to seven hours the further one travels east.
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SIBERIAN RAIL BRIDGES
Hundreds of bridges were built along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Many of these are of unsual design, such as this lenticular bridge, otherwise known as a “fish-bellied truss.” The longest bridge of all, which crosses the Amur River at Khabarovsk, is 8,570ft (2,612m) in length.
