The Trans Siberian Railway might be 9298 kilometre long, but it has to start somewhere – which happens to be Moscow’s Yaroslavsky railway station.
On the platform you will find the ceremonial 0 km starting point of the railway.
The marker was erected in 2001 to mark the centenary of the Trans Siberian Railway.
Confusion with opening dates
The Trans Siberian Railway isn’t a single railway, hence some confusion as to the completion date.
- 1891: construction began from both the western (Moscow) and eastern (Vladivostok) ends.
- 1901: Trans-Manchurian Railway completed, linking Vladivostok via China to Siberia and the rest of Russia.
- 1904: Circum-Baikal Railway replaces the ferry link across Lake Baikal.
- 1916: Amur Railway completed, enabling a Trans Siberian journey entirely within Russia.
Further reading
BBC News has an article on the 2001 centenary, while Bernard H. Wood has this piece on the forgotten 2016 centenary.
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