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Records of Transsberianprint version

Transsib records

Records are registered in 22 nominations.

This page in illustrated form captures the global and local records of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The highest point and the westernmost, the largest tunnel and the fastest section, the most “curve” loop and the steepest climb. So read on ...

 

 1. The longest railway on the planet

The actual length of the Trans-Siberian Railway along the main passenger path is 9288.2 km (approximately 5772 miles). According to this indicator, it is the longest on the planet, crossing overland almost all of Eurasia. The tariff length (according to which ticket prices are calculated) is slightly longer - 9298 km does not coincide with the real one. For about 70 years, the beginning of the Trans-Siberian Railway has been considered the Yaroslavl Station in Moscow (photo on the left). The end of the Trans-Siberian Railway on the eastern outskirts of Russia - Vladivostok Station (photo on the right) - is located on the shores of the Golden Horn of the Sea of ​​Japan (the exact route of the highway is given here).

 

 

2. One mainland and two continents

The Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the territory of two continents: Europe (1777 km) and Asia (7512 km) and crosses the continent of Eurasia from west to east. 19.1% of the length of the Trans-Siberian Railway falls to Europe, 80.9% to Asia. The conditional border of Europe and Asia is the 1778th km of the Trans-Siberian Railway. There, near the city of Pervouralsk, at the intersection of the low pass of the central Ural Mountains by rail, a memorial sign was installed (on the south side of the road, in the photo on the left). It is called "the border of Europe and Asia."

 

 

3. Throughout immense Russia

The Transsib passes through the territories of 12 regions, 5 territories, 2 republics, 1 autonomous region and 1 district as part of the region: Moscow, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kirov regions, Udmurt Republic, Perm Territory, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo Regions , Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk Region, Ust-Orda Buryat District as part of the Irkutsk Region, Buryat Republic, Trans-Baikal Territory, Amur Region, Jewish Autonomous Region, Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories (given below atelno, from west to east). All of them are located in Russia. If you are lucky, then, driving along the Trans-Siberian Railway, you can see signs or posters that fix the administrative boundaries (in the picture on the left - the border of the Chita and Amur regions is marked, 7079 km of the road).

 

4. Nearly ninety cities along the highway

There are 87 cities on the Trans-Siberian Railway: 5 with a population of over 1 million people (Moscow, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Omsk, Novosibirsk), 9 with a population of 300,000 to 1 million (Yaroslavl, Kirov, Tyumen, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita , Khabarovsk, Vladivostok) and 73 cities with a population of less than 300 thousand. The 14 cities through which the Trans-Siberian Railway passes are the centers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the starting point, Moscow, is the capital of Russia. 46 cities and 3 villages are presented on the Internet. Traces of the presence of the remaining 41 cities on the Web have not yet been found.

 

5. Big rivers of Eurasia on our way

On its way, the Transsib crosses 16 major rivers: the Volga, Vyatka, Kama, Tobol, Irtysh, Ob, Tom, Chulym, Yenisei, Oka, Selenga, Zeya, Bureya, Amur, Khor, Ussuri. Of these, Amur is the widest (about 2 km, on the left), since the highway crosses it in the middle reaches. Large rivers such as the Ob and Yenisei are crossed by the railway closer to their upper reaches, so their width at the intersection with the Trans-Siberian Railway is about 1 km. The most dangerous river on the way is the Khor, in the south of the Khabarovsk Territory: during the flood period, it can rise by 9 (!) Meters. The river that caused the most damage to the Trans-Siberian Railway in its entire history should be recognized the Transbaikal River Khilok - during the flood of 1897 it eroded and destroyed most of the western section of the Transbaikal Road.

 

 

6. A unique lake halfway to the Pacific Ocean

For 207 km, the Trans-Siberian Railway runs along Lake Baikal picture on the left). This is the unique, deepest lake in the world (the greatest depth of 1637 m) - the largest reservoir of fresh water on the planet. The shores and surroundings of Lake Baikal are beautiful places where you can enjoy the view of the snowy mountains, stunningly clear water and unique natural attractions. If you travel by train from the west, for the first time Baikal opens to our view 5276 km after the Andrianov pass (from far below), and after 28 km (in front of Slyudyanka-2 station) the road goes down to the lake and comes close to its shore (picture on the right). From the shores of Baikal to the east, the train turns away after Boyarsky station (5499th km), and the last time the luster of lake water through the trees can be seen on the 5518th km of the road.

 

 

7. The most stressful and fast sections

The most intense section of traffic intensity: Omsk - Novosibirsk (in 1985, when the Soviet economy was operating at full capacity, this section was the most heavily loaded on the world railways), it is also one of the fastest and most dull - one steppe and salt lakes. High-speed (passenger train speeds of up to 130-140 km) are also sections located in the West Siberian Lowland: Karbyshevo-1 (west of the Irtysh) - Nazyvaevskaya - Yalutorovsk - Voinovka (in front of Tyumen); Shartash (station in Yekaterinburg) - Bogdanovich - Tyumen. There are small (up to 200 km) high-speed sections west of Khabarovsk (Birobidzhan - Priamurskaya), in the Amur Region (Belogorsk - Zavitaya - Bureya), west of Kirov (Kotelnich-1 - Sharya) and near Moscow (Alexandrov - Yaroslavl-Glavny).

 

8. The highest mounds and slopes

The absolute record holder in this nomination was the Balaysky slope about 100 km east of Krasnoyarsk, the height of the artificial mound is 34 m. Nevertheless, according to observations, it is no longer there - the railway after reconstruction (either before the First World War, or in the 30s of the 20th century) goes differently. We can mention now mounds along the Khilok river valley (in some places more than 20 m), as well as an embankment in the Bolshaya Glubokaya river valley near Glubokaya station (east of Irkutsk).

 

9. The pace of construction of the Great Siberian Way

In terms of pace, the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway construction on the Great Siberian Way (now the Trans-Siberian Railway) was amazing for contemporaries: for 13 and a half years (from March 1891 to September 1904), a continuous rail track was laid for trains from Miass to the South Urals, west of Chelyabinsk, and Kotlas on the banks of the Northern Dvina - to Vladivostok and Port Arthur on the Pacific Ocean. This is all the more significant: after all, the Trans-Siberian steel gauge was laid through large rivers, undeveloped places, passes and sections with permafrost and a heavy profile, and the technical level of construction 100-110 years ago was much lower than the modern one. So, about 9,100 versts, or a little less than 10,000 kilometers (taking into account the adjacent branches built at the same time), was laid with an average construction pace of 740 kilometers per year. This is a high figure even for modern construction. The final completion of construction is through Manchuria, taking into account the commissioning of the Circum-Baikal Railway and the completion of all bridges and tunnels on the route took place in October 1905, so we can assume that this transcontinental railway was built over 14 years; and the average construction rate, taking into account all engineering structures, was approximately 670 kilometers (630 versts) per year.

In just a quarter-century of the construction of the Great Siberian Railway, 12.120 versts of the rail track were laid (including the KVZHD, the South Manchurian line, the sections Miass - Chelyabinsk, Perm - Yekaterinburg, Vyatka - Kotlas and all the branches of the second plan), 3.465 versts of the main run were straightened and strengthened and the second paths were built over 3.655 versts.

 

 

10. The pace and length of the electrification of the road

As of January 1, 2003, the Trans-Siberian Railway is also the longest railway in the world with continuous electrification: a train driven by an electric locomotive can travel from Moscow to Vladivostok, or 9,289 km. However, electrified sections along the way are different - on alternating and direct current. Therefore, theoretically, one electric locomotive (alternating current) can drive from Mariinsk in Western Siberia to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, or 5576 km. The Trans-Siberian Railway is also unique in the rate of electrification: in 1960, 947 km of the main course were electrified.

 

11. The only marble station in the world

The only station in the world built entirely of marble: Slyudyanka-1. It was built in 1904 as a monument crowning the grandiose work of builders and completing the construction of the unique Circum-Baikal Railway. It has survived to this day almost in its original form. This station is located near the shore of Lake Baikal (5311th km of the Trans-Siberian Railway).

 

 

12. Geographic limits

The westernmost station is Moscow-3 (55 ° 45 ′ N, 37 ° 34 ′ E),

The easternmost station is Khabarovsk-2 (48о31 ′ N, 135о10 ′ E),

The southernmost station is Vladivostok (43–07 ′ N, 131–53 ′ E),

The northernmost station is Kirov (58 ° 36 ′ N, 49 ° 38 ′ E).

 

13. Cold pole

The cold pole of the Trans-Siberian Railway is located on the Mogocha-Skovorodino section (left picture). This is not the northernmost (geographically) section, but it is the harshest climatic places on the road - the lowest winter temperatures there reach -62С. There is also a continuous permafrost zone. On the contrary, the mildest climate places are located in the extreme east - in the Vladivostok area. On the shores of the Amur Bay, there are the marine climate and warm winters, but not hot summers. And it should be noted that almost the entire road passes through places with a temperate or harsh climate, so you will not come across subtropics on the way and it is rather difficult to single out the warmest region on the Trans-Siberian...

 

14. Highest points

The highest point above sea level, which the railway rises on the Trans-Siberian Railway, is the Yablonovy Pass in Transbaikalia, the 6110th km between Yablonovaya and Turgutui stations (picture on the left). Height above sea level is 1040 m. The second place in absolute height - at the Kizha station west of the Petrovsky Plant - is more than 900 m (the exact height is unknown). Third, the Andrianov Pass to the west of Lake Baikal is about 900 meters (pictured to the right).

 

  

 

15. Lowest point

The railway in front of Vladivostok for 39 km runs along the shore of the Amur Bay of the Sea of Japan, sometimes for some time moving away from it. But the lowest point - about 4 m above sea level (according to personal observations) - is in the place where the road only approaches the shore of the bay from the side of Ussuriysk, between the stations Amursky Zaliv and Ugolnaya, about 9252 - 9253 km of the road.

 

16. The most rapid slopes

The most rapid on the Trans-Siberian Railway is located between the Andrianovskaya and Slyudyanka-2 stations. It continues from the Andrianovsky pass to the shore of Lake Baikal. Over 30 km, the railway goes down more than 400 meters, and in some sections, such as the Angasol loop and Medlyanskaya and Angasolskaya loops, the slopes reach 17 thousandths. This site was built in 1947-49 and commissioned in 1949. Of the other steep descents, the eastern descent from the Yablonovy pass in Transbaikalia, the eastern descent from the Ob-Yenisei watershed west of Krasnoyarsk, the descent from the Shchebenchikhinsky pass south of the Vyazemskaya station and the descent from the spurs of Small Khingan east of Obluchye station.

 

17. The most gentle road

The longest gentle slope on the highway, without any presence of mountains and hills, was recorded between the Ob and Irtysh rivers (or, more precisely, between Moskovka stations east of Omsk and Novosibirsk-Zapadny station). Its length is about 600 km and the railway is almost straight along its entire length, with the exception of the sometimes smooth bends of the railway of several degrees.

 

18. The longest bridges

The longest bridge on the Trans-Siberian Railway was built in 1913 - 1916 over the Amur River with a length of 2568 m and included 18 spans of 127 meters each with a 200-meter left-bank flyover. In 1999, its dismantling began, and combined automobile - railway bridge with a length of the channel part of 2612 m was built nearby from 1992 to 1999. The site has many pictures of both bridges, as well as the dismantling of the royal bridge. The longest bridges after the Amur - Zeisky (1102 m), Kamsky (945 m), Yenisei (934 m), Ob (820 m), Irtysh (734 m).

 

 

19. The longest tunnels

The longest tunnel is under Amur, parallel to the Amur bridge (length 7198 m, east portal - in the picture on the left). It was built for strategic reasons in 1937-1942. But, since it is parallel to the main passage, and the main passage goes along the Amur bridge, the longest tunnel on the main passenger path of the Trans-Siberian Railway should be Tarmanchukansky, built in 1915. Its length is about 2 km. It is located at 8140 - 8142 km in the spurs of Small Khingan, between Arkhar and Obluchye. In total, 15 tunnels are located on the main course of the Trans-Siberian Railway, one of which is not currently in use (near Ukurey, a bypass has been laid), and another one only on an even route (Kirkidai east of Slyudyanka)

 

20. The largest station

The largest station was built at the Novosibirsk-Glavny Station (3,336 km of the Trans-Siberian Railway) in 1940, before the Great Patriotic War. At the time of completion, this station was the largest in the pre-war USSR. It is made in the characteristic “Stalinist” style with a higher central pediment, and its facade facing the railway is much higher than the opposite - facing the forecourt.

 

21. The most crooked loops

There are many sections with a heavy profile and topography on the Trans-Siberian Railway, but even the most memorable can be distinguished among them. Probably the record in terms of radius of curvature, beauty and length is the Angasol loop on the big descent to Lake Baikal from the west. Its length is about 7 km, and it ends with a tunnel. It is the steepest descent on the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Arteushinskaya loop west of Mogochi is second place, about 5 km long: the two-way railway runs opposite each other for about 2 km and this loop also ends with a small tunnel. Other loops with a small radius of curvature and a length of more than 3 km are the Medlyanskaya loop on the descent to Lake Baikal, Obluchenskaya and Tarmanchukanskaya loops on Maliy Khingan, the loop east of the Bolshoi Never, two loops east of Erofei Pavlovich, two loops west of Krasnoyarsk - behind the Ovinniy station and in front of the Ob watershed -Yenisei.

 

 

22. Construction cost

The cost of laying a continuous rail track from the Urals and the Northern Dvina to the shores of the Pacific Ocean in 1891 - 1905 amounted to almost a billion (more precisely, about 936 million) of gold rubles allocated from the treasury of the Russian Empire. In the future, before the outbreak of the First World War, it was necessary to spend even more than half a billion (almost 519 million) rubles on the construction of a railway on its own territory (Amur Line), on the construction of second tracks, straightening and strengthening the main passage of the Siberian and Ussuri railways. Total, the construction cost of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1891 - 1913 was almost one and a half billion rubles.