Trans-Siberian Railway

Topic: World Transport and Communication · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Transport and Communication"

Meaning

The Trans-Siberian Railway is Russia's main railway across Asia. It runs west to east from St Petersburg on the Baltic Sea (Moscow is often named as the start) to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast (Sea of Japan). At 9,332 km (NCERT), it is the world's longest double-tracked and electrified trans-continental railway.

It is the most important route in Asia. It joined Russia's far Pacific coast to Moscow, and it opened up Siberia's wealth to West European markets.

Explanation

Why it was built

• Trans-continental railway: a railway that crosses a whole continent and links its two ends, usually one coast to the other.
• Economic reason: opening up Siberia
• Siberia is a huge, remote interior that is rich in timber, furs, grain and minerals.
• Before the railway, these goods could not easily reach a port or a market.

• The railway carried them west to West European markets.

• Political reason: holding the country together

• Russia stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific.

• The line tied the distant Pacific coast (Vladivostok) to the capital region (Moscow).

• Completion: the line was finished in 1916. This was a turning point in Siberian history [3].

Route and the barriers it crosses (Fig. 7.5, NCERT)

• Stations, west to east: St Petersburg → Moscow → Ufa → Novosibirsk → Irkutsk → Chita → Khabarovsk → Vladivostok.
• Ural Mountains
• The Urals divide European Russia from Asian Russia.

• Ufa lies on the European side, just before the line crosses the Urals.

• Ob and Yenisei rivers

• Both are large Siberian rivers that flow north into the Arctic Ocean.

• The railway runs east–west, so it has to bridge both of them.

• Lake Baikal: the line passes Irkutsk, which lies near this lake.

Main features

• Double-tracked: the line has two parallel tracks. Trains going in opposite directions do not have to wait for each other, so more trains can run.
• Electrified: trains run on electric power along the route.
• Key centres on the line:
• Chita: an agro-centre (a town that trades in farm produce).

• Irkutsk: a fur centre, near Lake Baikal.

• Branch lines to the south: the main line has branches to:

• Odessa (Ukraine)
• Baku (Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea)
• Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
• Ulan Bator (Mongolia)
• Shenyang (Mukden) and Beijing (China)

The Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM): a northern partner line

• What it is: a line that runs parallel to the Trans-Siberian, further north.
• Route: about 3,200 km, from Ust-Kut on the Lena River to Komsomolsk-na-Amure on the Amur [2].
• When it was built: mainly 1974 to 1989. It opened in 1989 [2].
• Why it matters: it gives Russia a second route to the Pacific, further away from the Chinese border.

Where it occurs

• Country: Russia. It crosses both European Russia and Asian Russia (Siberia).
• Western end: St Petersburg, on the Baltic Sea. Moscow is often taken as the start.
• Eastern end: Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast (Sea of Japan).
• Places along the line:
• Ufa: on the European side of the Urals.
• Novosibirsk: in western Siberia.
• Irkutsk: near Lake Baikal, a fur centre.
• Chita: an agro-centre.

• Khabarovsk: in the Far East, before Vladivostok.

• Physical features crossed: the Ural Mountains, the Ob and the Yenisei.

• Links beyond Russia: branch lines run to Ukraine (Odessa), Azerbaijan (Baku), Uzbekistan (Tashkent), Mongolia (Ulan Bator) and China (Shenyang, Beijing).
• Today: China–Europe freight trains under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) now carry goods over much of the old Trans-Siberian and Central Asian corridors.

Don't confuse with

• Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM): the BAM is a separate northern line, about 3,200 km long, from Ust-Kut (Lena) to Komsomolsk-na-Amure (Amur). It opened in 1989 [2]. The Trans-Siberian is the older, longer line, completed in 1916 [3].
• Trans-Canadian Railway: it runs east to west from Halifax (Atlantic) to Vancouver (Pacific) and is 7,050 km long. The Trans-Siberian runs west to east and is longer, at 9,332 km.
• Orient Express: a European line (started 1883) from Paris to Istanbul. It does not cross Asia, and it ends at the Bosphorus, not the Pacific.
• Trans-Asiatic / Trans-Asian Railway: NCERT's proposed Istanbul–Bangkok line runs through Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It crosses southern Asia, while the Trans-Siberian crosses northern Asia (Siberia).

Prelims Hooks

• Longest double-tracked, electrified trans-continental railway: Trans-Siberian, 9,332 km (NCERT), completed in 1916 [3].
• Correct west-to-east order: St Petersburg – Moscow – Ufa – Novosibirsk – Irkutsk – Chita – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok.
• Trap: Chita = agro-centre. Irkutsk = fur centre (near Lake Baikal). Do not swap them.
• Barriers crossed: the Ural Mountains and the Ob and Yenisei rivers. Both rivers flow north into the Arctic Ocean.
• Oceans at each end: Baltic Sea (St Petersburg) and the Pacific / Sea of Japan (Vladivostok).
• Northern parallel line: the Baikal-Amur Mainline runs from Ust-Kut (Lena) to Komsomolsk-na-Amure (Amur). It is about 3,200 km long and opened in 1989 [2].

Mains Points

• Nation-building role (GS-I): the railway tied Russia's distant Pacific coast to Moscow.
• It held together a country that stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific.
• Its completion in 1916 was a turning point in Siberian history [3].

• The BAM later added a second route to the Pacific, further from the Chinese border [2].

• Economic role (GS-I): it opened up a remote interior to world markets.

• Siberian timber, furs, grain and minerals reached West European markets.
• Towns along the line grew into trade centres, such as Chita (farm trade) and Irkutsk (fur).

• Branch lines carried trade south to Central Asia, Mongolia and China.

• Changing role today (GS-III, infrastructure): like other trans-continental lines, it has lost traffic to air and road.

• It now depends more on bulk freight.
• New corridors use much of its route, such as China–Europe freight trains under BRI.

Related concepts

• Trans-continental railway
• Trans-Canadian Railway
• Union and Pacific Railway
• Australian Trans-Continental Railway
• Orient Express
• Trans-Asian Railway

Read more

• Trans-continental railways