The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East. With a length of 9,289 kilometres (5,772 miles), it was the longest railway line in the world before the construction of the Yiwu–Madrid railway line. There are connecting branch lines into Mongolia, China and North Korea. It has connected Moscow with Vladivostok since 1916, and is still being expanded.
It was built between 1891 and 1916 under the supervision of Russian government ministers personally appointed by Tsar Alexander III and his son, the Tsarevich Nicholas. Even before it had been completed, it attracted travellers who wrote of their adventures.
Taking eight days to complete the journey, it is the third-longest single continuous service in the world.