The Trans-Siberian railway turns 100: Facts, figures and how it was built

In the late 19th century Russia was a growing world superpower but its influence and trade was located almost entirely in the West, with great cities such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The East of the country, meanwhile was cut off by Russia's huge landmass, with even roads few and far between.

In 1891, Russia's government led by Tsar Nicholas II, ordered that a railway be built between Moscow and Vladivostock, thousands of miles away on Russia's eastern coast and a port in the Sea of Japan.

The result was the Trans-Siberian railway, which traverses seven time zones and 9289 kilometres. It was finally completed in 1916, as the world was at war. 100 years later it remains the world's longest railway line. Last week, Google marked the centenary with a commemorative Doodle featuring animated scenes from the railway.

How was the Trans-Siberian Railway built?

The Russian government had been reluctant to spend money on building a railway linking Siberia to the East in the 1880s, seeing little benefit in the prospect, but proposals to build a railway from the region to outside of Russia worried Moscow enough to force their hand.

For this reason, much of the motivation behind the project was simply to prevent rival trade routes, and for this reason, development was hampered by cost-cutting measures: for example, routes went around cities rather than through them, meaning many centres of commerce were abandoned by the railway.

The railway was built over more than two decades by up to 90,000 labourers including soldiers and convicts. Much of the line was completed by the early 20th century, but the route originally went through China finishing touches were not made until 1916.

Because the railway was built on the cheap, it hampered Russia in various conflicts before World War I, specifically the Russo-Japanes war of 1904-5.