Crossing seven time zones, between Moscow and Vladivostok, the 5,772-mile train track blazes a trail through some of the bleakest and most beautiful landscapes on Earth.
In an epoch of low-cost air fares, the world's longest railway continues to exert a hold over travellers; it still tops bucket lists, still pulls in the tourists. It also remains a lifeline for millions of Russians.
Completed in October 1916 – exactly 100 years ago – the Trans-Siberian Railway helped shape the Russia we know today, though its influence can be felt much further afield, not least in Japan, China and Europe.
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