Circum-Baikal Railway commences regular operations

The Circum-Baikal Railway is a unique monument of industrial architecture of the 20th century, which reflects the history of the construction and operation of the Great Siberian Route.

The construction of the Circum-Baikal section of the Trans-Siberian Railway got underway in 1902. Although the shortest in length, the Circum-Baikal Railway surpassed all the railways of the world in terms of amount, variety and complexity of technical challenges that its builders had to rise to. Laid between rocky cliffs on the north and the waters of Lake Baikal on the south, it is arguably the most scenic railways in the world.

The Circum-Baikal Railway boasts engineering structures galore, including 40 tunnels (38 are currently in use), 16 avalanche galleries built of stone (15 survived, now 5 are in use), 3 avalanche galleries built of reinforced concrete, 249 bridges and viaducts, 268 retaining walls and 172 architectural monuments.

On October 16, 1905, the last section of the Circum-Baikal railway from Baikal station to Kultuk station was put into operation. This date marked the completion of the Circum-Baikal Railway from Irkutsk to Mysovaya.