The foundation stone of the future Trans-Siberian Railway was laid in Vladivostok

On May 19 (May 31, new style), 1891, in the Kuperovskaya Ravine area near Vladivostok, a prayer service was held on the occasion of breaking the ground for the railway. A silver memorial plaque is a reminder that on the same day, tsarevich Nikolai (future emperor Nicholas II) took part in laying the first stone of the railway station in Vladivostok. This ceremony marked the official commencement of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The Trans-Siberian trunk railway is the longest on the planet. Its length is 9,288.2 km. The starting point of the Transsib is the Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, the final point is the Vladivostok station.

The Transsib is of vital importance for the social and economic progress of the country. The mainline, running across most of Eurasia by land, provides access to the railway networks of North Korea, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan in the east, and through Russian ports and border crossings, to European countries in the west.

Today the Trans-Siberian Railway is a powerful double-track electrified railway line equipped with modern control, information and communication facilities. UNECE, UNESCAP, OSJD rank the Trans-Siberian Railway as a priority route in traffic between Europe and Asia for their projects.