What is the world's longest railway line?

The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest railway line, running roughly 9,289 kilometres from Moscow to Vladivostok.

Construction began in 1891 under the Russian Empire and transformed travel, trade, and settlement across Siberia. The main route crosses the Ural Mountains, the vast Siberian interior, and several major rivers before reaching Russia’s Pacific coast. Much of the line was completed by 1916, though upgrades and modernization have continued ever since.

The railway is not a single named passenger train. It is a long rail corridor on which multiple services operate, including trains connecting Moscow and Vladivostok. Some celebrated journeys use related routes through Mongolia or China, but those are technically branches or variations of the broader Trans-Siberian system.

The Trans-Siberian is also often confused with the Orient Express or America’s first transcontinental railroad. Those routes are historically famous, but neither approaches the Trans-Siberian’s total length.