THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVIII, Issue 11463, 29 December 1897, Page 5

THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY.

A HEW ROUTE TO AUSTRALIA. United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—' Copyright. Eeceived Dec. 28, 9.40 a.m. LONDON, Dec. 27. The Standard states i hat the TransSiberian Railway will enable the journey between England and Australia to be shortened by ten days.. The journal advises the P. and O. Company to reduce the voyage be-* tween England and Bombay, and the* return journey from Australia ter Colombo by six days, suggesting the construction of a railway across India as an alternative. [The railway connection between Eussia and Siberia forms the /greatest railway scheme in the world. After considerable deliberation a commission appointed by the Government of Eussia decided in favour of a complete railway, the length of which, will be over 4700 miles, or about-twice as long as the Canadian-Pacific. The total cost, including rolling stock, &c., has been variously estimated between fiftythree and fifty - five millions sterling. The first sod was cut at Vladivostock on May 24, 1891. To facilitate the work of, construction the line was divided into three parts. The first starts from the European frontier in the Ural, and runs eastward; the second from Vladivostock, on the Pacific, runningwest; while the third is the middle section, near Lake Baikal, and is to join the other two. It was reported in February, 1896, thatfrom Tebelyabinsk about 1280 miles of railway were being usedior traffic, while later in the year it was stated that it was possible to travel between. Moscow and Omsk without changing carriages. The opening of the Western Siberian line from Tebelyabinsk to the river Obi (889 miles), and the branch from Tebelyabinsk northward to Ekaterinburg (158 miles), for regular traffic took place Oct. 27, 1896. The latter runs along the crest of the Urals, unites with the isolated Uralsk railway, and taps the metallurgical riches of the region. Engineering of Oct. 23, 1896, stated that 70,000 men were employed on the great Siberian railway, and that the Russian Treasury proposed to spend 82,24*8,170 roubles during the year on the prosecution of the scheme. The unbroken line between St Petersburg and Vladivostock was expected to be completed by the first day of the next century.]