The Trans-Siberian Railway links Moscow with Vladivostok on the Pacific. How long is the line, in kilometres?
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Answer
About 9,300 km
The journey takes about six days without getting off the train, and the local time changes seven times along the way.
How to estimate it
Moscow sits at 37 degrees east and Vladivostok at 132, so they are 95 degrees of longitude apart. At 55 degrees north a degree of longitude is 111 × 0.57 = 64 km, giving 95 × 64 = 6,100 km in a straight line. Railways bend around mountains, lakes and borders, adding about 40 percent: 6,100 × 1.4 = 8,500 km. The actual line is about 9,300 km long.
Source: Russian Railways; Encyclopaedia Britannica
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