Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Trans-Siberian Railway spans over 9,288 kilometers, making it the longest railway line in the world. It runs from Moscow in the west to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast in the east, crossing eight time zones.
Construction began on the 19th of May 1891, when Tsarevich Nicholas inaugurated work in Vladivostok. Building continued under the supervision of ministers appointed by Alexander III and Nicholas II, and the line reached full continental connection with the completion of the Amur River Line in 1916.
The journey from Moscow to Vladivostok takes eight days by rail. The route covers 9,289 kilometers and spans eight time zones.
During World War II, the railway served as the backbone of the Pacific Route, carrying American Lend-Lease supplies from Vladivostok into the Soviet Union. The Pacific Route carried as much freight as the North Atlantic-Arctic and Iranian routes combined. The railway also moved Soviet industries from European Russia to Siberia between 1941 and 1942 to protect them from the German advance.
The Baikal-Amur Mainline, known as BAM, is a fourth primary route that branches off the Trans-Siberian at Taishet, passes Lake Baikal at its northernmost point, crosses the Amur River at Komsomolsk-na-Amure, and reaches the Tatar Strait at Sovetskaya Gavan. It was completed in 1991 after more than five decades of intermittent construction.
The single-track railway severely limited Russia's ability to supply its forces during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Westbound trains carrying wounded soldiers blocked eastbound trains with troops and ammunition, reducing both the number of soldiers Russia could deploy and the speed of resupply. Japan, with shorter supply lines, was able to exploit these delays to attack and advance.