A proposal for a new Trans-Siberian railway that would connect Russia to Japan opens a much closer probability of a travel by train from London to Tokyo - and vice versa.
In a report by Travel and Leisure, a local Japanese newspaper wrote about the Russian and Japanese government talk about linking the two countries together via railway. This is in line with Russia's plan of developing the Far East region which economically lags behind the rest of the country. Japan on the other hand is also amenable to this development as a way of promoting tourism in the country. The government plans to increase the number of tourists in the by 100% come 2020's Tokyo Olympics.
This planned expansion, as explained by the Dailymail, would bypass Vladivostok, the famous Trans-Siberian railway's current endpoint. A four-mile bridge or tunnel would then link the city of Khabarovsk to the Russian Pacific Island of Sakhalin, and then a 26 mile tunnel would be constructed to connect it to the Hokkaido, Japan's northern tip.
The Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok that runs a distance of 6,152 miles, is a popular travel experience. According to the Telegraph, this travel is commonly said to be the longest you can make on a single train. With this route, you get to see Kazan, the only remaining Tatar fortress in Russia, the famous Kremlin and Irkutsk, also known as the "Paris of Siberia."
If ever this partnership comes to fruition, the travel by train from London to Tokyo, passing different European and Russian landmarks would be such an amazing itinerary. Aside from experiencing something that could only happen in movies, like meeting and spending the entire week with a stranger you just met in a train while reading a book, you also get the bragging rights of traveling two continents in one sitting.
