Take a Virtual Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railroad

If you are like me, you love trains and subways.  So it was with great excitement that I learned about a new feature on Google Maps that allows you to take a virtual tour or trip from your chair.

Imagine taking a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad in Russia. The full trip is over 5,600 miles and crosses over 7 timezones! That’s the equivalent mileage of flying from NYC to San Francisco and back! And the weather in Siberia is crazy – my friend Svetlana, who lives in the region, is always telling me stories of temps that reach -40F without the wind chill. Currently the weather is forecasted for a high of -25F and a low of -52F. A show on TV last year documented how they built the Trans-Siberian railroad — just an amazing human feat to create the system.

The Google Maps virtual journey from Moscow-Vladivostok takes you through 12 regions and 87 cities. The virtual journey is a partnerhip between Google and the Russian Railways. The trip (see screenshot below) allows you to imagine  yourself on the train looking out the window. You can look at books, listen to the fake train sounds or change the music to a local Russian radio station and a variety of other sounds as well.  I wish they would have recorded the actual train sounds. You can even listen to a recording of War and Peace. The YouTube video allows you to see the video and the Google Maps map below the video lets you see your progress on the trip. There are several camera positions throughout the trip so you can see photos from the location.

Unlike the real railroad, you can jump ahead if there is a certain city you want to “visit”. The only thing that would make this even better would be a train operator cam! So get on board, the train is leaving from Moscow in one minute.