Siberian Intervention powers, since it allowed Germany to shift troops and war material from its eastern front to the west. Also, 50,000 man Czechoslovak Legion, fighting on the side of the Allied Powers, was now behind enemy lines, and was attempting to fight its way out through the east to Vladivostok along the Bolshevik-held Trans-Siberian Railway. Faced with these concerns, the United Kingdom and France decided to intervene in the Russian Civil War against the Bolsheviks. They had three objectives: The British and French asked the United States to furnish troops for both the North Russia Campaign and the Siberian Campaign. In
Trans-Siberian Railway typical cargo transit time from Japan to major destinations in European Russia was reported as around 25 days. According to a 2009 report, the best travel times for cargo block trains from Russia's Pacific ports to the western border (of Russia, or perhaps of Belarus) were around 12 days, with trains making around per day, at a maximum operating speed of . However, in early 2009, Russian Railways announced an ambitious "Trans-Siberian in Seven Days" programme; according to this plan, $11 billion will be invested over the next five years to make it possible for goods traffic to cover the