Trans-Siberian Railway because the swampy banks of the Ob River near it were considered inappropriate for a bridge. The railway was laid to the south (instead crossing the Ob at Novonikolaevsk, later renamed Novosibirsk); just a dead-end branch line connected with Tomsk, depriving the city of the prospective transit railway traffic and trade. In March 1890, the Tsarevich (later Tsar Nicholas II) personally inaugurated the construction of the Far East segment of the Trans-Siberian Railway during his stop at Vladivostok, after visiting Japan at the end of his journey around the world. Nicholas II made notes in his diary about his anticipation
Trans-Siberian Orchestra more than 10 million concert tickets and over 10 million albums. The band has released a series of rock operas: "Christmas Eve and Other Stories", "The Christmas Attic", "Beethoven's Last Night", "The Lost Christmas Eve", their two-disc "Night Castle" and "Letters From the Labyrinth". Trans-Siberian Orchestra is also known for their extensive charity work and elaborate concerts, which include a string section, a light show, lasers, "enough pyro to be seen from the International Space Station", moving trusses, video screens, and effects synchronized to music. Both "Billboard Magazine" and "Pollstar" have ranked them as one of the top ten ticket-selling