Trans-Siberian Railway of travelling in the comfort of "the tsar's train" across the unspoiled wilderness of Siberia. The tsar's train was designed and built in St. Petersburg to serve as the main mobile office of the tsar and his staff for travelling across Russia. On 9 March 1891, the Russian government issued an imperial rescript in which it announced its intention to construct a railway across Siberia. Tsarevich Nicholas (later Tsar Nicholas II) inaugurated the construction of the railway in Vladivostok on 19 May that year. The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was overseen by Sergei Witte, who was then finance minister.
Return of the Chinese Eastern Railway China National Railways, the Soviet Union was able to maintain trade access to China at lower cost. Furthermore, the CCR was significantly underdeveloped compared to the remainder of the Soviet Trans-Siberian Railway (which was being rapidly modernized after World War II). All of these factors combined to make returning the railway to China a cheaper bargain than upgrading and integrating the CCR into the Soviet Railway system. Ultimately the strategic loss of the CCR was more than made up for by the strategic benefits of the new Sino-Soviet Alliance. These benefits were seen both immediately with the Korean War but