And ocean-going shipping more generally has become a more attractive option because of containerization. The world's longest railway line, Russia's Trans-Siberian Railroad, is languishing and Moscow has just put off funding upgrades for yet another year, despite October 2016 being the centenary of its completion. This is partly due to Russia's economic difficulties but also because it is increasingly being viewed as reaching the end of its use-by date. In a recent interview with Russian news agency Interfax, President Vladimir Putin said that he was "convinced that we will be able to complete our work on this line in 2022". It will end up being marginalised by China and Japan, on the one hand, and Europe, on the other, in the burgeoning trade between the two areas.
The world's longest railway line, Russia's Trans-Siberian Railroad, is languishing and Moscow has just put off funding upgrades for yet another year, despite October 2016 being the centenary of its completion. This is partly due to Russia's economic difficulties but also because it is increasingly being viewed as reaching the end of its use-by date. In a recent interview with Russian news agency Interfax, President Vladimir Putin said that he was "convinced that we will be able to complete our work on this line in 2022". It will end up being marginalised by China and Japan, on the one hand, and Europe, on the other, in the burgeoning trade between the two areas.