Traffic on Trans-Siberian Railway halted after bridge collapse

By Euronews

Traffic on the world's longest railway has been blocked after a bridge collapsed following heavy rain and flooding.

Dozens of trains remain stuck on the 9,289-kilometre Trans-Siberian Railway, officials said on Friday.

No one was hurt when part of the bridge collapsed near Nizhnyaya Kuenga in the Trans-Baikal region east of Lake Baikal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged authorities to quickly restore the service and pledged that trains would be moving again in two-and-a-half days.

A second link should also resume operations in five days, Putin said, adding that officials have been instructed to urgently ensure an uninterrupted supply of food and other essential items to the regions affected.

Connecting the Russian capital city, Moscow, to Vladivostok, the Trans-Siberian Railway spans eight time zones across the country.