It’s always interesting to come across unusual photosets on Flickr taken by tourists visiting Russia. We like to see photos that are not of the same exact thing that thousands of other tourists have posted.  Colin (Billogs), being a “bus, tram and trolleybus enthusiast,” took a lot of interesting photos of public transport on his trip around Russia.  He grabed many of these photos while on guided walking tours.  Here are a few that we found particularly intersting.  Thanks for sharing, Billogs!

A school bus in Uglich. These are a pretty rare sight in Russia, but are becoming more popular.

A modern tram in Nizhny Novgorod.

Nizhny Novgorod Trolleybus

Marshrutka in Samara

Interesting tram in Samara.

One of the brand new trams in St. Petersburg.

Double decker city tour bus in St. Petersburg.

Find many more transport photos by Billogs in his Russian Public Road Transport set on Flickr.

A great example of the funny things you can see while riding on Russian public transportation!

Balloons by Yuri Timofeyev

The UK based company GW Travel Limited is launching a new luxury train service on the Trans-Siberian railroad. With tickets ranging in price from $10,000 to $17,000, you’re unlikely to see many backpackers or traditional Trans-Siberian tourists on this train.

The Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express will accommodate guests in 12 new sleeping cars that are made up of Gold and Silver classes. The six Gold class feature modern en-suite amenities including power showers and under floor heating. Cabins are equipped with state-of the-art DVD/CD players, LCD TV screens, audio system, individual air conditioning, and wardrobe space.

You could choose to travel in a Silver class car, but they are equipped with smaller shower areas.

The Golden Eagle’s inaugural departure is on 6 May, 2007, and the 14 night journey will leave from Moscow, travelling more than 6,000 miles (10,000 kms) to its final destination, Vladivostok, on the Sea of Japan.

Link: GW Travel Limited – Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express
Link: New York Times – A New Luxury Train on Trans-Siberian Route
Link: Reuters – All aboard Russia’s luxury hotel on wheels
Link: Wikipedia – Trans-Siberian Railway

Last week in Russia, backers of a plan to build a massive transportation network connecting Siberia to North America once again floated an age old idea of building a tunnel under the Bering Strait. The plan was apparently first conceived more than 100 years ago by officials of Russian tsar Nicholas II. Supporters of the plan said it would cost about $65 billion to build the system.

Read More: Reuters – RPT-Russia-Alaska tunnel is far off, if not a pipe dream
Read More: Russia Blog – Bering Strait Tunnel – It’s Possible, but is it Affordable?

St. Petersburg is known for its many waterways and bridges. Petersburg-bridges.com presents a history of these bridges. The site features many old photographs and a detailed history of Petersburg bridges.

Link: petersburg-bridges.com