Before 1880, the central government had virtually ignored these projects, because of the weakness of Siberian enterprises, a clumsy bureaucracy, and fear of financial risk.
Eden od prvih je bil projekt Irkutsk-Čita, ki ga je predlagal ameriški podjetnik Perry Collins in podprl prometni minister Konstantin Possiet z pogledom proti povezavi Moskve in reke Amur, in posledično, do Tihega oceana.