During the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the bridge across the Ob River was built far to the south of Tomsk. As a result, a new settlement was founded near the bridge, which grew into the city of Novosibirsk. Tomsk was far from the railway and despite the fact that later it was connected by railroad with the Trans-Siberian railway, it was a dead-end railroad and the town lost its role as a transport hub.
