On August 28, 1851, continuous railway traffic between St. Petersburg and Moscow was opened. The Nikolaev Railway was the third railway in the Russian Empire. It became the first state-owned double-track railway in the empire and marked the beginning of the creation of a nationwide railway network. The railway's length was 645 km. During the construction, the supervisors were unable to control the contractors regarding labor and material payments. For instance, workers who won the bid to supply railway sleepers at the price of 1 ruble 50 kopecks per piece purchased the sleepers from their contractors at 70 kopecks, who in turn paid subcontractors only 27 kopecks per piece. The construction of the St. Petersburg-Moscow railway cost 67 million rubles, while the budget of the entire Russian Empire was only 187 million rubles.