HIROSHIMA, Japan — Mazda Motor has announced it will start shipping vehicles to Russia via Trans-Siberian Railroad (TSR). The method sounds like a step backward in transportation, but actually it can cut delivery time by as much as 30 days to the newly car-hungry country, Mazda says. Mazda says it is the first automaker to use the TSR as a regular auto-delivery method.Mazda started testing the railroad route last September with test vehicles in conjunction with Mazda rail provider RailTransAuto. Until now, the automaker brought vehicles in to Russia by ship and over land from the west. Mazda logistics and customer service Vice President Jørgen Olesen said the Trans-Siberian Railroad will 'supplement existing delivery' to 'help meet high demand for Mazda cars in Russia, and to lower overall delivery times to customers.'Mazda will put its vehicles, wrapped in a 'comprehensive wrap guard,' onto the 5,778-mile-long Zarubino-to-Moscow route. The vehicles will start at the Japan assembly site, either Hiroshima or Hofu, and be shipped to the starting point in Zarubino — near Vladivostock — on dedicated 30-car trains with fully closed rail cars.The railway delivery method will get Mazdas to Moscow in 10 days, which Mazda says is 'as fast as a passenger train.'The Trans-Siberian Railroad is a vast network of railways connecting Moscow and western parts of Russia with the eastern provinces of the huge country as well as China, Mongolia and the Sea of Japan. It was built starting in the late 19th century with the support of Czar Alexander II. One of its main routes spans eight time zones.What this means to you: Speedy delivery with a little exotic charm added, and a time-saving move that will surely be noticed and copied by other Asian automakers. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent