Round the clock on the steel roads of our planet train trains rush. Statistics have estimated that around 20 billion passengers and more than 10,000 billion tons of cargo are transported annually around the world. If you add together the length of all the distances covered in a year, the sum will be equal to 66 million turns around the Earth. But this is not all the exploits that technology and human thought are capable of. If the United States, China, and Russia are among the three leaders in terms of the length of railways, other countries are also fighting for victory in the nomination “The Longest Train in the World”.
Records from Africa and China
An attempt to assemble a heavy-duty and roomy freight train was made in 1991 in South Africa. 660 wagons were connected to several locomotives; the distance from the head to the tail of the railway train designed to transport iron ore was 7.2 kilometers. It is reported that the giant made only one flight, after which it was dismantled.
The hardworking Chinese people did not chase the breadth of scope, satisfied with more modest results. But on the other hand, the longest train of 210 wagons, with a total length of 3 kilometers and locomotives with a capacity of 20,000 tons, still runs along the roads of China. This train is intended for transportation of coal and building materials.
Competition between the USA and Russia
In the United States, the largest train is considered to be a 5.6 km train owned by Union Pacific. However, it was just an experimental assembly, created in 2010 with the goal of testing the power of new locomotives. The train, which completed one flight from Dallas to Long Beach, was soon divided into several parts.
But in the Soviet Union in the 80s, a freight train with 439 wagons containing 43.5 thousand tons of coal moved along the roads of Kuzbass. The length of this railway colossus was 6.5 kilometers, which significantly reduced the speed of movement in comparison with conventional trains.
Australian giants
The green continent also boasts one of the longest rolling stocks in the world, owned by the mining company Rio Tinto. The train is used to transport iron ore, while simultaneously carrying 29,500 tons of cargo. To set the engines in motion behind wagons with a total length of 2.4 km, three powerful locomotives are attached, which push the train ahead of them.
Another record belongs to the Australian company BHP Billiton, also specializing in mining. It operates a train of 365 wagons with a length of 3.2 kilometers, capable of transporting up to 44,500 tons of cargo per trip. It takes six to eight locomotives to move the giant. However, this is not the longest train in the world.
Giant from Mauritania
The title "longest freight train" rightfully belongs to the train, moving along a monorail in the Republic of Mauritania, which is located in West Africa. A part of the 700 km route passes through the sands of the Sahara desert. From the starting station to the final point, the train moves for 21 hours.
The total length of two hundred cars driven by four locomotives reaches 2.5 km. Sometimes another 10 cars are attached to the train, due to which its length is increased by another 300 meters. The train is used to transport coal and oil tanks. There are also cars for passengers. But the local population, not wanting to pay the fare, mostly travels in freight containers, which is absolutely free and does not contradict the laws of the country.
Super-accommodating trains for travel enthusiasts
The longest passenger train, consisting of 70 wagons with a length of 1.6 km, belonged to the National Railway Company of Belgium. The train made one flight between the cities of Ghent and Ostend, having covered a little more than six kilometers. It was a one-time charity event, all the proceeds from which went to the foundation of a research institute dealing with oncology problems. The record was set in 1991, travel reports of an unusual train were broadcast live on Belgium television.
The longest passenger train in operation today is Ghan, linking several Australian cities. Typically, 16-26 cars are attached to a locomotive, but sometimes their total number can reach up to 99, which increases the length of the train to 1.2 kilometers. This giant spends more than two days on the journey, the length of the route is about 3000 km.
His little victory was won by the Russian Sapsan, plying the route Moscow ─ Petersburg. In 2014, the length of a double bundle of 20 cars was measured. The figure of 500.2 m allowed Sapsan to receive the nomination "the longest train in the world among high-speed rolling stocks."
The absolute leader among the great brothers
Most of the great railroad achievements are Australia. The BHP mining company in 2001 launched the longest train in the world linking Yandi mine with Port Hedland in the western part of the Green Continent. A train with 682 wagons of 7.3 kilometers in length contained about 181 million pounds of iron ore.
The total weight of the loaded giant reached 99.734 tons. Eight locomotives of General Electric AC6000CW with a capacity of 6000 liters moved it along a route of 275 km. from. each.
Today, this record is not broken by anyone. But it is quite possible that in the near future the wheels of a new super-train will rattle on rails somewhere in the world.