the Swiss Rhätische Bahn sets the world record length for a passenger train

from Railway Gazette International.

On 29 October the Rhätische Bahn successfully ran a special service formed of 25 four-car Capricorn electric multiple-units to claim a record for the world’s longest passenger train. The event was staged as part of a series of celebrations to mark 175 years of railways in Switzerland, and in a bid to boost tourist traffic following the coronavirus pandemic.

The 1.906 km [1.18 mile] long train was operated over a steeply graded section of the 89 km Albula line from St Moritz to Chur, which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The special departed from Preda at 14:20, 20 minutes later than scheduled, and crossed the 65 meter high Landwasser viaduct near Filisur before completing its 24∙93 km journey at Alvaneu at about 15:30. Actual running time was around 46 minutes. En route the train traversed 48 bridges and viaducts and passed through 22 tunnels on the meter gauge route

The 100-vehicle formation of Stadler-built trainsets grossed 2,990 tonnes. Regenerative braking was used to control the train on the downhill route ― the difference in height from the starting point to Alvaneu was nearly 790 meters.

Speed was limited to 35 km/h, partly to avoid overloading the power supply system ― around 4,000 kWh were generated during the descent. Passage of the train was monitored from the RhB network control centre in Landquart.

On board the train were seven drivers, 21 technicians and 150 guests. Around 3,000 people watched the train from a dedicated festive viewing site near Bergün where the train halted for 10 min ― tickets for the event were sold out within a few days after they were offered for sale in early August.

The previous record for the world’s longest passenger train was established on April 27 1991 when a 1.732 km long train formed of 70 coaches and a single Class 27 electric locomotive ran from Gent to Oostende in Belgium.

BHP Iron Ore set a world record for the longest freight train on 21 June 2001 when it operated a 7∙3 km [4.5 mile] long train formed of 682 wagons between Yandi mine and Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of western Australia; hauled by eight General Electric AC6000CW diesel locomotives, that train had a gross weight of 99,734 tonnes.

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