Longest trains


The length of a train may be measured in number of wagons or in metres for general freight. On electrified railways, particularly those using lower-voltage systems such as 3 kV DC and 1.5 kV DC, train lengths and loads are often limited by traction and power supply constraints. Other limiting factors include drawgear strength, coupling systems, track curvature, gradients, and the lengths of crossing loops.
The development of distributed power—where locomotives are placed mid-train or at the rear of the consist and remotely controlled from the lead unit—has enabled the operation of very long freight trains, sometimes exceeding in length. By distributing traction and braking forces more evenly throughout the train, this configuration allows for longer and heavier consists while reducing the risk of derailment, particularly on curves.
The longest train to date was a bulk iron ore train operated by BHP in Western Australia in 2001 that was long and had 682 wagons pulled by 8 locomotives.

Bulk

  • Australia
  • *BHP iron ore train has typically 268 cars and a train weight of 43,000 tonnes carrying 24,200 tonnes of iron ore, long, two SD70ACe locomotives at the head of the train and two remote controlled SD70ACe locomotives as mid-train helpers.
  • ** BHP used to run 44,500-tonne, 336-car long iron ore trains over long, with six to eight locomotives including an intermediate remote unit. This operation seems to have ceased since the trunk line was fully double tracked in May 2011.
  • *Leigh Creek coal—, formerly ran as 161 wagons and three locomotives.
  • * Cane tramway – 75 wagons.
  • Brazil
  • *Carajás Railway gauge iron ore trains are typically 330 cars long, totaling in length.
  • *VLI Grain with 160 hopper cars, or 80 hoppers plus 72 FTTs totaling about long.
  • China
  • * Datong–Qinhuangdao railway is a dedicated coal-transport railway. Every day 50 pairs of long trains consisting of 210 wagons and two HXD1 locomotives use the line. Each train hauls over 20,000 tons of coal.
  • Mauritania
  • * Iron ore trains on the Mauritania Railway are up to in length. They consist of 2 diesel-electric EMD locomotives, 200 to 210 cars each carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore, and 2-3 service cars.
  • South Africa
  • *Sishen–Saldanha railway line ore trains on –
  • Ukraine
  • * 12,000 tonnes

General

Special test runs

These are one-off runs, sometimes specifically to set records.

Bulk (ore, coal etc)

General cargo

  • SNCF, Intermediate locomotives in a long train – trial
  • trial trains

Passenger

  • Kijfhoek–Eindhoven, Netherlands. In 1989, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen celebrated their 150th anniversary. On 19 February 1989, NS ran a test train with 60 passenger cars, of which only the first 14 cars held actual passengers, pulled by one 1500 V DC locomotive. Twenty years later, in 2009, Railz Miniworld repeated the stunt on a smaller scale, inside their exhibition in Rotterdam.
  • Ghent–Ostend, Belgium. On 27 April 1991, one electric locomotive and 70 passenger cars held a charity run for the Belgian Cancer Fund, exceeding the Dutch record.
  • Rhaetian Railway, Switzerland. On 29 October 2022, the Rhaetian Railway celebrated the 175th anniversary of Swiss railways with an hour-long, journey from Preda to Alvaneu in southeast Switzerland. The train had 25 4-car ABe 4/16 "Capricorn" EMUs, totalling 100 coaches with a total length of ; it ran on a narrow-gauge railway over several switchbacks and long curves.