Question: What is the longest railway?

Longest trains



The length of a train, including the longest trains, may be measured in number of wagons (for bulk loads such as coal and iron ore) or in metres for general freight. Train lengths and loads on electrified railways, especially lower voltage 3000 V DC and 1500 V DC, are limited by traction power considerations. Drawgear and couplings can be a limiting factor, tied in with curves, gradients and crossing loop lengths.
Conventional freight trains in the US can average nearly 2,000 metres (6,600ft).[1] Freight trains with a total length of three or four times that average are possible with the advent of distributed power, or additional locomotive units between or behind long chains of freight cars (referred to as a "consist"). Locomotive units enable much longer, heavier loads without the increased risks of derailing that stem from the stress of pulling very long chains of train-cars around curves.
Bulk

Rail gauge: 1,435mm (4ft81⁄2in) except where shown.
Australia
Rio Tinto—29,500 tonnes of iron ore—2.4km, three locomotives
BHP Billiton iron ore train has typically 268cars and a train weight of 43,000tonnes carrying 24,200tonnes of iron ore, 2.8km long, two SD70ACe locomotives at the head of the train and two remote controlled SD70ACe locomotives as mid-train helpers[3]
BHP Billiton used to run iron ore trains of 336 car length, 44,500 tonnes of iron ore, over 3km long, six to eight locomotives including intermediate remote unit. This operation seems to have ceased since the trunk line was fully double tracked in May 2011.[4]
The record-breaking ore train from the same company, 682 cars and 7,300m long, once carried 82,000 metric tons of ore for a total weight of the train, largest in the world, of 99734 tonnes. It was driven by eight locomotives distributed along its length to keep the couplings loads and curve performance controllable.[5]
Leigh Creek coal—2.8km, 161 wagons and 2 locomotives.[6][7]
Cane tramway – 75 wagons (610mm (2ft) gauge) [8]
Brazil
Carajás Railway 1,600mm (5ft3in) gauge iron ore typically 330-car trains, each 3km long.[9]
VLI 1,600mm (5ft3in) Grain with 160 Hopper or 80 Hopper+72 FTTs (for pulp transport) about 3.2km (2 mile) long [10]
China
Daqin Railway coal trains—20,000t, 3.2km, 210 wagons
Mauritania—3km[11]—iron ore from Zouérat—trains lurch violently when accelerating or braking
Indonesia (proposed)
Muara Wahau coal to Bengalon port — 2196m[12]
South Africa
Sishen–Saldanha railway line ore trains on 1,067mm (3ft6in) — 4100m[13]
General


4200m – Canada – double-stack container trains reaching 4200m are regularly operated by Canadian National Railway systemwide with distributed power diesel electric locomotives. General cargo trains are limited to 3700m, and bulk trains are limited to 3000m but up to 20,700 tons
3658m – United States – Trains are limited by air brake capability. electronically controlled pneumatic braked (180 wagons) – AAR Standard S-4200.[14]
1800m – Australia—Parkes–Perth–Adelaide–Darwin—(limited by 1800m crossing loops)
1524m – France – intermediate locomotive – trial [15]
1500m – Australia—Adelaide–Melbourne–Sydney–Brisbane—(limited by 1500m crossing loops; some loops to be extended to 1800m)
1500m – UIC standard double length train
1222m – The Bangalore–Dharmavaram goods train (India)[16]—The train runs between Bangalore and Dharmavaram almost every day. There is no stop for this train, and there is no railway station on this route which can accommodate the whole train on a single track or platform.Indian Railways term this as increased vehicle length (IVL). This reduces the traffic in this single-lined region; two goods train attached back to back, each train is led by two diesel electric locomotives.
1000m
The Netherlands–Germany—trial trains of this length[17]
Saudi Arabia 1000m double stack[18]
835m—In Denmark and to Hamburg, Germany; 2 locomotives and 82 waggons.[19][20]
800m—RVR in East Africa (Kenya–Uganda) to introduce longer trains, which needs longer crossing loops.
750m – Normal for mainlines in several countries in Europe.
750m – UIC standard single length train
400m – New South Wales steam era, where lengths also limited by practical length of crossing loops mechanically operated from signal boxes.
Passenger


Australia – up to 44 coaches (approximately 1.2km) on The Ghan[21]
Canada – The Canadian transcontinental train may have 33 cars during peak season (May to September)
Denmark – five ER ("IR4") electrical train sets combined – 380m
France – two TGV Atlantique trains combined – 476m
German Democratic Republic – up to 22 cars Berlin–Dresden (– Prague) ca. 500m
Germany – two ICE 3 trains combined – 402m
India – 24-coach trains are standard for most popular long distance services, which translates to approximately 600 meters per train.
Japan – Tōkaidō Shinkansen N700 16-car trainset 404m
Mongolia – up to 30 coaches on the Ulaanbataar – Zamiyn Ude train.
Netherlands – up to 15 coaches (five 3-coach NS Intercity Materieel trains combined)[22] – 403m
Russia – two combined Sapsan trains – approx. 500 m
Sweden – 17 coaches (26.7m each plus two Rc locomotives at 15.4m) – 484m between Stockholm and Luleå. Sometimes charter trains are longer than that, e.g. 22 coaches, 530m on 24–25 February 2012.[23]
United Kingdom, Belgium, France – Eurostar / British Rail Class 373 (20-car multiple unit) – 394m
United States — Auto Train between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida — up to 50 cars. 4 or 5 coaches, 1 lounge, 3 diners, 6 sleepers, one transition sleeper and up to 35 autoracks.
United States – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus trains – were the longest privately operated passenger trains in the world at nearly sixty cars each. Two trains, the Red unit and the Blue unit, toured the country in an overlapping two-year cycle. Each circus train consisted of around 40–45 passenger cars with dorm rooms for the circus performers and crews, four animal cars usually placed at the front of the train for a smoother ride, a dining car referred to as the "pie car", two generator cars to provide power to the train, two merchandise boxcars, and 15–20 flatcars carrying circus vehicles and containers. Ceased operations in 2017.
USSR/Russia – 32 coaches – 846m; total weight of 1,920 tonnes, using locomotive ChS7 or ChS8.[24]
Special test runs
(These are one-off to set records)
Bulk (ore, coal etc)
 BHP Run on 21 June 2001, comprising 682 wagons and hauled by eight 6000hp General Electric GE AC6000CW diesel-electric locomotives controlled by a single driver with a total length of 7.352km on the 275km iron ore railway to Port Hedland in Western Australia – total weight 99,734 tons on a 1,435mm gauge line.[25]
 Sishen–Saldanha, South Africa.  Run on 26–27 August 1989, comprising 660 wagons, 7.302 kilometres (4.537mi) long and a total weight of 71 765 tons on a 1,067mm gauge line. The train comprised 16 locomotives (9 Class 9E 50 kV AC electric and 7 Class 37 diesel-electric).[26][27]
 Bulk coal train from Ekibastuz to the Urals, Soviet Union, 20 February 1986. The train consisted of 439 wagons and several diesel locomotives distributed along the train with a total mass of 43,400 tonnes and a total length of 6.5 kilometres (4.0mi).[28]
 Unit coal train from Iaeger, West Virginia to Portsmouth, Ohio, 15 November 1967. The train consisted of 500 cars and several diesel-electric locomotives distributed throughout the train for a total weight of over 42,000 tons and total length of 6.5 kilometres (4.0mi).
General cargo
 Union Pacific, United States. Run from 8–10 January 2010, consisting of 296 container cars and hauled by nine diesel-electric locomotive spread through the train with a total length of 18,000 feet (3.4mi; 5.5km), from a terminal in Texas to Los Angeles.  Around 618 double-stacked containers were carried at speeds up to 70mph/112km/h. 14,059t.[29][30]
Canadian National, United States.  October 10, 2017.  Manifest train consisting of 340 cars, 16,646 feet (3.15mi; 5.03km)
 BNSF, United States, 2010—12,832 feet (2.4303mi; 3.911km) [31]
Passenger
 Kijfhoek–Eindhoven, Netherlands. Run on 19 February 1989, as a test and publicity stunt what would become the longest passenger train in the world.  The train was pulled by one 1500 V DC locomotive and had 60 passenger cars (1600 meters, 2600 ton), of which only the first 14 cars held actual passengers during the run.[32]
 Ghent–Oostende, Belgium. On 27 April 1991, one electric locomotive and 70 passenger cars (totalling 1733m and 2786 ton, excluding locomotive) held a charity run for the Belgian Cancer Fund, thereby exceeding the Dutch record.[32]
See also

Distributed power—Where operational considerations or economics require it, trains can be made longer if intermediate locomotives are inserted in the train and remotely controlled from the leading locomotive.
Heaviest trains
High-speed rail
Track gauge
Extreme Trains on the History Channel 2009
List of steepest gradients on adhesion railways
Longest train journeys (passenger)
Longest train services of Indian Railways
Longest non-stop run in Indian Railways
International Heavy Haul Association
Longest road trains