10 longest trains in the world

In our list, the length of a train transporting, for example, mineral or organic minerals, etc., we will measure by the number of cars attached to the head locomotive. The length of the train and the permissible load capacity can be limited by the track gauge, which has a low nominal DC voltage of 1500-3000 volts, as well as insufficient external pulling force. Ascents, sharp turns along the route, long loops, car coupler mechanisms - all these factors are reasons that may also prevent the train length from increasing.

The average length of a freight train is 2 kilometers. Its increase is possible due to the addition of pulling blocks, which allow the train length to grow up to 8 kilometers, that is, 3-4 times. The main opportunity offered by the use of additional pulling locomotives is that it becomes possible to transport much heavier and bulkier loads with minimal risk of train accidents on curving or steep roads.

The addition of a locomotive also reduces the tensile force of the coupling mechanisms between the freight cars. The weight distribution is better if the train is pulling more than one locomotive. So, consider the ten trains that are considered the longest in the world.

10. Gun, Australia

Gan is the only train on the list that carries people. It runs between towns such as Darwin and Adelaide. Its route is 2979 kilometers long and takes about 54 hours on the way. The train was named after the Afghans who bred camels. They arrived in Australia in the late 1800s and used the train as a means of getting around the country. Typically, the passenger train consists of 16 to 26 cars made of stainless steel. But once 99 carriages were attached to the locomotive, and the length of the train increased to 1.2 km.

9. Freight train "Maruti", India

A freight train was launched on the railways of India in 2011. It usually runs between cities such as Bilaspur and Bhuswal and is pulled by four locomotives (two in the front and two in the middle). The approximate speed of movement is about 14 m / s.

The train includes 118 wagons, its cargo capacity is 9000-10000 tons, and its length is approximately 1.4 km. It was planned that the train would be longer, but problems in the security system, sharp bends along the route and the steepness of the road did not allow the plan to come true. However, this train is the longest in India and almost the longest on the southeast coast of Asia.

8. Rio Tinto Railway Company, Australia

Rio Tinto owns and operates the largest private rail network on the continent. In addition, the company is developing 15 mines and transports the mined ore by rail over 1,700 km. The assets of the organization include 173 pulling locomotives and 10,500 units of rolling stock.

Robe River Iron and Hammersley Iron are subsidiaries of Rio Tinto, and they extract iron ore from the aforementioned mines. The mined minerals are loaded onto trains, which consist of an average of 226 wagons with a cargo capacity of 105 tons each. If the train is fully loaded, it will hold about 30,000 tons of ore and will be 2.4 kilometers long.

7. Railway network for the iron ore industry, Mauritania

The railway network in Mauritania is publicly owned. The 704-kilometer railway line transports mined iron ore from the mining center of Zouerat to Nouadhibou, a port on the Atlantic coast. Locals rarely ride in special carriages attached to a freight train. More often they just climb onto the roof of freight cars.

Trains running on this railway line are up to 2.5 kilometers in length and include 3-4 American-made pulling locomotives. In total, the train can include 200-210 wagons, its maximum cargo capacity reaches approximately 85 tons. The train transports over 15 million tons of iron ore annually.

6. Daqing Railways for Coal Transportation, PRC

Rail trains carry coal along the 653-kilometer Daqing railway line in northern China. The transport line runs through the suburbs of Beijing and Tianjin, the road is the property of a private organization. The history of the formation of the road began in 1984, when one branch was introduced, in 1992 another branch was put into operation due to the growing demand for cargo transportation.

Freight trains running on the Daqing railway can carry cargo with a total weight of up to 20,000 tons - this is the highest carrying capacity in the PRC among railways. All this became possible after the beginning of the use of modern models of locomotives, such as HXD 1 and HXD 2, which have an output power of almost 10 MW. This is much higher than the technical capabilities of the DJ 1 locomotives used before. The coal train usually consists of 210 wagons, and its total length reaches 3.2 kilometers.

5. Karajas Freight Trains, Brazil

The Karazhas railway line was opened in 1982 and is 892 kilometers long. It connects the world's largest open pit mine, Karajas, and Ponta de Madeira, a major loading port for iron ore minerals in San Luis. This railway line is considered the most cost-effective in terms of profit in Brazil. More than 120 million tons of iron ore and 350,000 people are transported along this road.

The income earned from the extraction of these ores makes up a large part of the profit of the state economy. A total of 217 haul locomotives and 10,756 rolling stock units travel along this route. Several dozen trains operate on the Karazhas railway, including one of the longest regular trains in the world, which consists of 330 wagons with a total length of 3.3 kilometers.

4. Train S-400, USA

Freight trains are a major contributor to the US industrial sector (with an estimated annual profit of over $ 50 billion) and are critical to the industry in transporting a variety of minerals and renewable energy sources. Most freight railways are owned by private organizations, which spend about 15-20% of revenues on road maintenance and development.

One of the most used freight trains on American railways is the S-400. It is equipped with modern protection system equipment: pneumatic brakes and electronics for fast control. This system significantly reduces the risk of railcars derailing on sharp bends in the road. S-400 usually includes 180 units of rolling stock, its length is 3.66 kilometers.

3. Railway line under the program "Reconstruction and Development", South Africa

The railway line for the transportation of ore in South Africa is more than 800 kilometers. Commissioned in the mid-seventies, it runs from the Sishen ore mines in the north to the port of Saldana in the west. The road is not used to transport people; only iron ore minerals are transported along it. It is a single track with dozens of train junctions. At first, cars on this line were pulled by electric locomotives, the train consisted of 210 units of rolling stock with a carrying capacity of 80 tons each. Then the number of cars was increased to 342. The total length of the train is 3.78 kilometers, the cargo capacity is 42,000 tons.

2.Trains with containers installed in two tiers, Canada

Trains with two-tier containers installed on them are operated by the National Railroad System of Canada and ply with the help of several locomotives pulling the train. On average, the total length of a freight train until the early 1990s was about 1.5 kilometers. After the system of additional locomotives was introduced, it became possible to significantly increase the number of cars.

Nowadays, it is very rare to find trains with a cargo capacity exceeding 18,000 tons, and a length of more than 4 kilometers. Generally, a regular freight train is 3.7 kilometers long, and a container train is about 3 kilometers long. The maximum length of a freight train in the country is 4.2 kilometers.

1. Trains of the iron ore mining company "BHP Billiton", Australia

The Mount Newman branch line is owned by BP Billiton and operates to transport iron ore minerals. The length of the track is 426 kilometers - this is one of the longest non-state railway lines. The road counts its history of development since 1969. The ore train runs between Newman and Port Hedland for approximately 8 hours, typically with 250 units of rolling stock extending over 2.6 kilometers. In 2001, the train set a world record in terms of train length and cargo capacity. It included 682 wagons, transported 82,000 tons of ore, and its length was 7.3 kilometers. Eight locomotives pulled the train from the Yandi mines to Port Hedland.