South Africa Completes Test Run of World's Longest Freight Train
The 4.7-mile-long train journeyed 860 kilometers as part of a test to improve logistics capabilities.
A government-run company in South Africa has completed a test run of what it claims is the world's longest freight train. The train, operated by the state-owned transport and logistics company Transnet, stretched 7.6 kilometers (4.7 miles) and comprised 696 freight wagons.
The train required a combination of electric and diesel locomotives placed throughout its length to provide power. It completed an 860-kilometer (534-mile) journey on October 18 from Saldanha Bay on the country's west coast to an iron ore mine located in the interior. The wagons were empty for the duration of the two-day trip.
Transnet Freight Rail chief executive Russell Baatjies stated that the operation served as a learning exercise aimed at enhancing South Africa's capacity for transporting minerals and other goods over long distances. Typically, freight trains range from half a mile to 1.5 miles in length, with South Africa and Australia known for operating some of the world's longest trains across extensive routes.
Transnet asserts that this new record surpasses the previous mark set in 2001 by a 4.5-mile-long (7.24-kilometer-long) train that traveled from an iron ore mine to a port in Western Australia.