CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s state-owned transport and logistics company says it has completed a test run with the longest freight train ever operated.
Transnet said the train stretched 7.6 kilometers (4.7 miles) and included 696 freight wagons.
Electric and diesel locomotives were placed at different points along the train to provide the power needed to move the enormous load.
The train traveled 860 kilometers (534 miles) over two days, running from Saldanha Bay on South Africa’s west coast to an iron ore mine in the country’s interior on Oct. 18, Transnet said in a statement. The freight wagons were empty during the test journey.
Russell Baatjies, chief executive of Transnet Freight Rail, described the operation as a learning exercise designed to strengthen South Africa’s ability to move minerals and other goods across long distances.
Freight trains generally range from half a mile to 1.5 miles in length, depending on the country. South Africa and Australia, however, are known for operating some of the world’s longest trains across vast rail networks.
Transnet said the test surpassed the previous record, held by a 4.5-mile (7.24-kilometer) train that traveled from an iron ore mine to a port in Western Australia in 2001.
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