Swiss Railway Claims World Record for the Longest Train With a Special 100-Coach Train

Rhaetian Railway (RHB), a Switzerland-based railway company, recently created the world’s longest train.

The company put together a train that stood 1.9 kilometres long and was composed of 100 coaches. Running on the route of Albula/Bernina from Preda to Bergen, the train made its way on one of the most astonishing tracks through the Swiss Alps.

The special train ran on the explicitly designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and crossed through 22 tunnels (some twisting through mountains) and over 48 bridges (including the iconic limestone Landwasser Viaduct).

“This year, we are celebrating a jubilee of 175 years of Swiss Railways, and setting the world record is majorly the biggest event of this jubilee,” said Dr Renato Fasciati, the CEO of Rhaetian Railway

The company is the largest network of all private railway operators in the country but has been under considerable stress since the COVID-19 pandemic. The record-length train was operated by the company to increase awareness about the route as well as promote more train traffic.

“The coronavirus pandemic cost us some big troubles, which resulted in a 30 percent loss in our turnover for the train guests,” Dr Fasciati said. He also said that the company ensures that they’ve paid great attention to the safety of the train. The train has 4,550 seats spread across 100 coaches, with a special field telephone constructed to allow the 7 train drivers and 21 technicians to work in tandem.

To celebrate this, Swiss media broadcast is currently simultaneously broadcasting aerial footage from various sides of the train. Many people even hiked up to the mountainside to take a good peek at it, as most of the roads were closed off to traffic. As the train moved down from one mountainside, people tried to follow alongside in a parallel path.