The Rhaetian Railway sets a new record for the longest passenger train | So Good News

On 29 October, Switzerland’s Rhaetian Railway (RhB) with 1000 mm gauge succeeded in its world record attempt to run the longest passenger train.

After eight months of preparation, the much-heralded event saw a 1,906-metre-long train of 25 four-car Stadler Capricorn EMUs, making 100 vehicles weighing a total of 2,990 tonnes negotiate the tortuous 789.4-metre descent from Preda to Alvaneu. This includes the many spiral tunnels and viaducts of a 24.93 km stretch of the UNESCO World Heritage Route through the Albuladalen.

The event was organized as a festival in the mountain valley and thousands of spectators witnessed the train’s winding descent of the line’s many sharp curves at an average speed of 30-35 km/h. The train started from Preda at 2:20 p.m. and reached its destination, crossed by the 65-meter high Landwasser viaduct, at 3:30 p.m.

The event was held both to mark the 175^th the anniversary of the first domestic railway opening in Switzerland and to celebrate the engineering achievements and natural beauty of the World Heritage route. The Albula line is on the regular route of RhB’s flagship tourist train Glacier Express – which runs from Zermatt via the Matterhorn-Gotthard Railway to St Moritz – and Bernina Expresswhich goes from Chur via a 2253m high pass to Tirano in Italy.

“After intensive preparations, we are overjoyed to have achieved this world record,” said RhB director, Mr Renato Fasciati, after the record was confirmed by Guinness World Records. “Not only did we have an amazing railway festival here in Bergün, but we were able to present ourselves around the world as a fascinating and innovative mountain railway thanks to our dedicated partners, sponsors and an incredibly dedicated team.”