7 conductors and 21 mechanics needed, but the longest train in the world (1.9 kilometers) runs

Swiss rail company Rhaetian Railways set a world record on Saturday by running a 1.9-kilometre train on a well-known route through the Alps. This means that the old Belgian Railways “longest train record” from 1991 has been broken by almost 200 metres.

The images below show how the train travels through the Alps:

The train traveled from Preda to Bergün in mid-afternoon, a 25 kilometer stretch full of bends, tunnels and bridges, including the famous Landwasser Viaduct. The Swiss railway was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.

The train, weighing almost 3,000 tons, made up of 25 carriages of four cars each, took about 46 minutes on the route. Seven pilots and 21 mechanics participated in the record attempt to allow the colossus to run safely. Passengers who had purchased a ticket for the special route as well as journalists traveled on the train.

3000 enthusiasts gathered in Bergün to see how the exceptionally long train moved along the track. Among them also Maurits Wever from Leiden. “It’s such a beautiful event. You have to imagine that you are in the middle of the mountains and looking at one of the most beautiful railway lines in Europe.”

Wever thought it was “really cool” to witness a new world record. Yesterday he traveled to Switzerland with a friend especially for this – by train of course. “I’ve been here maybe ten times, but it was very special. We have three views of the track from here, so we saw the train go by three times.”

To make the record attempt possible, no other trains passed through the Albula tunnel for twelve hours on Saturday. The attempt was part of the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Swiss railways.