Transnet Freight Rail, government-run company in South Africa, says it has sent the longest freight train ever on a test run. The train was 4.7 miles long and consisted of 696 freight cars. It required electric and diesel locomotives to be positioned throughout the train to power it. The train completed an 534-mile journey from Saldanha Bay on South Africa’s west coast to an iron ore mine in the country’s interior on Oct. 18. The freight cars were empty for the 2-day journey. Transnet CEO Russell Baatjies said the operation was a learning experience that was designed to help improve South Africa’s capability to transport minerals and other goods over long distances. Freight trains are typically between half a mile and 1½ miles long depending on the country, but South Africa and Australia operate some of the longest trains in the world over extensive distances. Transnet claims it took the record from a 4½-mile-long train that went from an iron ore mine to a port in Western Australia in 2001.
