WATCH: World’s longest passenger train passes through Swiss Alps
The world's longest passenger train, with about two kilometres in length and roughly 100 linked coaches, recently traversed the Swiss Alps.
At a celebration of the 175th anniversary of Switzerland's renowned railway system, Rhaetian Railway (RhB) claimed that the train had broken the record for the longest passenger train in the world. Although there are freight trains that are nearly three kilometres long longer than this one, this train is categorised as a passenger train.
On Saturday, about 3,000 people paid top dollar for tickets to witness the voyage on a huge screen placed up outside Bergun, which is halfway through the train's meandering Albula/Bernina track, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many people gathered close to the mountain roads and walkways as the train went past the trees, which were painted in autumnal hues.
The beautiful Landwasser Viaduct, which rises 65 metres above the valley below, was one of 48 bridges and 22 helical tunnels that were part of the route.
The train consists of 25 detachable multiple-unit trains that are around 1910 metres in length altogether. Seven drivers and a total of 21 technicians will make sure that all 25 trains are on the same track and are accelerating and braking simultaneously.
The first rail service in the affluent Alpine nation started on August 9 and took 33 minutes to go 23 kilometres to the northwest from Zurich to Baden.
