What is the longest train ever recorded?

The Australian BHP Iron Ore is the longest train ever recorded in history at approximately 4.6 miles (7.353 km). In the Pilbara region of Western Australia, BHP owns and runs the Mount Newman railway. This is a private rail network designed to transport iron ore.



The longest train ever recorded was a BHP Iron Ore train in Western Australia on June 21, 2001.

Key details:
- Length: 7.353 kilometers (about 4.57 miles)
- Cars: 682 loaded iron ore wagons
- Locomotives: 8 GE Dash 9 locomotives distributed throughout the train
- Gross weight: Approximately 99,734 tonnes
- Route: From the BHP (now BHP Billiton) Yandi mine to Port Hedland

This was a one-off record-breaking run, not a regular operation. The train took over 10 hours to complete its journey and was controlled with distributed power technology (locomotives at the front, middle, and rear).

For comparison:
- Regular BHP iron ore trains today often run with 268 wagons and 2–4 locomotives, around 2.4 km long.
- The longest regular scheduled train is probably Africa’s “Sishen–Saldanha” iron ore train in South Africa, which runs with 342–375 wagons, reaching about 3.8 km.
- In the United States, Union Pacific and other railroads occasionally run “unit trains” over 3 km long, but not close to the BHP record.

So, the 7.353 km BHP train remains the undisputed world record for the longest train ever operated.

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