Longest Freight Trains in the World

BHP Iron Ore – 7,352 m The BHP Iron Ore has a length of 7.352 km or 4.568 miles, making it the longest freight train in the world (also the longest train overall). When it was operated, it had 682 wagons and a weight of 99,732 tons (219,867,724 lbs) which also made it the heaviest train ever.

Ore Export Line (OREX) – 7,302 m The second longest train to operate was the Ore Export Line at 7.302 km (4.537 miles) long – just a little shorter than the longest freight train on this list. It had 660 wagons and a weight of 71,765 tons or 158,214,742 lbs. Even though it was almost as long as the BHP Iron Ore train, it was significantly lighter. 

Ekibastuz Run – 6,500 m The Ekibastuz Run is third on the list of longest freight trains in the world. This freight train had an overall length of 6.5 km or 4,039 miles and was fitted with 439 wagons. It boasted a weight of 43,400 tons or 95,680,621 lbs.

Norfolk & Western Railway – 6,500 m The coal train from Norfolk & Western Railway had 500 wagons and a total length of 6.5 km or just a little over 4 miles. With a weight of 48,170 tons (106,196,671 lbs), it was a fairly heavy train for its length.

Union Pacific Railroad Company – 5,500 m This freight train is almost exactly a kilometer shorter than the previous one, with a length of 5.5 km or 3.417 miles. It was also significantly lighter than other long freight trains, as it transported shipping containers, instead of raw materials. It had a total weight of 14,059 tons or 30,994,789 lbs and was fitted with 296 container wagons.

BNSF Railway – 3,910 m One of the longest trains by BNSF Railway had a total length of 3.91 km or 2.43 miles. This train carried 458 wagons and broke the previous record of the longest train by BNSF which was a little over 3 km in length with 435 wagons. 

Indian Railway Vasuki – 3,500 m The Vasuki recently became the longest train operating in the South-East Central Railways zone in India. It had a total length of 3.5 km or 2.174 miles and had 295 wagons. It also beat the previous record of the SheshNaag train which measured 2.8 km in length.

Estrada de Ferro Carajás (EFC) – 3,000 m The Estrada de Ferro Carajás (EFC) freight train measured 3 km in length, which is equivalent to 1.864 miles. At the time of its operation, it was the largest train in the world and was fitted with a total of 330 wagons. 

Indian Railway SheshNaag – 2,800 m The SheshNaag had a total length of 2.8km (1.739 miles) and had 251 wagons, weighing 15,000 tons (33,069,339 lbs). It was an experiment that saw four rakes connected together to run as a single train, and it worked flawlessly. 

Leigh Creek Ore Train – 2,800 m The Leigh Creek Ore Train measured 2.8 km in length, which is equivalent to 1.739 miles. During its run, it was equipped with 161 wagons and had a total weight of 11,000 tons, making it the lightest on this list as well.