Why is it that, without fail, any time you have to stop your car and wait for a train
to cross, it’s ALWAYS when you’re in a hurry? And as you’re sitting there behind
the wheel impatiently tapping your fingers and letting out huffs of frustration, it feels
like those boxcars passing before your eyes go for miles. Hey, could be worse – you
could have to wait for a train that really is over a mile long!
The longest train in the world, measuring in at 1.5 miles (2.5 km), runs on the Mauritania
Railway. Mauritania is located in Northwest Africa. It has access to the Atlantic Ocean,
but about 75% of its territory is covered by the Sahara Desert. There’s just one national
railway in the whole country that was opened back in 1963. It’s 437 miles (700 km) long
and connects the northern iron-mining town of Zouérat with the port city of Nouadhibou
on the west coast.
This railway is incredibly important for Mauritania since the iron ore industry makes up half
of all the country’s exports. Trains that run on the line usually consist of a handful
of service and power cars and anywhere from 200 to 210 open wagons. In each of those wagons,
there are around 85 tons of iron ore, if not more. Do the math, and you’ll see that one
fully loaded train can transport a total of about 20,000 tons of iron ore from the northern
mines to the coast. As for how long the journey takes, it depends. If the train is empty and
moving northeast to the mines, it takes 16 hours. If it’s fully loaded and headed to
the coast, it’s 20 hours, almost an entire day!
Now, the fact that there’s a 1.5-mile-long (2.5 km) train chugging through the Sahara
Desert on the daily route is cool and all, but check this out: you can also take a ride
on the Iron Ore Train! Well, as long as you’re not expecting any fine dining or anything
like that…
Up until a few years ago, there was just one option for passengers to travel on this train,
and that was to literally sit on top of it. Hop up, plop down, and have a seat right on
top of the rocky iron ore! Doesn’t exactly sound like my perfect vacay, but locals and
adventurous tourists alike don’t seem to mind sitting on rocks for hours on end!
The “hop on” option has always been free if you’re up for it. But now you can also
choose to take a bunk in the only passenger car at the end of the train. It consists of
cabins with 6 bunks in each. It only costs $3…but don’t expect much for such a small
fee. You won’t get any special services, the compartments are really crowded, and they
don’t exactly get cleaned. Uh-huh…
People take bunks on a “first come first serve” basis, so don’t expect to be assigned
a specific bed. You won’t get a ticket, food, or conductor to inform you of your whereabouts
either. And to make things even more, uh, “fun,” there’s no fixed timetable, so
the train often leaves earlier than planned. When it makes stops on the way, you’d better
stay inside since no one will tell you how long this or that stop will be. And if you’re
hoping to get some sleep in a passenger car, keep dreaming because the ride is pretty bumpy
and noisy. So probably the best thing you can do is choose the real deal and jump in
one of those open wagons and save yourself 3 bucks.
It’s also a good idea to catch the train on its way from the coast to the mine because,
otherwise, the cars will be full of iron ore and that stuff makes some pretty powerful
dust that’s hard to wash off your face and clothes. Most people hop on in Nouadhibou
at around 4 pm, when the train usually departs, and get off in Choum not to go the whole 16-hour
way but just to get a little taste of the adventure. When a cart is empty, 10 people
can fit in and still have room for luggage and what not. The locals, for example, even
transport live animals and fruit to sell!
Speaking of the locals, there will probably be lots of them on the train as many people
travel from town to town to visit their families. And you’ll have all the time in the world
to chat with them as the “sonic booms” make sleeping pretty much impossible. “Sonic
booms” are the sounds the cars make when they hit each other. They’ll make your whole
body shake, and they say the adrenaline rush is unbeatable! They say.
There are a few more important things to know before you head to Mauritania for the adventure
of a lifetime. First of all, there’s the huge temperature change you’ll go through.
The Sahara isn’t always hot like many people think. It is during the day, but it can be
freezing at night. The wind is pretty strong too, so it’s a good idea to bring warm clothes
and a thermos with you.
Oook, so are there any perks? Well, you’ll get the starry Sahara sky instead of just
a boring ol’ roof over your head. And as an added bonus, there’s the most fantastic
sunset and sunrise you can imagine! Plus, I mean, you can brag that you’ve been on
the longest train in the world!
In case the Iron Ore Train sounds a bit too extreme but you’d still like to go on a
record-breaking ride, I’ve got some more options here for ya.
Why not get yourself a ticket for The Ghan, one of the longest passenger trains in the
world? With 44 carriages totaling 3,600 feet (1,100 m) in length, the train had more cars
added to it in 2016 during the peak season to fit in all the tourists that wanted to
enjoy the gorgeous views of Australia. The Ghan runs for 1,850 miles (3000 km) across
the entire continent, from the southern city of Adelaide to Darwin in the North. The journey
takes 3 days and 2 nights to complete. The conditions on the Ghan are obviously way better
than on the Mauritanian train, but the price is also way higher than 3 bucks. Tickets cost
a minimum of around $2,000.
Well, what about long trains in the US? Here’s the kicker: America’s longest trains are
neither passenger nor cargo. They’re those that once belonged to the Ringling Bros Circus!
They had two trains (or “units” as they call them) traveling at the same time with
around 60 cars. Of those, 33 were pretty normal train cars for circus staff and their families,
4 were for the animals, and around 20 were for equipment and props. Both units were around
5,000 feet (1.5 km) long and weigh 4,000 tons when fully loaded. Before “The Greatest
Show on Earth” closed in 2017, they would tour the entire country in 2-year cycles.
It took the circus crew about 6 hours to unload the lengthy train and 12 hours to set everything
up for the show. The Ringling Bros Circus trains were also the longest in the world
if we’re strictly talking privately-owned ones.
Ok, well, I guess we missed that train by a few years. But if you’re into, you know,
really epic journeys, no matter how long or short the train is, there’s a real treat
for you in Russia, and I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. How about giving
the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway a try? Starting in the country’s capital of Moscow,
you’ll travel more than 5,750 miles (9,250 km) over the span of a week! Your final destination:
the Pacific coast city of Vladivostok. This train route is the longest in the world and
covers 8 time zones. Along the way, you’ll see endless birch trees, the unbelievable
landscapes of the Ural Mountains and, everyone’s favorite, the deepest lake in the world: Baikal.
If it’s not the length of the train or the journey but the speed that matters to you
the most, then get yourself a ticket on China’s Shanghai-Maglev Train. It’s currently the
fastest commercially operated train in the world. Reaching top speeds of 267 mph (430
kph), it runs from Pudong International Airport to the Longyang Rd. Station. That’s a distance
of about 20 miles (30 km) in under 8 minutes! But if you’re looking to cover a larger
distance and you still have a need for speed, then I’d recommend the THSR 700T. (Ya might
wanna write that down.) Racing down the track at over 185 mph (300 kph), it goes from the
Taiwan capital of Taipei to Kaohsiung City, a distance of 225 miles (360 km), in just
90 minutes! That’s like going from New York to Boston in an hour and a half! Sooo, can
we get one of those fancy trains too?
Alright, Bright Siders, would you prefer to go on the longest or fastest train journey?
Let me know down in the comments! And if you learned something new today, then give this
video a like and share it with a friend. But don’t depart the train just yet! We
have over 2,000 cool videos for you to check out. All you have to do is pick the left or
right video, click on it, and enjoy! Stay on the Bright Side of life!