Come for a ride on the world’s longest passenger train

It’s not every day that you get to take part in a Guinness World Record. On October 29, 150 lucky people were allowed to board the world's longest train on a spectacular journey through the Swiss Alps. I was one of them.

Last Saturday, Switzerland’s largest private railway operator, Rhaetian Railway (RhB), set a new world record for the longest passenger train on a spectacular narrow gauge track. The train – comprising 100 carriages for a total length of 1,910 metres – travelled for 25 kilometres on the Albula/Bernina route from Preda to Alvaneu in canton Graubünden in southeast Switzerland.

The record-breaking train route from Preda to Alvaneu includes many helical tunnels. Kai Reusser / swissinfo.ch

Saturday October 29: Chur station, platform 10

“I feel like the morning of a ski marathon, when you ask yourself ‘why did I sign up for this?’” declares Rhaetian Railway’s director, Renato Fasciati, at Chur station as we prepare to board a vintage train for Preda, located at 1,788 m above sea level, the start of the world record route.

Rhaetian Railway’s director, Renato Fasciati, welcomes media and VIP guests in Chur. SWI swissinfo.ch / Céline Stegmüller

The excitement is palpable. Despite preliminary tests, the world record attempt involves many important technical challenges. The final outcome is still uncertain.

At the mountain village of Preda, where the Albula tunnel marks the beginning of the record-breaking route, we get off the vintage train to the sound of alphorn music. International journalists reporting on the event marvel at the show.

We are once again reminded how special this experience is: only 150 people were selected to be passengers on the special world-record train. More passengers would have made the already heavy train impossible to stop.

“It felt like writing the guest list to a wedding,” says Christian Florin, head of infrastructure at RhB, who helped organise the event.

As we wait inside the new Albula tunnel to board the record-breaking train, we are treated to a lecture on tunnel construction and drilling techniques to the sound of more alphorn music. We are given a bowl of Graubünden barley soup, a local delicacy, to keep warm.

A Chinese journalist takes a selfie in the new Albula tunnel, just before boarding the record-breaking train. SWI swissinfo.ch / Céline Stegmüller

All aboard the record-breaking train

It’s now time to set off. The record-breaking train is waiting for us in the old Albula tunnel. It comprises 25 newly delivered train units, or 100 carriages, making a total length of 1,910 metres.

We queue in front of one of the many doors that connect the new and old Albula tunnels. Suddenly, there it is: the world’s longest train, bright red under spotlights, with both ends hidden in the pitch-black tunnel.

I show the RhB employee my silver bracelet and my press pass. My name is ticked off, and I’m allowed on board.

During the 45 minutes before our planned departure, journalists stumble around the crowded carriages to film interviews and find the best spot to immortalise the journey. Only a few train windows can actually open, allowing people to hold out their phones to film the front and end of the train. I’m lucky to be sitting next to one such window.

A BlickTV journalist prepares to present the beginning of the journey from inside the train. SWI swissinfo.ch / Céline Stegmüller

A journalist and cameraman from BlickTV, the event’s media partner, block the carriage hallway. They are broadcasting the entire trip live for 3,000 guests who are watching the world-record attempt at the village of Bergün, halfway along the route. The journey is also being livestreamed to the rest of the world. According to a Chinese journalist on board, the Swiss embassy in China is showing the event to a group of guests.

Suspense builds

Passengers look anxiously at their watches as the planned departure time passes. But the train doesn’t move. A man walks through our carriage announcing a delay of 17 minutes. To my right, a German journalist giggles. “I thought Swiss trains were always on time!” she laughs. As the minutes pass, the suspense builds. At around 2.30pm, the train finally starts slowly rolling out of the tunnel. We’re off. People on board clap like when an aeroplane lands.

As the long red snake winds its way down the valley, passengers move from side to side to stare out the windows and marvel at the endless line of carriages. 

On its journey from Preda to Alvaneu the train will descend 568 metres. When the train brakes on its way down, it generates the same amount of electricity as a family house consumes in a year.

The record attempt is a huge logistical challenge for the organisers. To ensure perfect coordination between the seven train drivers, they use field telephones on board the train.

A huge celebration

We all have to get off the train at Bergün, where we will watch the end of the journey on a big screen together with the festival-goers. The train will continue its route to the spectacular Landwasser viaduct and its final destination.

By the time the train passes over the viaduct, the words “World record” can be seen in huge yellow letters on a big screen. They did it. The Rhaetian Railway company broke the world record for the longest passenger train on a narrow gauge track.

The village of Bergün, at the foot of the Albula pass, where the festivities are taking place. SWI swissinfo.ch / Céline Stegmüller