SWITZERLAND BUILDS A 2KM TRAIN
High up in the Swiss Alps is a town called St Moritz. It’s a place where the rich and famous get together for ski holidays and now it’s also home to the world’s longest-ever passenger train.
To celebrate the 175th anniversary of Switzerland’s first railway, the country’s rail industry built a 100-car train, weighing 2,990 tons and almost two kilometres in length.
The train was made up of 25 new Capricorn electric trains and took passengers on a journey over the Unesco World Heritage Albula Line that runs from Preda to Alvaneu in the eastern part of the country.
This meant that there were seven different drivers that had to keep their speed consistent and communicate throughout. During their first practice round, they soon realised that the normal radio system created for these electric trains made it impossible to communicate while going through the tunnels.
A temporary communication system had to be erected for this journey which took almost an hour to complete.
CNN reports that like the legendary Cresta Run toboggan track, the Albula Line is famous for its endless swooping curves and steep descents. A world-renowned masterpiece of civil engineering, the 62-kilometre line between Thusis and St Moritz took just five years to build despite requiring 55 bridges and 39 tunnels.
Image credit: The Economic Times