{"id":880561,"date":"2026-10-20T16:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=880561"},"modified":"2026-10-20T16:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T14:00:13","slug":"south-africa-takes-back-world-record-after-25-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/880561\/south-africa-takes-back-world-record-after-25-years\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa takes back world record after 25 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa’s public rail operator, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), has set a world record for the longest freight train, measuring 7.6 km with 696 wagons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The train travelled on the Iron Ore Export Line, which is a 861-kilometre heavy-haul rail corridor that directly connects the iron ore mines in Sishen in the Northern Cape to the Port of Saldanha in the Western Cape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The successful completion of this journey marked the longest train ever compiled and operated on the corridor, and established a new world record for freight rail operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This world-record triumph showcases the strength of TFR\u2019s railway operations capability. Beyond a world-record triumph, this was a highly sophisticated engineering and operational exercise,” said TFR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operator explained that the train was linked electronically and designed specifically to operate as a single unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Using Radio Distributed Power (RDP) technology, a combination of 15E electric and 43DE diesel-electric locomotives was strategically positioned throughout the train and electronically linked to work as a single unit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TFR said that the technology used allows locomotive power and braking forces to be distributed throughout the entire train, minimising in-train forces and ensuring the safe handling of an unprecedentedly long train configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The train’s successful operation was attributed to the culmination of planning by TFR\u2019s Train Design Technology specialists and operations teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TFR said it had collaborated with Transnet Engineering (TE), the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM), and the Railway Safety Regulator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Every aspect, from train simulations and route readiness to locomotive positioning, train handling strategies and real-time performance monitoring, was meticulously engineered to safely move almost 700 wagons across 861km,” said TFR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time that Transnet has set a world record for the longest train. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1989, the operator set a world record for the longest train in operation, on the same rail line from Saldanha to the Northern Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the world record was soon claimed by Australia in 2001 for its rail operation in Pilbara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2001, Australia’s BHP Iron Ore took the world record title for the longest freight train ever operated, with a 7.35 km train of 682 wagons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This world record has been held by Australia until October 2026, when Transnet completed the operation of South Africa’s longest train, reclaiming the title of the world’s longest train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R8.9 billion to repair the world’s longest railway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, the government committed R8.9 billion to the Ore Line Restoration Programme, aiming to repair the 861-kilometre freight corridor connecting Sishen and the Port of Saldanha by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, South Africa exported R110 billion worth of iron ore, making it the fifth-most-exported product. In July of this year alone, the country exported R8.26 billion in iron ore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sishen Mine, operated by Kumba Iron Ore (a subsidiary of Anglo American), is one of the biggest open-pit mines in the world, measuring around 14 km long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years of heavy use on the Iron Ore Export Line, a buildup of maintenance issues with the tracks, signalling systems, locomotives, and freight wagons has undermined export reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ore Line Restoration Programme includes renewing tracks, upgrading electrical and signalling systems, and repairing rolling stock to eliminate long-standing maintenance backlogs and enhance transport reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen this corridor performs well, mines can move their commodities efficiently, exporters can reach international markets, ports can operate more effectively, and businesses across the logistics value chain can grow,\u201d said Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has allocated R3.4 billion through the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) over the current and next financial years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) will invest about R2.2 billion in restorative maintenance on the Ore Corridor, including R1.5 billion funded through the BFI allocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transnet has invested R1.47 billion in maintenance for ore line rolling stock, allocating R752.3 million for wagons and R721.9 million for locomotives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creecy said that similar amounts will be allocated to rolling stock maintenance in the next financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos of the world record train<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), has set a world record for the longest freight train, measuring 7.6 km with 696 wagons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":880598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2112544625747501316","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2243400916480307","_sma_instagram_post_id":"17909423766584743","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[26856,23943,19221,26857],"class_list":["post-880561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-longest-train","tag-the-department-of-transport-dot","tag-transnet-freight-rail","tag-world-record"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880561"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":880615,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880561\/revisions\/880615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}