The heaviest trains in the world are freight trains hauling bulk commodities such as coal and iron ore. The weight of trains generally does not include the weight of the operating locomotives; this is not considered dead weight, so is not included. If for example a train had two locomotives operating and was simply hauling a third off line, this third locomotive would be included in the payload weight.
Specifications
Gauge
If the track and its alignment are strong, gauge is not so important. Among railways with over gross train weight, the Sishen–Saldanha railway line uses, while the others use. Most Pilbara region railways operate on pre-stressed rail, meaning that each metre of track weighs 68 kg or each yard of track weighs 137 pounds. This gives the track the strength to carry such heavy loads.
The track bed and the strength of the rails themselves limit the axle load.
Line load
Line load is the weight per metre or foot of train length. The strength of bridges is what mainly limits this. Examples:
Curves
Curves must not be too sharp; wagons may be pulled off the track and derailed, especially with general freight trains where light and heavy wagons are intermixed, less so if all cars in a train are loaded and unloaded at the same place and equally much. The meaning of "too sharp" depends as much on experience as on a specific formula.
Couplers
The couplers must be strong enough in heavy trains. Janney couplers are used for the heaviest trains. The SA3 couplers handle trains of, as Russian trains limited by loop lengths, etc.; maximum load of SA3 couplers have not been tested. The standard buffers and chain couplers used in Europe can only handle train weight, but trials are made to push this limit to.
SNCF: 947 m long freight train with 67 wagons –. Train was composed of two coupled ordinary freight trains using standard buffers and chain couplers. Therefore, the locomotive of the second train became a mid-train helper, but was still manually operated. The first train consisted of two locomotives BB 27000 with 44 flat cars loaded with steel plates; the second train consisted of one BB 27000 with 23 coal hoppers. The train ran in the night from 28 to 29 October from Somain to Woippy and reached a maximum speed of. More tests on the same route are planned for spring 2016. The regular service will start in December 2017, with remote controlled mid-train helpers.
The heaviest trains length is 750m and weighing 4000 tons. And a recorded 12000 tons train in 1993 with 100 six axle iron ore cars pulled by 6 GT26CW locomotives in three positions, Front, middle and at the end connected by locotrol.
Kenya
Existing – –
Proposed – –
Improvement due to heavier rail, gentler curves and gradients.
The longest and heaviest freight train ran as a test train on February 20, 1986, from Ekibastuz to the Urals was carried out with a coal train. The composition consisted of 439 wagons and several diesel locomotives distributed along the train. The mass of is and the total length of.
Chita - Zabaykalsk up from. Russia uses special SA3 couplers allowing higher weight than in most of Europe.
In 2014 Russian Railways presented a new locomotive called 4ES5K adopted for trains to be put into operation in 2015.
The heaviest trains in Finland weigh approximately and carry iron ore pellets from the mines and processing plant in Kostomuksha, Russia. They go from Kostomuksha to Oulu, Finland, as 60-car unit trains measuring approximately in length. In Finland these trains are hauled by two Sr2 class electric locomotives at while in Russia trains are hauled by double-section 2TE116 classdiesel engines. Due to the restrictions caused by passing loop lengths between Oulu and the port of Kokkola the trains are shortened to 30-40 cars in Oulu and are usually operated with Sr1 class electric locomotives for the rest of the way. The trains use exclusively Russian rolling stock and are equipped with SA3 couplers.
Saudi Arabia
Freight trains on the new North-South will carry and be 100 wagons long. Later estimates are for and 155 wagons.
Sierra Leone had a narrow gauge railway with 5 t axleloads. Train loads were necessarily very limited, which increased costs counter-productively, as large numbers of small trains were needed to haul tonnages that heavier railways could haul with fewer trains. For example, in 1956 fourteen modern 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts were purchased from Beyer-Peacock. These locos increased the maximum load over 1:50 grades from 200 tons to 270 tons.
South Africa
Sishen–Saldanha railway line:. long, 9 locomotives in 4 sets remote distributed power management Uses 50 kV AC.
Manganese:
Sweden / Norway
On the Iron Ore Line which goes between Luleå, Sweden and Narvik, Norway, iron ore trains are hauled by IORE locomotives. These trains are the heaviest in Europe. Special SA3 couplers, and 15 kV Hz electrification are used. The iron trains go either Kiruna-Narvik or Gällivare-Luleå. Other very heavy trains go in flat areas but these trains go through a mountain range, although the uphill grades are at most 10 ‰ in the direction with loaded trains. Other heavy trains in Sweden are no more than limited by buffers and chain couplers.
Switzerland
– electric hauled
United States
Many main routes in the western US allow cars with gross weights up to .
The world heaviest train record is registered as follows: Australia, BHP: 2001, trial with 682 ore cars and eight distributed GE AC6000CW locomotives with a total weight of 99,734 t South Africa, Sishen Saldanha: 1989, 660 fully laden ore trucks, nine electric locomotives, seven Diesel engines and three other cars with a total weight of 70,543 tons made the journey, taking 12 minutes to pass by the watching engineers.
