Rhaetian Railway’s world record attempt has been successful

Several thousand guests and railway fans attended the public event in Bergün or positioned themselves along the route mentioned above to experience this unique journey.

RhB travelled along the Albula Line on Saturday afternoon, 29 October 2022, with 25 fourpart Capricorn railcars from leading Swiss manufacturer Stadler. The 1,906-metre-long record train was lined up like a string of pearls in the Albula Tunnel during the night from Friday to Saturday and on Saturday morning. It then set off in Preda at 2.20 pm. Shortly after 3.30 pm, the record-breaking train reached its destination: the spectacular crossing of the Landwasser Viaduct. “After intensive preparation, we are overjoyed to have achieved this world record. Not only did we have a wonderful railway festival here in Bergün, but we were able to present ourselves around the world as a fascinating and innovative mountain railway thanks to our dedicated partners, sponsors and an incredibly dedicated team,” says Renato Fasciati, Director of RhB shortly after the world record was set. The success of the world record was officially confirmed on site by GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™.

An impressive railway festival
A festival site was built outside Bergün where around 3,000 visitors attended the world record attempt. On the festival site, Märklin also presented the world record train in mini format – with 25 Capricorn LGB model trains and a length of 80 metres on a scale of 1:22.5. The world record attempt itself was broadcast on Blick TV with an approximately two-hour programme and was included in coverage by numerous TV stations around the world. More than 120 media representatives from 15 countries followed the world record live.

The RhB partners showed their skills at the station itself. For example, the track construction company SERSA was present with a track construction machine and a locomotive simulator. Expertise partners ABB and Repower provided information about electromobility. Siemens enabled a fantastic rail experience with augmented reality. The Albula Railway Museum was open, while Märklin and BEMO also showed various model railways. The entire railway village of Bergün was on the move.

Special timetable
A special timetable was in place on the RhB Albula Line on 29 October 2022. At the same time, the Albula Pass road between Filisur and La Punt was closed to road traffic from 6 am to 10 pm. Trains will be operating normally again from Sunday, 30 October 2022.

Facts and figures about the world record attempt

- The train consisted of 25 compositions, each with four carriages of the new Capricorn railcars, and had a total length of 1,906 metres.
- "Capricorn" is the Rhaeto-Romanic term for ibex.
- The world-record route from Preda to Alvaneu is 24,930 metres long.
- The train covered a difference in altitude of 789.4 metres (Preda = 1,788.7 m a.s.l.; Alvaneu = 999.3 m a.s.l.).
- The world record-breaking journey crossed 48 bridges and went through 22 tunnels.
- The largest viaduct on the world record route is the world-famous Landwasser Viaduct just after Filisur with a length of 142 metres and a height of 65 metres.
- The longest tunnel on the world record route is the Greifenstein Tunnel just before Filisur which is 698 metres long.
- The attempt to break the world record generated 4,000 kWh of braking energy (recuperation).
- The world-record train travelled at a speed of 30 to 35 km/h.
- The record-breaking journey took around an hour.
- The weight of the record-breaking train was around 2,990 tonnes.

Communication within the train was ensured by means of a field telephone almost two kilometres long from the Civil Defence.
In addition, 7 train drivers and 21 technicians were at work on the train to ensure its operability.