Transnet: 696 wagons over 7.6 km, South Africa takes back the record for the longest train from Australia

South African public rail operator Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) ran a 696-wagon freight train, 7.6 kilometers long, on the iron ore export line connecting the Sishen mine in the Northern Cape to the port of Saldanha in the Western Cape. The test took place on October 18, 2026, and was announced on October 20, according to BusinessTech; Africanews, citing the AP agency, refers to a "possible" world record, with the claim coming from the company itself.

A record taken back from the Pilbara

The previous record had been held since 2001 by a BHP Iron Ore convoy in Australia's Pilbara region: 7.35 kilometers and 682 wagons, BusinessTech recalls. South Africa had already set a record on this same line in 1989. To put the scale into perspective, a freight train rarely exceeds two and a half kilometers.

Fifty-eight locomotives linked by radio

The feat relies on the distribution of power. Fifteen 15E electric locomotives and 43 43DE diesel-electric locomotives were positioned along the entire length of the convoy and linked electronically via Radio Distributed Power technology, which distributes traction and braking to limit mechanical stress between the wagons. These were running empty over the 861-kilometer corridor. The test involved Transnet Engineering, infrastructure manager TRIM, and the South African Railway Safety Regulator.

Behind the feat, a corridor to be saved

The challenge is not just technical. The government has committed 8.9 billion rand to a program to upgrade this line, with completion targeted for 2030. "When this corridor functions well, mines can move their products efficiently," said Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy, as quoted by BusinessTech. In 2025, iron ore accounted for 110 billion rand of South African exports, the fifth-largest product sold abroad; in July 2026, these exports reached 8.26 billion rand. The Sishen mine, operated by Kumba Iron Ore, a subsidiary of Anglo American, spans approximately 14 kilometers.

At a time when several states on the continent are demanding that their minerals be processed locally rather than exported raw, South Africa is reminding the world that it possesses heavy rail engineering expertise that few countries have. It remains to be seen if this can be converted into actual volumes: a record-breaking empty train is only valuable if it subsequently transports ore, and the line is not expected to return to full health until 2030.