Heaviest freight train
- Who
- BHP
- What
- 99732.1 tonne(s)/metric ton(s)
- Where
- Australia
- When
- 21 June 2001
The heaviest ever train weighed 99,732.1 tonnes (220 million lb) and was 7.353 km (4.568 miles) long. Assembled by BHP Iron Ore (Australia), the train travelled 275 km (171 miles) from the company's Newman and Yandi mines to Port Hedland, Western Australia, on 21 June 2001.
The train consisted of 682 ore cars pushed by eight powerful diesel-electric locomotives. It had 5,648 wheels, and was assembled to test out a new train control system, which essentially allows the driver in the front locomotive to control the other seven engines simultaneously, even though they are spaced at intervals of nearly a kilometre along the length of the train.The locomotives were General Electric model AC6000 CW.