Official World Record
29. October 2022
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Much depends on train driver Andreas Kramer, who’s been with the Rhaetian Railway since 2010 and is responsible for testing and commissioning the company’s trains. He it is who’ll be in the driver’s cab of the world’s longest passenger train on 29 October
He’ll have 25 Capricorn formations, i.e. 100 carriages behind him – a length of 1.91 kilometres. But he won’t be alone on the track: assisting him on this adventure will be six experienced colleagues. We asked him about the world record attempt:
(Because I’d be surprised if such a big occasion as the world record attempt didn’t keep you busy, even in your sleep.)
No problem. I’m sleeping like a baby. But of course I’m dreaming of a wonderful autumn day, with plenty of sunshine and an amazing atmosphere all along the route.
First and foremost, getting the 25 four-carriage Capricorn formations up to the Albula tunnel is a logistical feat; that’s where we’re assembling the record-breaking train on the night of 29 October 2022. It requires detailed planning, and, on the day itself, the communication between us seven train drivers will be crucial.
We all know the Albula line very well, every change of gradient, every incline. It goes without saying that we’re going through the process again and again – as well as at separate briefings, which we’re holding on a regular basis. There’s not much more you can do.
The question at the back of all our minds is: “Will it really work?” – the coupling of the 25 compositions, I mean. We haven’t been able to test much in advance, despite two trial runs in April and May.
A great deal, actually. The first attempt was virtually a dead loss. By which I mean we didn’t move an inch, because one of the co-drivers wasn’t able to operate the unit’s emergency brake. The cause was a technical problem with the emergency brake loop – the safety system that allows any of the seven drivers to apply an emergency brake at any time and bring the entire train to an immediate stop. For safety reasons, there was no way we could proceed with the trial run. We also realised that the drivers were unable to communicate with each other via radio or mobile phone in the tunnels because there was no network. That’s how we came up with the idea of the Swiss Army’s field telephone. It allows us to keep in touch the whole time. I give the commands, the other colleagues hear me and could if necessary ask for clarification. After all, that’s what it’s all about: we need to be 100% synchronised, every second. Using the drive and brake levers, everyone has to keep their speed and other systems under control in their driver’s cabs.
No, I didn’t have to apply. All those involved work in the same department and are train drivers. Somehow it was clear to RhB’s technical project manager – Peter Klima – that I should be the lead driver. And here I am. I’m really thrilled.
That’s purely down to chance – our colleague, who’s part of our team, had already booked her holidays for the end of October and won’t be around.
To be honest, the risks are manageable. Whatever happens, we want to prevent unplanned manoeuvres causing damage to the mechanical couplings that connect the multiple-unit Capricorn trains. We’re unable to control natural hazards such as sudden gusts of wind felling trees, etc.
Absolutely, that’s not a problem. We’re simply hoping for typical sunny Canton Graubünden autumn weather.
Of course we could, but we deliberately won’t go more than 30-35 km/h. That’s because we don’t want to feed more than 30% electric braking power back into the overhead catenary grid. Every train that goes down an incline generates electricity. In our case, a lot of electricity. So we have to limit it, otherwise the fuse or the overhead catenary would literally burn right through.
99 percent.
That’s what’s known as the residual risk: we can live with that.
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