The Swiss railway company Rhätische Bahn set a world record on Saturday by running a train 1.9 kilometers on a well-known route through the Alps. This broke the old “longest train record” set by Belgian railways in 1991 by almost 200 metres.

The following images show the train moving through the Alps:

The train traveled from Preda to Bergün in the afternoon, a 25-kilometer route full of curves, tunnels and bridges, including the famous Landwasser Viaduct. In 2008, the Swiss railways were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The almost 3000-ton train, consisting of 25 multiple units with four cars each, needed about 46 minutes for the route. Seven drivers and 21 mechanics were involved in the record attempt to keep the colossus safe. Passengers who had bought a ticket for the special trip and journalists traveled on the train.

3000 enthusiasts gathered in Bergün to watch the exceptionally long train move along the route. Among them Maurits Wever from Leiden. “This is such a beautiful event. You have to imagine being in the middle of the mountains and looking at one of the most beautiful railway lines in Europe.”

Wever thought it was “very cool” to witness a new world record. Yesterday he traveled to Switzerland with a friend – by train, of course. “I’ve been here maybe ten times, but this was something very special. We have three views of the track from this spot, so we saw the train go by three times.”

To make the record attempt possible, no other train drove through the Albula Tunnel for twelve hours on Saturday. The attempt was part of the celebrations for the 175th anniversary of the Swiss Federal Railways.