I was looking for a HUGE train!

Great idea though. Cheaper I guess, plus it binds China to Europe. Should add passenger cars for a tourist option.

Wow!

That is quite a distance, although the Telegraph says 7400 miles and the BBC say 12000 miles. A link to the BBC story here. Due to the different track gauges, not 1 train makes the trip, but the cargo\containers are transferred to other trains along the route.

The logistics must be mind boggling. Fuel, border crossings, etc.

 Wonder if BBC meant to say KM as 7400 miles is roughly 12000KM

I heard that most of the 18 days was spent in southern England 

Wikipedia

12000km / 1500km/day = 8 days, so 10 days in England.

"staff difficulties, Hampton Wick."
"signal failure at Vauxhall."
"staff shortages, Nine Elms."
"derailment of container truck, Raynes Park."
"seasonal manpower shortages, Clapham Junction."
"defective junction box, New Malden."
"overheated axle at Berrylands."
"defective axle at Wandsworth."
"somebody had stolen the lines at Surbiton."

"defective bogey at Earlsfield."
"water seeping through the cables at Effingham Junction"

"black ice at Norbiton."
"obstacles on the line at Berrylands."
"badger ate a junction box at New Malden."
"Slow puncture at Peckham."
"escaped puma, Chessington North."

See also

frankv:

 

Wikipedia

 

12000km / 1500km/day = 8 days, so 10 days in England.

 

"staff difficulties, Hampton Wick."
"signal failure at Vauxhall."
"staff shortages, Nine Elms."
"derailment of container truck, Raynes Park."
"seasonal manpower shortages, Clapham Junction."
"defective junction box, New Malden."
"overheated axle at Berrylands."
"defective axle at Wandsworth."
"somebody had stolen the lines at Surbiton."

 

"defective bogey at Earlsfield."
"water seeping through the cables at Effingham Junction"

 

"black ice at Norbiton."
"obstacles on the line at Berrylands."
"badger ate a junction box at New Malden."
"Slow puncture at Peckham."
"escaped puma, Chessington North."

 

See also

 

I didn't get where I am today without recognising Reggie Perrin when I see him!

WyleECoyoteNZ:

 

Wow!

 

That is quite a distance, although the Telegraph says 7400 miles and the BBC say 12000 miles. A link to the BBC story here. Due to the different track gauges, not 1 train makes the trip, but the cargo\containers are transferred to other trains along the route.

 

The logistics must be mind boggling. Fuel, border crossings, etc.

 

And yet we struggle to make the Wairarapa trains run when the sun comes out or to build a rail link between the airport and the CBD in Auckland....!

Meanwhile in NZ the Gov wants to kill off rail  and give it to the trucking lobby..

old3eyes:

 

Meanwhile in NZ the Gov wants to kill off rail  and give it to the trucking lobby..

 

A good rail link that serves Auckland to Invercargill, and East to West for other main centres would be great. Takes trucks off the roads, add on passenger cars to suit demand. Surely it must be cheaper?

tdgeek:

 

old3eyes:

 

Meanwhile in NZ the Gov wants to kill off rail  and give it to the trucking lobby..

 

 

A good rail link that serves Auckland to Invercargill, and East to West for other main centres would be great. Takes trucks off the roads, add on passenger cars to suit demand. Surely it must be cheaper?

 

Rail has a critical mass below which it's more expensive than roads.

You have a lot of money tied up in land & infrastructure, which on some railway lines in NZ is only used once or twice per day.

At each end, goods shipped by rail need to be moved between the train and a truck. What you save in fuel costs you pay in handling costs.

Same issue for passenger services... you have to get from your home to the railway station, then get from the railway station to your destination. So you need good metropolitan public transport for long range passenger services to work.

By contrast, in Europe, with much higher population densities, passenger services are so good that many people don't even own a car.

Geektastic:

 

WyleECoyoteNZ:

 

Wow!

 

That is quite a distance, although the Telegraph says 7400 miles and the BBC say 12000 miles. A link to the BBC story here. Due to the different track gauges, not 1 train makes the trip, but the cargo\containers are transferred to other trains along the route.

 

The logistics must be mind boggling. Fuel, border crossings, etc.

 

 

 

 

And yet we struggle to make the Wairarapa trains run when the sun comes out or to build a rail link between the airport and the CBD in Auckland....!

 

 

 

Political will. China has it. NZ doesn't.....mainly due to National being 'owned' by the trucking lobby......hence they have run down rail and let it rot. Effectively sabotaging a public asset in favour of their private trucking cronies. No more trains beyond Whangerei. No more trains to Gisborne....and replacing electric trains with diesel because they refuse to complete the electrification of the main trunk line. Commitment to reducing emissions? Close to zero. 

This is nothing new. It was National's Transport Minister, Tony Friedlander, (of the Friedlander trucking family) who removed the 150km restriction on trucking in the early 80s in the Muldoon government, and flooded the highways with big trucks. 

But we spend $8 billion on roads. You didn't think they were for cars, did you?  

Linuxluver:

 

Geektastic:

 

WyleECoyoteNZ:

 

Wow!

 

That is quite a distance, although the Telegraph says 7400 miles and the BBC say 12000 miles. A link to the BBC story here. Due to the different track gauges, not 1 train makes the trip, but the cargo\containers are transferred to other trains along the route.

 

The logistics must be mind boggling. Fuel, border crossings, etc.

 

 

 

 

And yet we struggle to make the Wairarapa trains run when the sun comes out or to build a rail link between the airport and the CBD in Auckland....!

 

 

 

 

Political will. China has it. NZ doesn't.....mainly due to National being 'owned' by the trucking lobby......hence they have run down rail and let it rot. Effectively sabotaging a public asset in favour of their private trucking cronies. No more trains beyond Whangerei. No more trains to Gisborne....and replacing electric trains with diesel because they refuse to complete the electrification of the main trunk line. Commitment to reducing emissions? Close to zero. 

 

This is nothing new. It was National's Transport Minister, Tony Friedlander, (of the Friedlander trucking family) who removed the 150km restriction on trucking in the early 80s in the Muldoon government, and flooded the highways with big trucks. 

 

But we spend $8 billion on roads. You didn't think they were for cars, did you?  

 

Which created heaps of jobs... I'd love to see the unemployment rate if you took all the trucks off the road and relied on trains.

Not to mention fresh produce and overnight courier services. 

You can load a b-train in under 30 minutes with some good fork operators. And they can wait for late freight.

How long does it take to load a train? Hope you didn't want your goods this week. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't upset their other customers by waiting if your freight was 15 minutes late either.

PhantomNVD: Wonder how this relates to Brexit... ?

?  Not. Its just a train that is cheaper than a plane, and its building relationships with Europe. Win win as I see it