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The longest railway lines ranked here are named continuous trunk lines, not national networks and not passenger services assembled from several lines. Rank is by the published length of a named continuous railway trunk, in kilometres, not by a country's total track and not by a scheduled passenger service that stiches several official lines together [1][2]. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the outstanding official case: the actual length of the main passenger way from Moscow to Vladivostok is 9,288.2 kilometres, commonly rounded to 9,289, while the tariff length used for tickets is 9,298 kilometres, a difference that this article labels rather than hides [1][2]. That actual figure is the longest railway line on Earth in this method. A later freight corridor from Yiwu to Madrid, often described as about 13,000 kilometres, is an assembled international route, not a single official line, and it is not ranked here as if it were a second Trans-Siberian [3].
Passenger services such as the Indian Pacific, The Canadian, and India's Vivek Express can cover more than 4,000 kilometres by using several official lines in succession; those journeys are mentioned as services, not as silent substitutes for a named trunk [3]. The Baikal-Amur Mainline, from Tayshet to Sovetskaya Gavan, is commonly given as about 4,300 kilometres and is the clear second named trunk in this ten [4]. China's official north-south and east-west trunks, the completed Adelaide-Darwin transcontinental railway, the TAZARA, and Australia's Trans-Australian Railway fill the rest of the list with labelled official or standard lengths.
Key Facts
Lengths follow official Russian accounts for the Trans-Siberian, standard descriptions of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, official and trade accounts of Chinese trunks, Guinness for the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line, and official or museum accounts of the Australian and TAZARA lines [1][2][5][6][7]. Rank 1 is the outstanding official named-trunk length, which is also the only line in the ten above 9,000 kilometres.
The Beijing-Kowloon, or Jingjiu, trunk is 2,397 kilometres, rising to 2,553 if official branches to Tianjin and Wuhan are added; this article uses the 2,397-kilometre main line and labels the branch total [5]. The conventional Beijing-Guangzhou, or Jingguang, railway is 2,324 kilometres, and the separate Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line, opened on 26 December 2012, is 2,298 kilometres, the official Guinness longest high-speed railway line [6][8]. Those two are not silently treated as one product. The table is the official spine: named trunk first, labelled kilometres second, and no unsourced "longest train ride" service is smuggled in as a line length.
Longest Railway Lines at a Glance
| Rank | Line | Length (km) | End points | 2026 note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trans-Siberian Railway | 9,288.2 actual; tariff 9,298 | Moscow to Vladivostok | Longest named trunk; commonly rounded to 9,289 |
| 2 | Baikal-Amur Mainline | About 4,300 | Tayshet to Sovetskaya Gavan | A separate official Russian trunk, not a second Trans-Siberian |
| 3 | Adelaide-Darwin railway | About 2,979 | Adelaide to Darwin | The completed north-south transcontinental railway, not The Ghan service itself |
| 4 | Beijing-Kowloon (Jingjiu) railway | 2,397 | Beijing to Kowloon | Official main-line length; 2,553 including named branches |
| 5 | Beijing-Guangzhou (Jingguang) railway | 2,324 | Beijing to Guangzhou | The conventional official trunk, not the later high-speed line |
| 6 | Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway | 2,298 | Beijing to Guangzhou | Official Guinness longest high-speed line; opened 26 December 2012 |
| 7 | Qinghai-Tibet railway | About 1,956 | Xining to Lhasa | A named official high-altitude trunk, not a network total |
| 8 | Lanzhou-Xinjiang (Lanxin) railway | 1,904 | Lanzhou to Urumqi | Official northwest China trunk |
| 9 | TAZARA | About 1,860 | Dar es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi | The official Tanzania-Zambia railway |
| 10 | Longhai railway | 1,759 | Lianyungang to Lanzhou | Official east-west Chinese trunk; the Trans-Australian line is just shorter |
1. Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway, the official main passenger trunk from Moscow to Vladivostok, has an actual length of 9,288.2 kilometres and a tariff length of 9,298 kilometres, and it is the longest named railway line in the world on that official measure [1][2]. The commonly rounded figure of 9,289 kilometres is the same actual length expressed without the decimal. The line is not a country's entire network, and it is not the same as a later international freight corridor that uses parts of it. This article records the official actual and tariff figures.
It is first as the outstanding official named-trunk length, a labelled 9,288.2-kilometre fact, and the documentary centre of this ten [1][2]. A later official remeasurement of a few hundred metres will belong in a revision of the cell.
Official Russian accounts of the main passenger way are the sources [1][2].
2. Baikal-Amur Mainline
The Baikal-Amur Mainline, from Tayshet to Sovetskaya Gavan, is commonly given as about 4,300 kilometres, a separate official Russian trunk running north of the Trans-Siberian, and it is the clear second named line in this method [4]. The figure is a standard published length for that official mainline, not a silent addition to the Trans-Siberian total. This article records the labelled about-value. The line is a trunk, not a passenger-service brand.
It is second as the outstanding official Russian trunk after the Trans-Siberian, a labelled 4,300-kilometre-class figure, and a necessary counterpart rather than a duplicate [4]. A later official kilometre table will belong in a revision of the cell.
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Standard official descriptions of the BAM are the source [4].
3. Adelaide-Darwin railway
The completed Adelaide-Darwin railway, Australia's official north-south transcontinental trunk, is commonly given as about 2,979 kilometres, and it is ranked here as that named railway, not as The Ghan passenger service that uses it [3]. Completing the Alice Springs to Darwin section in 2004 finished the corridor as a single continuous trunk. This article records the commonly cited official corridor length. It is not a second Indian Pacific, which is a different east-west passenger service over several lines.
It is third as the outstanding official Australian transcontinental trunk, a labelled 2,979-kilometre-class figure, and a necessary infrastructure counterpart to the later Trans-Australian entry [3]. A later official kilometre table will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard accounts of the completed north-south railway are the source [3].
4. Beijing-Kowloon (Jingjiu) railway
The Beijing-Kowloon, or Jingjiu, railway is an official north-south Chinese trunk of 2,397 kilometres, completed in the 1990s, and the length rises to 2,553 kilometres if official branches to Tianjin and Wuhan are included [5]. This article uses the 2,397-kilometre main line and labels the branch total. The line is a named trunk, not a high-speed line under another name, and not a national network figure.
It is fourth as the outstanding official 2,397-kilometre Chinese north-south trunk, a labelled main-line length, and a necessary counterpart to the Jingguang conventional line [5]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
Official and trade accounts of the Jingjiu trunk are the source [5].
5. Beijing-Guangzhou (Jingguang) railway
The conventional Beijing-Guangzhou, or Jingguang, railway is an official double-track electrified trunk of 2,324 kilometres between Beijing and Guangzhou, a named line distinct from the later high-speed railway on the same corridor [6]. This article records the conventional official length. It is not a silent combination with the 2,298-kilometre high-speed line listed next.
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It is fifth as the outstanding official conventional Jingguang trunk, a labelled 2,324-kilometre figure, and a necessary counterpart to the later high-speed line [6]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard official descriptions of the Jingguang railway are the source [6].
6. Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway
The Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway is 2,298 kilometres long and is recorded by Guinness World Records as the longest high-speed railway line, officially opened on 26 December 2012 [8]. It is a separate official line from the conventional Jingguang trunk, even though the end cities are the same. This article records the official high-speed length and the opening date. It is not a national high-speed network total.
It is sixth as the outstanding official longest high-speed trunk, a labelled 2,298-kilometre Guinness figure, and a necessary counterpart to the conventional 2,324-kilometre line [8]. A later official longer high-speed trunk would belong in a revision of the record line.
Guinness World Records is the source [8].
7. Qinghai-Tibet railway
The Qinghai-Tibet, or Qingzang, railway from Xining to Lhasa is commonly given as about 1,956 kilometres, a named official high-altitude trunk rather than a network total or a tourism slogan [3][7]. The figure is the official corridor length of that named line. This article records the labelled kilometres. It is longer than the Lanzhou-Xinjiang trunk and shorter than the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line.
It is seventh as the outstanding official high-altitude Chinese trunk, a labelled 1,956-kilometre-class figure, and a necessary counterpart to the Lanxin line [7]. A later official kilometre table will belong in a revision of the cell.
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Standard official descriptions of the Qingzang railway are the source [7].
8. Lanzhou-Xinjiang (Lanxin) railway
The Lanzhou-Xinjiang, or Lanxin, railway is an official trunk of 1,904 kilometres from Lanzhou to Urumqi, the longest railway in northwestern China in standard official descriptions, opened as a through line in 1966 [7]. The figure is the official Lanzhou to Urumqi length, not a later high-speed line on a related corridor. This article records the official 1,904 kilometres.
It is eighth as the outstanding official northwest Chinese trunk, a labelled 1,904-kilometre figure, and a necessary counterpart to the Qingzang line [7]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard official descriptions of the Lanxin railway are the source [7].
9. TAZARA
The Tanzania-Zambia Railway, officially TAZARA, is commonly given as about 1,860 kilometres from Dar es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi, a named international trunk rather than a national network total [3]. The figure is the standard published length of that official railway. This article records the labelled kilometres. It is the outstanding official African trunk in this ten.
It is ninth as the outstanding official Tanzania-Zambia trunk, a labelled 1,860-kilometre-class figure, and a necessary counterpart to the Chinese and Australian trunks [3]. A later official kilometre table will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard official descriptions of TAZARA are the source [3].
10. Longhai railway
The Longhai railway is an official east-west Chinese trunk of 1,759 kilometres from Lianyungang on the Yellow Sea to Lanzhou [7]. The Trans-Australian Railway, from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie, is officially 1,693 kilometres and was completed on 17 October 1917, a near-eleventh named trunk rather than a silent extra rank [9]. This article records the official Longhai length and labels the slightly shorter Australian line. The Longhai is a named trunk, not a combination with the Lanxin line into a fake single coast-to-Urumqi product.
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It is tenth as the outstanding official 1,759-kilometre east-west Chinese trunk, a labelled figure, and a necessary counterpart to the Lanxin line that continues west from Lanzhou [7][9]. A later official revision will belong in a revision of the cell.
Standard official descriptions of the Longhai railway, and the official Trans-Australian length for the near-eleventh, are the sources [7][9].
Conclusion
A 2026 longest-railway-lines list has to keep the Trans-Siberian's official actual length of 9,288.2 kilometres and its tariff length of 9,298, rank the Baikal-Amur Mainline as a separate trunk of about 4,300 kilometres, and refuse to treat Yiwu-Madrid, the Indian Pacific, The Canadian, or the Vivek Express as if they were single official lines [1][2][3]. The Adelaide-Darwin railway, the Jingjiu and Jingguang trunks, the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line of 2,298 kilometres, the Qingzang and Lanxin lines, TAZARA, and the Longhai railway complete a named-trunk ten in which the Trans-Australian Railway at 1,693 kilometres sits just outside [5][6][7][8][9]. The useful habit is a named line, a labelled kilometre, and a refusal to mix a service length into a trunk ranking.
A later official kilometre table will belong in a revision of a cell; it will not change the method. Those labelled trunk lengths are the spine of the list, and they will still be the spine after a later yearbook has restated a tariff or actual figure in a later year.
- ^ [1] Official and standard Russian accounts of the Trans-Siberian main passenger way: actual length 9,288.2 kilometres from Moscow to Vladivostok, tariff length 9,298 kilometres. Transsib Handbook
- ^ [2] RIA Novosti account of the Trans-Siberian Railway, confirming the 9,288.2-kilometre actual length and the 9,298-kilometre tariff length. RIA Novosti
- ^ [3] Method note distinguishing named trunks from assembled passenger services and international freight corridors, including the completed Adelaide-Darwin railway at about 2,979 kilometres and TAZARA at about 1,860 kilometres.
- ^ [4] Standard official descriptions of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, Tayshet to Sovetskaya Gavan, about 4,300 kilometres. Visit Amur
- ^ [5] Official and trade accounts of the Beijing-Kowloon (Jingjiu) railway, 2,397 kilometres, or 2,553 including official branches. Railway Gazette
- ^ [6] Standard official length of the conventional Beijing-Guangzhou (Jingguang) railway, 2,324 kilometres.
- ^ [7] Standard official lengths of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, about 1,956 kilometres; the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway, 1,904 kilometres; and the Longhai railway, 1,759 kilometres.
- ^ [8] Guinness World Records, longest high-speed railway line: Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line, 2,298 kilometres, officially opened 26 December 2012. Guinness World Records
- ^ [9] Official Australian account of the Trans-Australian Railway, Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie, 1,693 kilometres, completed 17 October 1917. National Museum of Australia
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