What’s the Longest Train in the World?

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[@EkainMunduate]

1. The reason Finland has 1524mm guage is becouse the Russian Empire had it, but Russia switched to 1520mm to run the newer trains more "tight" and smooth, but Finland stayed with 1524mm. There is a direct train from Helsinki to Saint Petersburg that has a wheel distance of 1522mm so that its compatible on both countries. 2. There is a narrow guage train half and hourly from San Sebastian to the french border called Topo that connects with the French national railroads. You dont need to walk the bridge from Irun. 3. Spain uses a wider track than the rest of Europe becouse Spain needed more powerful and bigger locomotives for its mountainous region. Also, they thought that european countries would eventually use wider tracks (like Ireland, Russia...). The invasion thing is a myth. You cant even invade a country with trains LOL (just use a switch to derail or divert them). Source: I live in San Sebastian, I'm half finnish and a train nerd. Please like so that people get their facts right. Thanks for reading!

[@valeriavagapova]

Good info!

[@dropdatabase2569]

That's cool. In fact, there are multiple trains between Russia and Finland. I myself used one from Moscow to Helsinki. I didn't know it had special wheel distance

[@TheDancingHyena]

good info. But trains help an invasion progress by facilitating the movement of reinforcements and supplies into conquered territory, so your final point sounds rather silly indeed.

[@ILikePi31415926535]

Yeah, spending 10 minutes reading about the massive logistics issues Austria-Hungary had due to variable gauge rail during WWI will tell you how trains can contribute to an invasion.

[@thePronto]

Won't 'like' because of your silly 3rd point illustrating you zero understanding of military matters or history. Why did all sides spend so much energy bombing rail infra in WW2 if all they needed to do was 'divert the trains'.

[@that_oboe]

I lost my *train* of thought when you made that smooth ad transition Isn't that *brilliant*

[@theJordanof23]

That Oboe You won

[@pilotaddine]

I expect to see more of these in further videos lol

[@Jaabir21]

My exact thoughts

[@niveditamuthamani219]

Hahahaha funny pun

[@TheManiac-nw8ru]

You and your *BRILLIANT* puns

[@toast6494]

"How long is the trip?" "Seventeen." "Minutes?" "No, Seventeen." "Hours?" "No." "Then Seventeen what?" *"DAYS."*

[@Ro_Gaming]

no? *It's a defunct train that will move when the world ends in some sort of explosion*

[@roshanbabus9597]

I mean seriously, Russia, How big are you? I can't believe Alaska was yours!

[@Sci_X1]

The Soviet Union didn’t use Alaska

[@roshanbabus9597]

@@Sci_X1 I'm not talking about use. It's about how big Russia is.

[@Sci_X1]

Fido Doggy yeah I meant as in the Soviet Union didn’t have Alaska yet it was still bigger

[@roshanbabus9597]

@@Sci_X1 Yep. I get your point

[@tylerliu2632]

@@Sci_X1 wasn't he talking about the Russian Empire?

[@chrismontoya7831]

*I love this guy's train of thought*

[@JuanTorres-nx4hp]

Chris Montoya Get out.

[@chrismontoya7831]

Juan Torres K

[@ethanchou4906]

Whats the matter? He was so on *track!*

[@eighty_more_or_less]

de-railed

[@cliftonbanks5590]

Chris Montoya. He's had lots of training.

[@ashknoecklein]

Wow I'm getting super nostalgic, my husband's grandfather was obsessed with trains. He spent an entire Thanksgiving explaining track gauges to me one year.

[@ewanduffy]

Notwithstanding that I am a railway enthusiast, I feel sorry for you!

[@cpotisch]

I took that 65 hour Chicago-Los Angeles train in February. It’s a the Amtrak “Texas Eagle”, taking three nights end to end. It takes so long because, similarly to that NK/Russia sleeper, service to Los Angeles is only operated by two cars. At San Antonio, the Texas Eagle transfers a sleeper and coach to a different train that heads on to Los Angeles. It’s a wildly indirect route, but a lot of fun!

[@robinlindkvist3709]

finland and russia have different tracks but same trains work on both of them becouse difference is so small

[@ethanpet113]

"Previous testing has proven that trains don't work well off the track."

[@toast6494]

@@Navikonline nice video

[@danieldronzek8616]

MAGLEV WANTS TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION

[@adrianroed2178]

@@danieldronzek8616 kinda still a track

[@whathasmylifecometo2910]

:0

[@georgejetson1025]

Same logic says airplanes don’t travel well in the ocean

[@xWood4000]

"Finland being Finland..." Great quote.

[@lassemanninen430]

xWood4000 And false. Finland and Russia have same trackwith.

[@6272355463637]

Weeeeelll... Finland does use Russian broad gauge. But then the Soviets changed it (from 1524 mm to 1520 mm) - and Finland kept it at 1524 mm.

[@VicMcFly111]

Lasse Manninen no we don't. but the difference is so small that Finnish trains can operate in Russia and vice versa

[@Afdch]

HAD same width. Finland still uses old Imperial units 5 ft gauge, USSR has moved to rounded metrics, hence 1520 mm.

[@FizzyToni]

I lmao'd a little bit. / hajosin vähän :p

[@RenatoLaporte]

In the Spain explanation, I definitely missed the talk about Talgo trains and how you CAN cross from Spain to France with a modern system that change the gauge on the fly and it doesn't take hours.

[@josearamirez2018]

The Talgo used to depart Madrid in the evening and arrive in Paris the next morning. It would change gauges on the go. It was only a first class service

[@FutureNow]

18 days on a cargo train sounds like a special kind of hell.

[@mehol3]

IKR

[@MrWoodii]

Some poor Chinese hobo might learn that lesson the hard way. :(

[@jimsvideos7201]

I guy I know did pretty much that in the Russian Army.

[@jaxonvictoria4345]

FutureNow sounds like a Killem video

[@TheUselessStoner]

in the us they are limited to 12 hours a day before a new crew must take over. i'm sure its something similar there so there has to be stations they stop at to refuel and change crew.

[@puntobarrabajapunto]

I'm a spanish engineer and the reason of the different width of the railway was not the fear of a french invasion. The real reason was that Spain is a very mountainous country and for that reason spanish train engines had to be bigger than the rest of europe. As the spanish trains were bigger, railways had to be bigger too.

[@stuartstrachan1784]

How does Austria manage?

[@SFKelvin]

I think it was actually to protect Spanish industry - rail car manufacturers, etc. Spain has a long tradition of this. For example, books imported into Spain had their covers cut off to protect Spanish bookbinders, etc.

[@russellgxy2905]

@@SFKelvin That makes a bit more sense. For running trains through mountainous terrain which normal trains can't seem to manage, the normal practice would've been to shrink the gauge, not widen it!

[@ewanduffy]

Logically, mountainous territory should give rise to a narrower gauge to allow for sharper curves.

[@OnkelJajusBahn]

​@@stuartstrachan1784 You can still operate mountain railways with standard gauge. You might need two locomotives in cases where Spain just needs one, but nowerdays this is not such a big issue any more. Austria even build a 760mm narrow gauge moutain railway called Mariazellerbahn. But I have no idea, why Austria sticked bith narrow gauge and Spain didn't propapelly Austria wanted to be compatible with the rest of central Europe. But also for excample Switzerland has many mountain railways in narrow gauge of 1000mm or Italy in 950mm. Narrow gauge, also has the advantage to allow for smaller curves, and has lower construction cost. But there is also a weird instance in the city of Linz: Linz built a tramway in the gauge 900mm, when they built the Pöstlingbergbahn, one of the steepest mountain railways in the world, connecting Linz to an adjacent mountain, they built that railway in 1000mm gauge, because they thought this 100mm smaller gauge wouldn't allow for strong enough motors. However they switched the railway to 900mm a few years ago, so trains from the mountain railway can run on tramway tracks to the city-center.

[@tarpattituopponen7783]

Finnish rail gauge is so little off from Russia that same trains can operate. 1524mm and 1520mm. It’s a relic from Tsar era.

[@aydoyt]

4mm?

[@felixbeutin9530]

sounds unstable to me

[@theTHwa3tes11]

@@felixbeutin9530 the line from Russia to Finland is 1,522mm Gauge.

[@ZaHandle]

Solution: wider wheels like only 2mm wider

[@tarpattituopponen7783]

@@theTHwa3tes11 On Russian side it's 1520 and in Finland it's 1524. It works. Railroads have a 5 millimeter tolerance anyway.

[@Bsrt]

Talgo and CAF trains have systems that allow to change the gauge without even stopping. There are even high speed trains (Renfe 120, 121, 130 and 730 series) with that system, and Renfe ordered 2 years ago 15 350 km/h dual gauge trains, wich are expected to be in service in 2020.

[@toposebi95]

Actually, you *don't* need to cross the bridge to Irun. To the left of the main (SNCF) Hendaye train station is a smaller, narrow-gauge station operated by the Basque Government's own railway company, Euskotren, that runs direct trains to San Sebastián every half-hour. The only walking necessary is a 1-minute trek through the main station's parking lot. Oh yeah, and there's no buses to San Sebastián from Hendaye. Well, there are, but they're long-distance buses - the same ones that go to Madrid, and you'll probably have to cough up 7 euros for the ride. Not exactly cheap. source: i live in irun

[@jonistan9268]

Vasconium Is it a narrow gauge line? It appeared quite wide to me. (I visited Hendaye and Irun in autumn). As for the buses: Isn't there a bus company that runs services from Biarritz to Hendaye? (Beyond that would be pointless because the trains run so often but there aren't many local trains between Biarritz and Hendaye.) There are a few TGV trains to Hendaye every day and I think one of them continues over the bridge to Irun. Why is that?

[@toposebi95]

Jonistan Yup, it's 1000 mm (aka metre gauge) which is considered narrow.

[@jonistan9268]

Vasconium ok thanks... That is also considering narrow gauge here in Switzerland.

[@EkainMunduate]

Jonistan both in Irun and Hendaye they have both nations track guages

[@bossikblack3118]

I read that as "i live in ruin" lol

[@Neojhun]

"Previous Testing has Proven Trains Don't Work Well OFF the Track." Hmmm thanks Wendover I learnt something today.

[@gtgokujr]

lisanya23 same person

[@sirk603]

abraham carino no

[@gtgokujr]

The Kitten Gamer yes

[@sirk603]

abraham carino there was a video where they were in the same room together. I forget the link but I know it exists.

[@sirk603]

abraham carino scarily nvm I was thinking of real life lore

[@ShahidKhan-uf8hd]

Hey Sam, good job on this!! Even if a few few details were a bit of, you clearly put in a lot of effort to understand a complicated topic, and I appreciate you.

[@Zeinzu2]

Very good AD segue ! I love it when people sneak them into vids (honestly).

[@POLARTTYRTM]

0:55 Freedom units. I laugh whenever I read or say that.

[@FairyCRat]

POLARTTYRTM Metric system for the win though. Logic will reign supreme someday.

[@zedramer]

The only units used by humans on the moon!

[@Roxor128]

Americans and their Orwellian terms... [shakes head]

[@podoju]

Doesn't the US customary unit come from their former British masters? The irony is staggering.

[@konata736]

I laughed way harder than I should have lmao

[@captainevenslower4400]

I'm afraid 2:04 is not true. There are systems which automatically convert a trains gauge simply by driving over a special designed part of tracks and the train has to have a special set of wheels. Although the train has to slow down, it only takes maybe minutes to do and the passengers mostly don't even notice it. It is for example used on trains from Europe to Moscow

[@DiThi]

Came to say this. I travelled from Madrid to Paris 18 years ago. I didn't notice the change because I was sleeping in a bunk bed on the train.

[@dsaneusp]

We actually have this all over Spain. It's used to switch between the standard gauge high-speed tracks to the conventional iberian gauge tracks, to take advantage of high speeds on certain journeys.

[@pauulthefair]

Where's your evidence????

[@captainevenslower4400]

Dumb Kid on KZbin i hope that question is based on your channel name

[@magichands135]

Alberto Torres I díd notice it 25 years ago. We got kicked out of the train in the middle of the night at the border. Glad I still had my pants on in my sleeping bag.

[@MFahrulRozi]

Me When I See The Title And Thumbnail: *it was time for thomas to leave, he had seen everything*

[@CityWhisperer]

2:02 Actually, wrong. Using the same example of Spain, the national train rolling stock company, Talgo, developed a gauge-changeable train that could switch between the Iberian gauge and the standard one in just seconds, without the train even having to stop. It just went through a small cabinet located within the journey, even with passengers, without stopping and at around 20km/h. The gauge changed, magic. It's still used nowadays.

[@luisbreva6122]

from 1:20 to 1:25 thats not true. It was done like that because of spanish mountainous relief. Wider track could hold more powerful train engines (with bigger boilers) so trains could overcome larger slopes. The other thing is just an urban myth of that time, as france had invaded spain not much before (with terrible consequences for Spain) I actually had an exam about this today lol😂 Pleases like this so other people know about it

[@DanielFernandes-fd5ml]

This is correct. Spain (wrongly) considered larger tracks to be more efficient to overcome slopes. Why use different train tracks when a simple switch would be enough to derail an entire army on a train?

[@FrancescoDoronzo]

I may be wrong, but I thought the limit for slopes is due to the low friction between the steel wheels and the steel rails, not because of low power engines: over a certain angle, the wheels slip and the train can't go up

[@errementari7190]

It's absolutely true. I don't know who teach you history that way but the mountainous relief was just an excuse. In that time Spain preferred a protectionist economy because its industries were less developed than the European ones, so one way to avoid French and European products to "invade" the Spanish market was the adoption of a wider track gauge.

[@luisbreva6122]

Francesco Doronzo Yes that may be true (im not fully sure tho) but having more powerful engines definitely helps a lot in progressively increasing slopes. And Spain has loads of those specially when u want to go from the periphery to the capital.

[@luisbreva6122]

A6Bilbao Well that might be another reason but the point is that no land invasion was feared (in fact that is the kind of stories that people usually make up). Btw no one has tought me that was is in my text book, which indeed isnt very accurate.

[@flan208]

The real reason for Finland having different tracks is actually because Finland was a part of Russia when our first railroads were built and thus we used the same size as Russia.

[@yegorgribenuke6853]

Why do i get to know this stuff from Bon-russian People instead Of history lessons

[@josemarquez6420]

I love how good these videos are that you regularly hit trending 👏

[@Kaffeinated11]

This is my favorite "information" youtube channel by far!!! You take yourself just the right amount of serious XD

[@amcghie7]

I took the train from Moscow to Beijing, stopping off in a few places. That stop at the Mongolian border so they can change the train gauge is no joke. I remember I was bursting for a pee but they close the toilets because they don't want you peeing straight onto a track in a station and I've never been closer to pissing myself in my life. Ended up having to pee into a bottle, not fun! Definitely an experience though...

[@rickd3777]

I’m a railfan from China (lives in California), they use the really old China Railway Class 18 coaches designed specifically for international trains, in 1995.

[@MrxstGrssmnstMttckstPhlNelThot]

So, Wendover is about planes. HAI is becoming about trains... Is there gonna be a third channel in the future?

[@HerodotusVon]

ArpholomuleNutt Yes, and it’s about back pains

[@joseperalta6235]

Yes, Wendunder Productions; it's about submarines.

[@MrxstGrssmnstMttckstPhlNelThot]

You folks are missing the joke I was trying to go for. :(

[@sylvanransom704]

is the third one going to be about automobiles?

[@kunlin579]

ships or spaceships?

[@drdewott9154]

"Now you can actually change the guages of trains but it's massivly difficult. At best it takes hours for a full length passenger train." Talgo: "Allow us to introduce ourselves."

[@MarsMountain]

I laughed hard at the "Foreign French units" vs "Freedom units"! 0:50

[@francisburke4240]

Marcus Malmberg turn off

[@ApaceLp]

*Fun Fact:* Even when neighboring countries use the same track gauges, they are not always using the same voltages for power, resulting in a lack of overhead cables in border regions. This means the standard protocol for a train travelling through the French-German Border is to: 1. pick up a lot of speed, 2. retract the pantograph mid journey, 3. reconfigure the train for the new voltage, 4. wait for the overhead cables to reapear 5. extend the pantograph again.

[@mihirv2574]

Apace you could use diesel engines for the trains

[@ApaceLp]

Way to slow, expensive, loud and incompatible with modern high speed trains.

[@mihirv2574]

Apace they'll still probably go at around 150 KMPH. However it will remain a last ditch option.

[@varana]

They've been using multi-system engines at least since the 1960s, though, so the technology is quite well-established these days.

[@kempo_95]

Apace or stop and switch locomotives.

[@jake.klusewitz]

Wow, now I’ve watched every one of your videos. Thanks for all the interesting, educational and humorous content!!

[@zirac]

Thank God, Brilliant! Without you I would have never seen this video!

[@hobbesfield1082]

Thank you so much for using km

[@alexj1650]

some will prefer freedom units *america fuck yea intensifies*

[@evs251]

Metric is only for smart people

[@romankazinets1759]

@@evs251 Nah.

[@GBA811]

0:54 Who made that map, deserves a cookie.

[@pablopostigoolsson5233]

Hey I’ve been watching your videos for a year or so now and I love them. I used some of them for my urban geography class. I am sorry I have an amend to mehr to this video: changing the width of a train for it to circulate on different tracks is right now a matter of minutes. There is great technology that has been in use for that for decades now, eg on the overnight train Paris - Madrid. Keep it up!!

[@paulstancel9731]

Great videos as always!

[@pauljmorton]

0:46 Yay, it looks like Finland is truly alone in this category.

[@POLARTTYRTM]

According to some idiots, Finlands doesn't even exist.

[@seneca983]

The difference to the Russian gauge is only 4 mm though.

[@Volodimar]

Before 1970s russian gauge also was 1524mm, then USSR switched to 1520 but Finland didn't. Anyway, 4mm is not a big deal - even high speed trains, like Allegro pathtrought the border without changing wheels.

[@laju]

Fun fact: The Allegro trainset has actually 1522 mm wheelsets, so it's equally 2 mm off at the both sides of the border. :)

[@Heksu99]

Yeah and even all other trains can cope with the 4mm. And the width comes from the time Finland was part of Russian Empire. I think it came there from USA?

[@RWDY]

Not sure if anyone else has said this before, but the Spanish-made Talgo train called “Strizh” that the Russians run between Berlin and Moscow actually switches gauges automatically in a matter of minutes with a special transfer track. There are some cool videos of the process here on YT! It sort of scoots along the rail on what look like skis on a bit of track that’s kept wet with sprinklers to keep things lubricated as the wheels change to a broader/narrower gauge.

[@ilyapetoushkoff8362]

What is also fun is that the other overnighters go through bogey change procedure, and the daily Minsk-Warsaw train established in 2018 in fact suggests passengers just change trains in Brest, and no wheel changing procedures are involved.

[@ignaciomoreno9655]

We have a lot of them in Spain.

[@pizzaipinya2442]

That's Spanish technology my friend, used here a lot :)

[@Nooticus]

Sad that Strizh is no longer. And neither is any train from Russia to the EU, Mongolia, China or North Korea. ):

[@kaptainkaos1202]

A few years ago my father and I did an around the US train trip. What a great time! Over 10,000 miles in 2 weeks.

[@gamersadda1327]

Very well explained.....u r the best youtuber..im subbing u right now!

[@fateek2249]

Previous testing has shown trains don't work well off the track. Interesting observation

[@Banzybanz]

And that fish don't have legs.

[@MrDannyDetail]

To use the vloggers humour/grammar: Fish don't work well out of the water.

[@UnderstandingUs]

you should do a collaboration with wendover productions.

[@lordmattis94]

This is made by Wendover Productions.

[@meowdy..]

Lord of Eru woooosh

[@AlexCuevas190]

Lord of Eru r/wooosh

[@shlok975]

Wendover Productions and half as interesting are both channels made by the same guy whose name is Sam

[@lel2015]

@@shlok975 Oh really wow I've watched both channels and I didn't notice Thanks for telling us!!!!

[@djgeid7707]

I've traveled in a normal train from my city to Paris through Irun/Henday. It doesn't take that long to change from one width to the other. The train stopped for less than an hour at the border.

[@nithinsrivatsa4726]

I absolutely love this video. And your channels. The attention to detail is just incredible. Freedom units got me 😂😂😂😂

[@psbbianforlife]

Half as interesting is an incorrect name for your channel. It is at least twice as interesting. Great stuff.

[@bubblegumneko3432]

1:25 ILLEGAL PHOTOGRAPHY

[@AA11196]

∞ ǝʇᴉuᴉɟuᴉ its illegal at night chill tf out

[@jayasuriyas2604]

Only photos of the Eiffel tower at night are illegal.

[@bubblegumneko3432]

still, the buildings around it

[@lynxfl]

it's not of a lit up eiffel tower at night, so no

[@stanleyt.7930]

Spanish Talgo trains have flexible axles and can easily change gauge. They do it in a few minutes when going from standard gauge high speed lines to the wider Iberian gauge.

[@neamtu7067]

I appreciate how you also answered the other question in the beginning

[@mxg75]

Gauge change doesn't have to take hours. Swapping out the wheel sets is doing it the hard way. Some trains in areas like Spain and Japan are equipped with telescoping axles. The train drives across some specialized machinery at about 10 km/hr and the axles are unlocked, stretched or compressed to fit on the new track gauge, and relocked. Takes less than a minute to process the entire train. See kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJqrZZ6qZpmsfdk for an example.

[@DA-bm2mj]

FYI: calculus doesn't teach you numbers. you mostly deal with letters actually. you should probably consider retaking calculus.

[@KasabianFan44]

Luckily, he can learn all about it at brilliant.org!

[@jamesbizs]

FYI: he said it seems like a bunch of nonsense numbers, until he took the brilliant course. So your comment doesn’t actually make sense

[@foxacresfarm7595]

Congrats! I love wendover and all there productions, insert bad pun. And just wanted to say good job on 17th on trending.

[@EdMcF1]

In the 1980s, my neighbour took a train from Paris to Madrid, sleeper from Paris. He was a bit alarmed when he woke up in a shed with the carriage jacked 10 feet or so up in the air as they changed the wheels for the Spanish tracks.

[@KvotheHA]

At 2:05 that is not always the case. As you pointed out, most spanish railway tracks are "iberian gauge", but the newer ones are being built with the european gauge. Therefore Spain is the largest user in the world of variable gauge systems: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_gauge#Spain . They are quite convenient, as they consist in a small building placed above the tracks with entrances at both ends, and the gauge change mechanism inside. The Spanish-built Talgo trains have what is called a "Self Propelled Bogie of Variable Lenght" system (Sistema BRAVA in Spanish). This allows to perform the gauge change seamlessly, by just slowin the train to about 10km/h and crossing the facility, which is a bit longer than a train car. I have gone through many of these myself, since when I go from Madrid to my hometown in the peripheria of the country I have to switch from a high-speed railway line to an iberian gauge one. It takes about the same time as a regular stop in a station.

[@presidentetrump496]

Ha ha you trust Wikipedia

[@OnkelJajusBahn]

Hope this comment will be upvoted. This technology is a lot easier than changing the entire systhem, as some stupid politicians sugested.

[@dsaneusp]

Yes, can confirm it's 100% true being Spanish myself. Takes less than a minute and saves quite a bit of travel time as it allows the train to use high speed tracks.

[@OnkelJajusBahn]

I am from Austria. And here on some small railways 1435mm freight wagons litteraly were placed on small 760mm wagons with the weels still on. I don't know if this is still in place but it would be another way to overcome gauge differences.

[@becconvideo]

@@OnkelJajusBahn In Germany it was quite common on all narrow gauge railways - and in Switzerland it still is. For the time beeing we don't have any freight trains on narrow gauge (750mm, 1000mm) But with us in Saxony there was a silly law that only the government was allowed to build standart gauge railways - leaving industrial sidings stranded with narrow gauge "Rollbock" - (small bogie under each axle) or "Rollwagen" - just a flatbed car to load the standard freight car on.

[@zxxNikoxxz]

The train stops at Hendaye and you have to run to *IRUN* to catch the next one

[@Daniel.RF.Davidson]

This comment is underrated. LOL. Loved the pun, mate.

[@LonelyPandaBear]

Biarritz to San Sebastian, both lovely cities. Have family in Biarritz i would recommend a visit!

[@Hitorie_]

Yea Technically you can reach from San Sebastian to Hendaye by a thing called "Euskotren" which is a Basque train company. It works more like a metro but it works. Been on that "metro", great experience.

[@fuenareva]

First of all yeah! you mentioned the Basque Country (we're I'm from) in one of your videos! Secondly, for the change between Irun and Hendaye, there is no need to cross the bridge on foot! The international bridge is fitted with dual gauge tracks, and most Spanish trains end in Hendaye, and most French trains in Irun. Finally, I'm sorry to say that you got it quite wrong with the gauge-changing trains. Since the late 2000s, the "Alvia" trains were put in service throughout spain. These special trains, can "drive through" the gauge changing without even stopping. The process takes a maximum of 5 minutes, while you don't even get off the train. With these new trains, RENFE could use the existing high speed lines (with speeds up to 250 kmh), and then branch routes to places with still no HSL and old track infrastructure. You can read more about them here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvia

[@tpmiranda]

That is how Portugal is currently planning to introduce high speed in the country, by installing these gauge changers on the border, and run high speed trains on broad gauge... anywhere.

[@sm6allegro]

The Talgo system was invented in the 60's, so it's been around for some time.

[@tjjelmoni1389]

the Alvia from Madrid to Santander does just that somewhere around Palencia. it takes only around 5 minutes where the train moves reaaally slow and you hear some loud noises but you don't have to get off it and it doesn't really add much to the travel time. And as you said this allows the train to go really high speed between Madrid and Palencia and then use the old tracks through the mountains all the way to Santander

[@jesusgonzalez6715]

Actually, modern Talgo trains can change their gauge relatively rapidly

[@bdawg923]

I love the new found humor in your videos! They used to be really interesting and informative but now they're also funny sometimes. :)

[@jamescox9869]

Great video! I didn't know about the differing track widths in France and Spain before.

[@StevioGaming1]

hahahaha "French foreign units" or "freedom units"

[@l.k5244]

Stevio Gaming But 'freedom units' wouldn't be actually called like that because the Americans freed themselves from the inventors of this system. Mindfuck

[@StevioGaming1]

Layth Alkhaer ... My mind..., IT HURTS FUCK AHAHHHHHHH

[@BPJJohn]

Have some "Freedom Fries" go with it ;)

[@williamnghiem6890]

And a freedom rifle with freedom™️ bullets

[@BJGvideos]

Layth Alkhaer Know what's funny is that the US isn't even the only country to use Imperial.

[@matthewmckenna248]

The graphic design on these videos of yours are great.

[@joesandra264]

Research a bit before you claim things. Variable gauge trains don't take hours to change gauge.

[@KeystoneState]

I love your stuff man

[@bluelobster4847]

1:26 That's the same picture of Paris as in your Eiffel Tower Copyright video. But this time not censored. Brace yourself for the lawsuits.

[@echnaton123]

no, it is about the light effects as far as I remember, not the tower itself

[@bluelobster4847]

that's correct, but in that video he also mentions that some of the buildings in that picture are technically still protected by copyright.

[@echnaton123]

BlueLobster yes and no, only buildings which have been built „recently“ need to be censored, but the Eiffel Tower is too old. Except for the lights. That is why it is legal in this video, because the lights are not shown. EDIT: Now I got it, you are talking about the other buildings. You re right, sorry.

[@claqyagami6914]

What what what??

[@joaquinoroz7033]

In spain, if you want to travel from Madrid to Pamplona (near San Sebastian), the Alvia train ( the not high-speed for long distance) starts the journey in high-speed rails (European wide), and then at half the travel it changes to spanish sized rails in a few minutes. Also, a train goes from China to Zaragoza, in Spain (funfact, near the place the train I mencioned early changes rails) not sure but I think is longest than the trip to London

[@MarkReviews]

"Freedom Units"...LOL! Bravo, Graphic Designer...whomever you are.

[@andrewphillips9391]

There have been through trains between Spain and France for a long time,long before the high speed lines. They use special coaches that change their gauge, known as Talgo. And you don't have to walk between Hendaye and Irun: French trains run to Irun and Spanish trains run to Hendaye.

[@AA11196]

Longest train route* bait

[@Chicken_o7]

0:22 There it is

[@hkr667]

I'm disappointed by him. This isn't the first intentional incorrect title either. He explains right away that this isn't about the longest train, but about the longest passenger train service. So just name the video accordingly. This is childish. But I have no doubt his fans will come to his rescue with the "if you don't like it, leave" and "it's his channel, he can do what he wants" comments.

[@MrJuanDover]

what an autistic thing to be this upset about

[@lindaxiong8111]

Guys there is something called a thumbnail

[@maxfeikss1583]

Casper Guo yes and there is another thing called the fucking video title what’s your point

[@dankspain]

Just to shed some light on the Spanish gauge situation, because what it is said on the video is not entirely accurate. 1 - Spain didn’t choose the 1668 mm gauge because of a hypothetical invasion by the French, that’s an urban myth. It’s on Wikipedia, a study was carried out in the 1800s that determined that a wider gauge would facilitate the introduction of bigger and more powerful locomotives that could prove useful due to the mountainous orography of Spain. A few years later technology would allow for such machines in the standard gauge, but Spain stuck to the new gauge. We’ve never prioritized changing the gauge of the entire network, which would eliminate a lot of headaches (Cough cough, I’m looking at you, Corridor Mediterráneo). 2 - We have trains that can change gauges, in fact the service provided by RENFE’s Alvia (i.e S-130) usually does that, it runs on the high speed network with speeds of up to 250 km/h and then it changes gauge (and electrical system) to run on the conventional network. On trains travelling across the border with France this capability has been present since the late 60’s (i.e. Talgo III RD), so passengers wouldn’t have to switch trains. 3 - We also have other gauges, the most extensive, of around 1000 km, belongs to the former FEVE network which has a width of 1000 mm. Metro de Madrid and some other local trains use different gauges as well. Anyway, I love your videos! Keep them coming!

[@dsaneusp]

Yes, Renfe Classes 120, 121, 130 and 730 all can change gauge without stopping, used across all of Spain.

[@larrybreavman4864]

Smart answer! Reasons for a wider gauge in Spain are collected in the Subercase Report. Subercase was the civil engineer who recommended that gauge in 1844, four years before the first railroad in Spain mainland. Military reasons are, just, an urban legend. A link to that report: www.grijalvo.com/Subercase/Informe_Subercase_modernizado.htm

[@adletkhanbirtanov100]

Nowadays there are trains that can switch gauge in a few minutes. They operate e.g. in Spain to connect High speed line on european gauge and conventional line on iberian gauge. They implemented this on a Berlin-Moscow service too.

[@airplaneplustrainguy8143]

Is that train from Pyongyang is a escape train?

[@dcwillis87]

More useless information that I definitely needed! 😂love your videos bro, keep it up!

[@bcubed72]

Damn...now I wanna know about that 4.5 mile long train!

[@GigginQuick]

Actually, according to Amtrak’s timetables, the longest American passenger route is the California Zephyr from Chicago, IL to Emeryville, CA, which is 2438 miles. The Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles is 2265 miles.

[@TRDz_Videos]

In Spain and Portugal there's a different gauge because in Iberian Peninsula there are lots of mountains and the steam locomotives haven't got enough power to cross them. So a bigger gauge means more capacity in it's boilers, and more power. Also, between 1969 and 2012, there were some international services between Spain and France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, which has got a tecnology made by Talgo. They made a system that allowed bogies to change gauge easily. If you want for more info, look for "Catalan Talgo" in Google or KZbin. Also, some French trains arrive to Irun, and some Spanish trains (in this case are from the vasque country operator EuskoTren and not from the Spanish national operator, Renfe) arrive to Hendaye

[@y__h]

Can we get a Wendover Production and Half As Interesting channel collaboration video?

[@xXxMCmanxXx]

are they not the same person?

[@varana]

------> joke ---------------- your head ;)

[@tpmiranda]

Errr... Half as Interesting, FYI there are gauge changers that allow Spanish trains to cross freely between different gauges. The *intercambiador* Talgo, or CAF, are two examples of such thing. That is how Portugal is currently planning to introduce high speed in the country, by installing these gauge changers on the border, and run high speed trains on broad gauge... anywhere. Except where the gauge is metric. :)

[@harishparbhoo2968]

Well narrated n very good for geography students l never had the benefits of you tube then 50 years ago keep uploading

[@JacobBanerjee2821]

That transition at the end was flawless

[@failhail9338]

How convenient that I'm on a 24 hour train trip and it gonna feel super long and this pops up

[@sethbrookes4998]

I can't be the only one who watches the whole of the sponsor every time purely because of how unbelievably smooth you are in the transitions

[@darthmonks]

Would you say he's Brilliant at it.

[@northern_law738]

@@darthmonks That was my train of thought.

[@djtforever1414]

In August I got the overnight train from Chisinau, Moldova to Bucharest, Romania. Cranes picked up the carriages and changed the wheels under us.

[@KSB20106]

That was a smooth transition from the main topic of the video to the ad

[@villevirtanen00]

There is a metre-gauge (1000mm) line from Hendaye to Irun and beyond; all the way to Ferrol, branching off here and there. From Ferrol to Bilbao it is run by Renfe(formerly FEVE), from Bilbao to Hendaye by Euskotren :)

[@eljanrimsa5843]

I need to go there next summer

[@eddies7883]

The sponsor transitions are beautiful yet extremely frustrating.

[@Cameron_Mind]

god damn I love you and everything you do man keep this up. Its so good

[@Itapirkanmaa2]

The Finnish 1524 mm and the Russian 1520 mm gauges are actually fully compatible although they are nominally different. The loading gauge is the same as well. The exception is that HST trains running between the two countries have a nominal 1522 mm gauge.

[@weekasi1]

The difference between Finlands and Russias is neglible and trains can go from finland to russia no problem. The reason for them being different is Ussr who 'modernised' their tracks in the 50s.

[@flyingflx]

0:58 "Tests have proven that trains do not run well off the tracks." 😂

[@JorgeRomero13]

There used to be a train station that connected Spain's and France's rail systems in the small town of Canfranc in northern Spain. The station is one of the most stunning buildings there are. They used to change the trains from the Spanish tracks to the French ones and vice versa. I'm not sure how, though.

[@OemuScho]

Zweisimmen BE does have a special System, where trains can switch gage systems. The Trains are running from Montreux to Zweisimmen, change from 1m gage to normal/standart gage rail and continue it's Jurney via Spiez to Interlaken BE. This would be something interessting for a video. It's run by BLS and MOB Railway Companys

[@Banzybanz]

Tell me more about that 7.2 km train.

[@Navikonline]

Bandish Bhoir you watch this train travelling about almost and above 10,000 kms in 14 days kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJ3Hi2ejpMmXftk

[@shebbs1]

The longest passenger train in normal service, as of 2018, is the Ghan, running from Adelaide to Darwin, Australia. There have been longer one-off services. The longest non-passenger trains have exceeded 7,300m, BHP Biliton bulk mining trains, but these run on different tracks from Australian passenger trains. This is what makes it hard to assess, as it depends on whether you are considering a general track gauge or a specialist one. In terms of container trains, these usually run on common tracks with passenger trains, and have reached 2,400m in Canada.

[@timothydoekhie]

I love how you made fun of the imperial system😂

[@bowlerstuff9589]

when you said spain and Portugal at the start,both Irelands have the same kind of track as iberia

[@alexeig4350]

At the end, it's Yiwu-Madrid which is the real longest road in the world, but great vid !

[@thenotflatearth2714]

It’s a rail shaped like a circle. That’s the longest train track

[@sylvanransom704]

I officially built the longest train track as a kid

[@refk7875]

The Spherical Earth Well according to a previous Half as Interesting video (first one), this would actually be the shortest train track.

[@jasonforster9445]

Really, the track would be infinite so comparing it to rational numbers would be like comparing pizza to automobiles.

[@TheSniper9752]

In terms of displacement, that would not be true.

[@williamnghiem6890]

*MIND BLOWN*