Is this the longest train journey on earth?

Virgin Radio

15 Dec 2021, 15:58

We've all planned holidays in our heads before, but internet sleuths think they've worked out the longest train journey possible.

It's the stuff of dreams for train fans, but one blogger and a whole host of rail enthusiasts on Reddit think they've cracked it.

Could you imagine travelling a whopping 11,654 miles by train?

The theoretical trip starts from Lagos in Portugal, before stretching to Singapore with more than a few stops in between.

This plan is the brainchild of rail blogger Mark Smith, also known as The Man in Seat 61.

If you're wondering how long such a journey would take, it's around 21 days and would set you back just over £1,000.

Some of the stops and connections along include Paris, Moscow, Beijing and Bangkok. How fancy!

The addition of a new section of railway in Laos in Southeast Asia was completed on December 2, which now connects the city of Boten with Vientiane, the country's capital. This new section has opened up a world of opportunities for keen travellers.

The new addition took five years to construct.

A Reddit user by the name htGoSEVe posted a map of the epic journey.

Unfortunately for us in the UK, none of the calling points are on our fair shores meaning you'd need to travel further afield to try.

One Reddit user thought you could make the journey even better: "You can make it a bit longer," he wrote, "Instead of starting in Lagos, you can start in Vila Real de Santo Antonio, next to the border with Spain.

He added: "From there, there is a train to Faro and from there to Lisbon. Is like 20km longer than starting from Lagos."

Blogger Smith told The Independent: "Imagine going all the way from Lagos to Singapore, only to find you should have started at Villa Real de Santo Antonio!

"Frankly, it would be better if people focused on starting from their local station here in the UK than from at a random point in Portugal."

"What's a could of hundred miles difference between friends, when you have a 11,000-mile journey to do?" he added.

"Until the pandemic disrupted this route, it was remarkably easy and relatively affordable.

"I've used the Trans-Siberian myself to go London to Hong Kong (via the twice-weekly Moscow-Beijing express) and from London to Nagasaki (via ferry from Vladivostok). A lovely ride."

It would certainly be a different holiday.