A 21-day journey: the longest railway route in the world

A new railway has finally been built in Laos. But the event has become important not only for the residents of this country, but also for all those who like to travel by rail. Now you can make a trip from Portugal to Singapore in just three weeks.

We should immediately note that we are not talking about a specific train. Transfers will still have to be made, but earlier, in order to travel along the same route, part of the way had to be overcome by bus. Now the maximum will have to travel from one station to another within the city. This significantly saves time and money for travelers.

It is noteworthy that Laos itself did not spend a penny on the construction of a 414 km long railway. The project was funded by China, because it is for this country that the maximum benefit from the new highway is expected. The construction took 5 years. As for the financial side, the costs have reached the level of 6 billion US dollars.

Route

So, travelers will have to travel 18,650 km and visit 13 countries:

• Portugal;

• Spain;

• France;

• Germany;

• Poland;

• Belarus;

• Russia;

Mongolia;

• China;

• Laos;

• Thailand;

• Malaysia;

• Singapore.

The Russian section of the route runs along the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The travel time is estimated approximately. Since it is impossible to calculate exactly how long it will take to obtain a visa, issue other entry documents in each country and overcome certain bureaucratic formalities. At some connecting stations, it is better to wait for the next train at the hotel, since this is a rather long period of time. The longest stops will be in Beijing, Moscow, Paris and Bangkok. However, such delays are already included in the calculation of the total route time.

It is assumed that the entire trip will cost the traveler 1200 euros.

Experts believe that, despite all the difficulties, the route will be popular. There has always been a great demand for long-distance travel by train. In particular, this route will be most convenient for Australians who want to visit Europe, but do not want to fly by plane, as well as those who travel to the Far East via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The new route is expected to be listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Before its appearance, it was possible to travel a maximum of 16,800 km by train.