The longest train journey in the EU

Anyone who has been following my work for a while knows I have long had a rather abstract discussion about the definition of the World's Longest Train Journey. I started calculating this back in 2021, after an incorrect map on Reddit went viral, and have updated my thoughts about it since in this post.

But both the world's longest, and even Europe's (as a continent) longest rail trips go through Russia, and you should not go there, here is an alternative and slightly easier challenge: the longest train journey in the EU. And importantly this is new for 2026.

Definitions of the longest train journey in the EU

There are only two definitions that sort of make sense.

The simple and boring one is the most route-km on one single train - that is for the moment 1444.9km on the SJ EuroNight Stockholm - Berlin, although this could be surpassed were night trains to be extended to Riksgränsen in northern Sweden some time again in the future.

The more interesting one that concerns me here is the two places in Europe that are furthest apart from each other as the crow flies (i.e. Geodesic distance) that can be connected with multiple trains.

I am not interested in route-km on multiple trains, as I could simply keep on adding more and more via stations to add kilometres to the total, so that will not be covered here.

Geodesic distance - Kemijärvi to Lagos

The two points on the railway network that are furthest apart, and can be connected with multiple trains are Kemijärvi, Finland (station geocoordinates: 66°43′25″N 027°24′14″E) and Lagos, Portugal (station geocoordinates: 37°6′30.73″N 8°40′18.02″W)

The geodesic distance between them can be calculated using this tool, and it is 4088.33km

2026: train services from Tornio to Haparanda

Kemijärvi will become the northern end of the route at some point in 2026 when passenger trains finally run from Finland to Sweden, from Oulu via Kemi and Tornio to Haparanda in Sweden. This means the previous record - 3855km geodesic from Riksgränsen, Sweden, and Lagos, Portugal will be surpassed.

Definitions

I am only considering regular, scheduled railway services for the calculation, and starting and ending points that are publicly accessible passenger stations.

Unlike in the case of the world's longest train journey, here there is no way to extend the route using trams, metros or airport sky trains. This is a heavy rail route from start to end. There is also no need to walk between two stations.

The only issue is the definition of a railway station.

The fastest way to complete the route goes through Madrid, and arrives on a standard gauge train at Madrid Puerta de Atocha–Almudena Grandes, and departs on a broad gauge train from Madrid Atocha-Cercanías (OpenRailwayMap). These two stations have separate UIC station codes, although they are in the same building. You can find the full list of UIC codes here.

The only way around this issue is to change instead in Puertollano (OpenRailwayMap) southbound, or in Chamartín (OpenRailwayMap) and Zaragoza-Delicias (OpenRailwayMap) northbound, adding many hours to the total trip.

Eventually I may submit all of this Guinness World Records for an adjudication, but for the moment my assumption is that walking within the building from Atocha to Atocha-Cercanías is allowed.

Route planning

All of the workings can be found in .ods and .xlsx files on Nextcloud here, but this is the summary:

While the Geodesic distance is 4088.33km, the route-km is 6251.5km. The connection needs 16 trains, and - if everything runs on time - takes 87 hours 29 minutes.

At the time of writing, the final timetable for Kemi - Haparanda is not known, so I have used these provisional times. And using one of the rather uncommon daytime trains from Kemijärvi to Kemi saves time too.

I have not calculated the individual ticket costs, but the trip would be possible with a 4 day Interrail Global Pass that costs €212 for under 27s or €283 for over 27s, plus some additional reservation costs (especially for the Boden - Stockholm night train). A €400 ticket budget would definitely be sufficient.

Route alternatives

Were the walk at Atocha not allowed, the solution southbound is to take a high speed train southbound from Atocha to Puertollano and change onto a broad gauge train there (one single station, one single UIC code). But with only two trains a day between Puertollano and Badajoz, this option adds a lot of time - the total is then 102 hours and 29 minutes this way.

Trying to route the other way - starting in Lagos and heading to Kemijärvi - is even more problematic, as speed restrictions on Spanish high speed lines post the Adamuz disaster mean there is no way to get from Madrid to Germany within one day. A route changing in Chamartín and Zaragoza, thereby also avoiding walking between the two halves of Atocha, totals 119 hours 3 minutes.

Future route optimisation

There are numerous headaches with the timetables along the route that could theoretically be alleviated in the future. Removing speed restrictions in Spain post-Adamuz would significantly improve connections in Barcelona, and a further problematic connection in Boden - where the night train arrives at the very same minute as the train to Haparanda departs - could be eliminated in northern Sweden. The provisional timetable of trains from Haparanda to Oulu via Kemi also has some room for improvement, as there is no way based on the times so far available to avoid being stuck in Haparanda for a few hours.

From December 2026 onwards it is possible to imagine a reduction in the trip time down to something closer to 80 hours.

Mapping the route

All of the route variants - southbound walking at Atocha, southbound via Puertollano, and northbound Chamartín - Zaragoza - are mapped on uMap here. And there is a simplified graphic map too:

So all that remains: who is going to be the first person to do it, and will they manage it in 87 hours and 29 minutes!

Credits

Thanks to Oliver Blanthorn for the list of UIC codes, Nordkommission for the provisional Haparanda timetable, Heikki Piirainen for help understanding Kemijärvi times, and gereon for the original route planning.

Any errors in this work are mine, and mine alone. If you find an error, please tell me and I will happily correct the post!