SISHEN, South Africa — A South African freight operator has claimed the title for running the world’s longest freight train, taking the distinction away from Australia.

National rail operator Transnet Freight Rail reports it ran an empty 696-car, 7.6-kilometer-long train — that’s 4.7 miles long — on its 861-km (535-mile) Iron Ore Export Line between the port of Saldanha and Northern Cape mine at Sishen. Australian mining company BHP had held the record since 2001 with a 682-car, 7.35-km (4.56-mile) train at its operation in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, that train was loaded and also set a record at 99,732.1 metric tons. Before that, Transnet had held the record.