How to get the ‘On a Rail’ achievement in Minecraft

Minecraft is easily the biggest name in modern gaming and continues to stay in the spotlight, despite its ingeniously basic concept. Because of its popularity, it’s hard to not find someone talking about the game in one way or another. One Minecraft topic I’ve discussed before, both online and off, is how painfully difficult some of Minecraft‘s achievements are to obtain. This is not a game that just anyone can sit down and complete 100%.

Today we’re going to discuss one particularly difficult and time-consuming achievement, titled ‘On a Rail’. This achievement tasks players with travelling by minecart to a point at least 500 meters away in a single direction from where they started.

The Prep:

Sadly, there is no miracle seed that will make this achievement easy to obtain. That being said, there is a definitive list of items you’ll need to gather to create your rail. You will need:

1. 195 iron ingots
2. 18 gold ingots
3. 30 wooden planks
   
4. a couple dozen redstone (it will vary)
5. Extra stone/iron/sticks/torches for tools and lighting
6. Coffee….lots of coffee

The Build:

Now that you’ve got your supplies, we can start with the build in itself. You’re going to use the supplies listed above to create 496 rails, 15-18 powered rails, 47 sticks, and 15 levers. The extra supplies will be for as many torches and stone/iron pickaxes you can make. 

While a lot of sources will tell you to build on land and simply build over obstacles, I found it much easier to build underground. This way, enemies will never spawn on your track and you can avoid getting attacked during the build by keeping your underground path lit with torches. With that said, dig your way down to bedrock and start digging a tunnel just wide enough to fit through to your left or right. 

As you move through the underground, lay down your rail. For every 38 regular rails, place one powered rail. Next to every powered rail, dig a nook into the wall and place a lever next to a redstone. It’s a simple build but will take time…most likely almost as much if not more than it took to gather the ingredients in the first place.

Bumps in the Road:

There are a few things to look out for as you build this seemingly endless rail. Though building underground keeps the enemies away, there are certainly a number of hazards to watch out for.

Terrain is the biggest concern, with Minecraft‘s underground commonly consisting of lava, water and large open caves. These can be easily maneuvered around; however, the rail needs to go 500 meters in a single direction. While you can go left or right to get around obstacles, that can muck up your distance. An easier solution is to simply raise the elevation of your track, as it will keep the rail going in the same direction.

Another concern revolving around underground tunnels is running into the coast of a piece of land. In this situation, simply go back to the start of your track and start digging in the opposite direction. Unless you’re completely surrounded by water, this should leave you with more than enough room to build the entire track.

Once the track is built, all you need to do it make sure all your switches are on, turn off the switch at the very start of your track, build a minecart on it, and jump in. Hit the lever and watch as you soar through to a very rewarding and time-consuming achievement.

What other Minecraft achievements would you like tips on earning? Let me know in the comments below!