Mauritania Railway
Encyclopedia
The Mauritania Railway is the national railway of Mauritania
. Opened in 1963, it consists of a single, 704 kilometres (437.4 mi) railway line linking the iron mining centre of Zouerate with the port of Nouadhibou
, via Fderik and Choum
. The state agency Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (National Mining and Industrial Company, SNIM) controls the railway line.
Since the closure of the Choum Tunnel, a 5 km section of the railway cuts through the POLISARIO controlled part of the Western Sahara (21.354867°N 13.012644°W)).
s on the railway are up to 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) in length, making them among the longest and heaviest in the world. They consist of 3 or 4 diesel-electric EMD locomotives, 200 to 210 cars each carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore, and a variable number of service cars. The total traffic averages 16.6 million tons per year.
Travelers' cars are also occasionally transported by train; these services are managed by an SNIM subsidiary, the ATTM Society (Société d'assainissement, de travaux, de transport et de maintenance). Passenger cars are sometimes attached, but more often passengers simply ride atop the ore cars.
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
. Opened in 1963, it consists of a single, 704 kilometres (437.4 mi) railway line linking the iron mining centre of Zouerate with the port of Nouadhibou
Nouadhibou
Nouadhibou is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 75,000 inhabitants expanding to over 90,000 in the larger metropolitan area. It is situated on a 40-mile peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou, Cap Blanc, or Cabo Blanco, of...
, via Fderik and Choum
Choum
Choum is a town in northern Mauritania, lying in the Adrar Region close to the border with the Western Sahara . Choum has a population of around 5,000.- History :The town grew from its position on trans-Saharan trading routes...
. The state agency Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (National Mining and Industrial Company, SNIM) controls the railway line.
Since the closure of the Choum Tunnel, a 5 km section of the railway cuts through the POLISARIO controlled part of the Western Sahara (21.354867°N 13.012644°W)).
Traffic
TrainTrain
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s on the railway are up to 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) in length, making them among the longest and heaviest in the world. They consist of 3 or 4 diesel-electric EMD locomotives, 200 to 210 cars each carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore, and a variable number of service cars. The total traffic averages 16.6 million tons per year.
Travelers' cars are also occasionally transported by train; these services are managed by an SNIM subsidiary, the ATTM Society (Société d'assainissement, de travaux, de transport et de maintenance). Passenger cars are sometimes attached, but more often passengers simply ride atop the ore cars.
