Line length 704 km (437 mi) 0 km Nouadhibou 222 km Agueijit | 0 km Cansado 96 km Boulenoir 255 km Inal | |
Snim mauritania railway nouadhibou station
The Mauritania Railway is the national railway of Mauritania. Opened in 1963, it consists of a single, 704-kilometre (437 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.
Contents
- Snim mauritania railway nouadhibou station
- Making of mauritania railway
- Traffic
- Locomotives
- Glencore Xstrata
- References
Since the closure of the Choum Tunnel, a 5 km (3.1 mi) section of the railway cuts through the Polisario Front-controlled part of the Western Sahara (21.354867°N 13.012644°W / 21.354867; -13.012644).
Making of mauritania railway
Traffic
Trains 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.
Passengers 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 hopper cars.
Locomotives
In October 2010, SNIM ordered a batch of six EMD SD-70ACS locomotives, with special modifications for operating in high temperatures.
Glencore Xstrata
In 2014, Glencore Xstrata paid $ 1 billion to SNIM for access to that company's rail and port infrastructure. There will be branch lines to new mines at Askaf and Guelb El Aouj. It is cheaper for Glencore to share existing infrastructure than to build its own.