Nouadhibou – M'Haoudat railway line

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Nouadhibou – M'Haoudat
Line of the Nouadhibou – M'Haoudat railway line
Route length: 700 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
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0 Harbor, turning loop
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0 Nouadhibou
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96 Bu Lanuar
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155 Kilometer 155
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179 Km 179
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222 Agueijit
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255 Inal
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287 Kilometer 287
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318 Tmeimitschatt
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348 Kilometer 348
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393 Ben Amira
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415 Km 415
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459.5 Choum
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Mauritania / West Sahara
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West Sahara / Mauritania
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478 Km 478
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485 Char
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568 Tuajil
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624 Km 624
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629 F'dérik
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670 El Rhine
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700 M'Haoudat
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652 Zouérat
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Loading point 2
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Loading point 1
Ride on an ore wagon
Train on the route

The Nouadhibou – M'Haoudat railway is the only railway in Mauritania . It connects the iron ore mines near Zouérat with the port city of Nouadhibou on the Atlantic .

history

The first 652 km long route was in 1957 in standard gauge by the then owner of the iron ore mines , the Société Anonyme des Mines de fer da la Mauritanie , between the Atlantic port of Nouadhibou and the ore mines of Choum and Zouérat built and in June 1963 in operation taken. Later, a branch line of around 70 kilometers, which branches off from F'dérik station, was added to the M'Haoudat mine . In addition, the route north of Choum was re-routed.

Following the nationalization of the Société Anonyme des Mines de fer da la Mauritanie in 1974 , the railway is now operated by the Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM).

Route

The route runs through largely unpopulated area in the western Sahara . The loading port is located near the southern tip of the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula . From there the route leads past the city of Nouadhibou to the north, then turns to the east, and follows the border with Western Sahara for more than 400 kilometers with a few kilometers distance , before turning north at Choum.

The original route ran north of Choum through topographically problematic terrain that made a tunnel necessary, among other things . The side of the mountain that belongs to Western Sahara slopes steeply and the adjacent terrain is flat. Here the original route was abandoned and the line was re-routed in 1978 (according to other information, it was re-routed between 1995 and 2005). To do this, however, the route had to be run about five kilometers across the territory of the Western Sahara, while the original route ran entirely on Mauritanian territory. As far as F'dérik , the route then runs at a greater distance from the border. The route splits northeast of the city. One branch leads to Zouérat, the other to the northeast to other mines that were later developed.

business

There are several operating points on the single-track route that allow train crossings . In order to be able to turn trains, there are several track triangles and a turning loop in the port of Nouadhibou. Maintenance facilities for the trains exist in Nouadhibou and Zouérat.

The route is currently designed for a wheelset load of 26 tons. This is to be increased to 30 tons in the future. The tracks have to be freed from blown sand again and again.

The route is mainly used to transport ore. It has a capacity of 14 million tons per year. There are currently three trains per day in each direction. In 2013, the construction of two new passing points began to allow a fourth pair of trains to run. The trains are up to 2.5 kilometers long, making them the longest scheduled trains in the world. They have a total weight of up to 17,000 tons and are either of two per 3,310  kW or four 2425 kW EMD - diesel locomotives pulled. Since 2011 six new EMD SD70ACS locomotives with three-phase drive technology have been in service.

In addition to ore, other goods are also transported. The trains are used to supply the cities of F'dérik and Zouérat with water. Flat wagons for vehicle transport are attached on request. For travel on a train per day is passenger cars set, the overcrowded normally and is in poor condition. However, it is possible to ride on the ore wagon free of charge.

The Group's own company, Société Mauritanienne de Service et de Tourisme , has been providing a train called Train du désert since 1999, consisting of a sleeping car and a double-deck car, and used in tourist operations.

Locomotives

No. Manufacturer model series number power Construction year photo
BB201-BB208 EMD GPL-15T 8th 1100 kW
BB209-BB216 EMD GPL-15T 8th 1100 kW
CC01-11 Alsthom 11 1961–1962 SNIM Alsthom CC05 1994 02.JPG
CC12-21 Alsthom 10 1965
CC101-CC106 EMD SDL40-2 6th 2240 kW 1981
CC107-CC110 EMD SDL40-2 4th 2240 kW 1988
CC111-CC116 EMD SDL40-2 6th 2240 kW 1993
CC117-CC121 EMD SDL40-2 5 2240 kW 1997 SNIM ore train Nouadhibou.jpg
CC122-CC127 (?) EMD SD70ACS 6th 2240 kW 2011 (?)

literature

  • Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas and Historical Summary 7 = North, East and Central Africa . o. O. 2009, ISBN 978-954-92184-3-5 , p. 49, map 3.

Web links

Commons : Nouadhibou – M'Haoudat railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Robinson, p. 49.
  2. Projet nouveaux évitements sur la voie ferrée. Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM), May 15, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2016 (French).
  3. Train minéralier. Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM), May 15, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2016 (French). Ore Train. Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM), May 11, 2013, accessed on November 17, 2016 .
  4. ^ New locos for Mauritania. Railways Africa Magazine, October 25, 2015, archived from the original on April 23, 2012 ; accessed on November 17, 2016 (English).
  5. Jean-Louis Chaléard, Chantal Chanson-Jabeur, Chantal Béranger: Le chemin de fer en Afrique . KARTHALA Editions, 2006, p. 304.
    Pierre Bonte, Abdel Wedoud Ould Cheikh, Société nationale d'industrie minière (Mauritania): La montagne de fer: la SNIM, Mauritanie: une entreprise minière saharienne à l'heure de la mondialisation. KARTHALA Editions, 2001, p. 262.
  6. ^ The Diesel Shop
  7. List of the GM EMD locomotives in the English language Wikipedia and The Diesel Shop