How to Hitch a Ride on the Iron Ore Train in Mauritania

The train snakes across 627 kilometers of desert along the border with Western Sahara, and is operated by the national mining and industrial society (SNIM). Its role is to take iron ore from the mines around the town of Zouerat and deliver it to the port city of Nouadhibou. Long days in the sun on one of the longest trains in the world

Iron Ore Train Experience (Mauritania), Nouadhibou to …

However, there is one way to get around – the iron ore train. Twice daily over two hundred connected cars – a distance of nearly three kilometers – rumble along the tracks between the port city of Nouadhibou and the inland iron ore mines of Zouerate. For locals, the iron ore train is a commuter rail; for foreigners, it's the ride of a ...

How to Ride the Iron Ore Train in Mauritania

Riding the Iron Ore train from Nouadhibou to Choum, Mauritania was one of the top travel experiences I have ever had. The journey from the coast into the heart of …

Riding on the Iron Ore Train in Mauritania Through the Sahara …

Located deep in the Sahara Desert in Mauritania is one of the largest iron ore mines in the world. To get the iron ore from deep in the desert to factories and cities where it can be processed, there is one train that runs 704 kilometers from the mines of Zouerat to the Atlantic Ocean. This 2km long train is rated as one of the heaviest trains ...

Nouadhibou MRNDB Details: Departures, Expected Arrivals and Nouadhibou

General Description. Location: Nouadhibou is situated in N Mauritania, close to the border with Western Sahara. General overview: Nouadhibou port has 2 general cargo berths and an iron ore terminal situated 15km S at Point Central, operated by SNIM. Pointe des Mouettes tanker berth is 1.2km N of Point Central and consists of a "T" jetty.

Nouadhibou – Travel guide at Wikivoyage

It is used to carry iron ore from Zouerat mines to Nouadhibou port. Only one passenger car is attached to one of these trains daily in each direction. There is no strict timetable, but the passenger car typically departs Nouadhibou around 15:00 to 21:00. Tickets for the passenger car to Choum cost 300 ouguiya but it's usually overcrowded.

Mauritania: National Industrial and Mining Company (SNIM) …

Mauritania: National Industrial and Mining Company (SNIM) and the Nouadhibou Port. Description. SNIM is the second largest African producer of iron ore and a major player …

Nouadhibou

Nouadhibou is the economically most important city in Mauritania. Its Port Minéralier south of the city is used to ship the iron ore that the train brings three times a day from the mines of Zouérat and the surrounding area. In addition to the export of iron ore, gold, copper, petroleum, gypsum, salt and steel, fishing is the most important ...

The Iron Ore Train: Zouérate, Choum, Nouadhibou

The state-owned iron ore railroad runs three times a day from the mines in M'Haoudat in the north of the country to Nouadhibou, 700 km away - and back. From the desert to the coast, 695 km through Mauritania and a full 5 km through western Saharan territory. It is the only train they have.

Riding the Longest Train in the World: Mauritanian Iron Ore …

The train is up to 3km (1.8 miles) in length, travels on a single track of 704 kilometres (437 miles), with 200 – 300 freight carriages, weighing up to a total of 84 tons and making it the longest and heaviest train in the world. The sole purpose of the train is to export iron ore from the mining town of Zouerate to the Port of Nouadhibou via ...

Nouadhibou: What is it like in Mauritania's second largest city?

Updated On April 8, 2024. Nouadhibou is the second largest city in Mauritania. It is a major fishing centre and large industrial port for the export of iron ore. If you are planning to cross overland from Morocco to Muaritania or you are one of those crazy brave enough to ride the iron ore train from Zouerat then you will likely have a few days ...

MRNDB

Nouadhibou (Port Code:MRNDB) is situated in north Mauritania, close to the border with Western Sahara. Nouadhibou port has 2 general cargo berths and an iron ore terminal situated 15km south at Point Central, operated by SNIM. Pointe des Mouettes tanker berth is 1.2km north of Point Central and consists of a "T" jetty.

An exhilarating train journey across the Sahara

The journey from Nouadhibou to Zouerat takes up to 20 hours (Credit: mauritius images GmbH/Alamy) Since 1963, Mauritania's 2km-long Train du Desert has carried iron ore and brave passengers ...

Mauritania Railway – Choum, Mauritania

SNIM iron ore train at Nouadhibou station, Mauritania Emesik/cc by-sa 3.0. ... the iron ore train covers 437 miles (704 kilometers) on its journey across the Sahara Desert from Nouadhibou, on the ...

MAURI-TRAIN-IA: The Ultimate Train Journey | The …

Day 2: Terjit to Choum with a stop in Atar (approximately 2 hours). Overnight: iron ore train (approximately 13 to 15 hours). Day 3: Arrive in Nouadhibou. If you leave early enough, you could technically just drive directly from Nouakchott to Choum. Easy drive. The road is paved. But, do plan to arrive in Choum early.

How to ride the Iron Ore Train in Mauritania: I rode both …

The iron ore train travels from Zouerat – Choum – Nouadhibou. Zouerat: This is starting point for the train. Zouerat is the mining town where the iron ore mines …

The Iron Ore Train in Mauritania, Longest Train in the World

Mauritania's iron ore train is the longest train in the world used to tons of iron ore in chunks or powder across the Sahara Desert. The train rightfully earns its moniker as a 'desert …

Nouadhibou : A City Guide — Young Pioneer Tours

Nouadhibou is the second most important city of Mauritania. Located at the north of the country, less than an hour driving from the wild border between Morocco and Mauritania, controlled by Western Sahara, it is an important fishing port of the west coast of Africa.More importantly for off the beaten path travellers, Nouadhibou is where the Mauritanian iron …

Riding Iron Ore Train in Mauritania | Safari Junkie

The official stops are in Nouadhibou, Choum and Zouerate. Foreigners mostly ride between Nouadhibou and Choum, since Zouerate is pretty far from everything and the only convenient way to get back from that town is by train. In this article I will focus mainly on riding Iron Ore Train in Mauritania from Choum to Nouadhibou, because I …

21 hours riding the World's Longest Iron Ore Train in the …

TIME / 18-22 hours one way. OVERALL TIME / 2 days. ARRIVAL POINT / Nouadhibou refinery site. On the 6th of February 2020 Fedora and I, while exploring Mauritania in West Africa, decided to take a ride on the longest, heaviest and slowest cargo train in the world, the Iron Ore Train. After about 5 hours and a half sitting on a minibus from Atar ...

Mauritania: National Industrial and Mining Company …

Description SNIM is the second largest African producer of iron ore and a major player in the country's economy. Its representative sales accounted for about 9% of Mauritania's GDP in 2016. The port of Nouadhibou, which allows the company to transport its iron ore, is in fact a key part of the country's economy. However, the depth currently available in …

SNIM Open Pit Iron Ore Mining

The deposits occur within the Archaean and Birrimian Regueïbat Shield. Those at Kedia d'Idjil comprise largely haematite mineralisation in ridges known as Guelbs. The massive Guelb Rhein and Oum Arwagen magnetite orebodies are much-folded sedimentary deposits. The 14km-long M'Haoudat ridge contains four stee…See more on mining-technology

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Mauritania

WEBThe Iron Ore Train Mauritania with carriages starts in the mines of Zouerat and continues to Nouadhibou via Choum. There are 2 types of iron ore. One is soft like a powder but …

7 Facts and Tips about The Iron Ore Train in …

7 Facts and Tips about The Iron Ore Train in Mauritania. 1. 18-22 hours journey across the Sahara desert. The journey through the Sahara desert on the iron ore train will take approximately 18-22 hours. …

The iron trains of Mauritania | Business and …

Passengers fill a car carrying iron ore for the 20-hour journey to Nouadhibou. Travellers cover the ore with sheets to reduce the dust it produces when the train is moving. [Daniel Rodrigues/Al ...

7 Facts and Tips about The Iron Ore Train in Mauritania

The journey through the Sahara desert on the iron ore train will take approximately 18-22 hours. It starts from the mining town of Zouérat and finishes in Nouadhibou on the coast. Since the train is not running on any timetable it is hard to predict the exact time of the journey.

About us | Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM)

Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM) is a Mauritanian company, operating in the research, exploitation, processing, transport and export of iron ore. Its deposits are located in the Tiris Zemour region, in the north of Mauritania. SNIM fully manages its chain of operations: geological research, mining, maintenance, water and ...

The Iron Ore Train in Mauritania

Terrorists are hiding behind every grain of sand. So my plan was to race through Mauritania as fast as I could, and as close to the coast as possible. Until I saw videos on Youtube, like this one, of the iron ore train that runs between de coastal town of Nouadhibou and the mine in Zouérat, in the east of the country. Deep in the Sahara and ...

Iron Ore Train Ride in Mauritania

It's one of the longest trains in the world, by around 2.5 kilometers long. Iron ore industry. Several trains leave Zouerate in the Tiris Zemmour region from a giant mine and carry iron ore to Nouadhibou. From here, it is exported to other countries or to Europe from the seaport. Gigantic iron mine between Fderik and Zouérat.

Riding the Iron Ore Mauritania Train across the Sahara …

The infamous Mauritania iron ore train is used to transport iron ore from the mines in the depths of the Sahara, all the way to the west coast of Africa. It then unloads the iron ore in the Mauritanian coastal town of Nouadhibou, and returns empty, back deep into the Sahara, to the area around Zouerat, 700km from the coast.

Electrification and automation of Nouadhibou iron ore | ABB

Connected to the more than 700 kilometers long single railway line and served by several mine sites in Northern Mauritania, Nouadhibou is the most important iron ore port in …

Fish-rich Mauritania looks to its Nouadhibou port for a

Nestled on a peninsula overlooking the world's biggest graveyard of ships, the port of Nouadhibou may hold the key to a better future for Mauritania's 3.9 million people, of whom 42% live in poverty. For years, Mauritania's economy ran on the iron ore buried deep beneath its Sahara desert sands. But Chinese demand for iron ore has …

From the Desert to the Sea: Modernising the …

Beneath the Sahara Desert lie gypsum, phosphate salt, zinc and Mauritiania's main source of foreign exchange: Iron ore. Much of it is exported via a large port at Nouadhibou owned and managed by …

Zouérat Nouadhibou iron ore train | Travel Story and …

The fastest way to get from the Adrar region to Nouadhibou is, in theory, taking the iron ore train. Constructed to transport iron ore from the mines near Zouérat in the north-east to the port of Nouadhibou in the west, one of the three daily trains has a few passenger carriages. When I arrived in Atar, I asked around for the train; as I ...

Iron Ore Train – Travel guide at Wikivoyage

Construction of the Iron Ore railway line began in 1960, and the line opened 1963. It consists of a single, 704-kilometre (437 mi) track linking the iron mining centre of Zouerat with the port of Nouadhibou, via Fderik and Choum. The train itself stretches 2.5-3 km. The Mauritania state agency Société nationale industrielle et minière (SNIM ...

Iron Ore train from Nouadhibou to Zouérat

Re: Iron Ore train from Nouadhibou to Zouérat. 1 year ago. Hi! I did the whole train ride. Takes 18-20 hours. Bus from Atar leaves at 8 am and arrives at 1 on to zouerat. Take a taxi back to Fderik or jump out on the way from Atar. Train can leave already at 12:00. I was lucky, on Friday it left at 15:00 from Fderik.

Mauritania set to double iron production

It is also aiming to develop the Fderick site to produce 3m tonnes of enriched iron ore, as well as a unit at Tzargaf to produce 6m tonnes of concentrated iron. It plans to dredge the Nouadhibou mineral …

Mauritania Iron Ore Train Tour

This is where you'll board the famed Mauritania Iron Ore Train and ride in open carriages through the Saharan desert. The train is up to 3km (1.8 miles) in length with over 200 freight carriages, carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore. This is the longest and heaviest train in the world. You'll ride with us from Choum close to the border of ...

The Iron Ore Train in Mauritania, Longest Train in the World

The iron ore train in Mauritania is an engineering marvel in Africa. Mauritanian Railway holds a record for hosting the world's heaviest trains stretching through unimaginable terrain ... It begins its journey at Zouerat Mines, a Mauritanian town in the middle of the Sahara, and ends at Nouadhibou. Nouadhibou is the second-biggest city in ...

The Iron ore Train Nouadhibou – Choum

The Iron ore Train Nouadhibou – Choum - attraction: this "longest train in the world" transports iron ore from Zouerat to Nouadhibou and can be up to 2.5km long. There are lots of bucket wagons for the ore but just one …

How to Get on the Iron Ore Train | MilianWays

Basic tips to get on the Iron Ore Train. Get on at Zouerat instead of Choum, it's a bit further but well worth it otherwise you miss the day tour. Must have to get on the train: Water: I will not tire of repeating it, it is important to be well prepared. You don't know when the train will leave and you don't know when it will arrive either.