One of the world’s most remote railway stations is located deep in the Western Sahara along a 435-mile stretch of track.
Choum railway station in Mauritania doesn’t have a single platform and its waiting room is one of the only buildings in the local area. Choum is located a few hours away from Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott.
It’s part of the 435-mile Mauritania Railway, which carries trains as long as 1.5 miles that transport 17,000 tonnes of iron, some of the longest and heaviest in the world.
The full route goes from the Zouerat iron ore plant in the north to the port of Nouadhibou in the south.
A train passes through Choum station three times a day, but only one of them includes a carriage suitable for passengers. There are also no paved roads leading up to the station, so getting there means walking along dirt tracks through the desert.
More often than not, people will hitchhike by climbing to the top of the train and sit on a bed of iron ore.
While travelling atop the train, passengers have to deal with incredibly harsh conditions as the Sahara is extremely hot during the day and bitterly cold at night.
The train does not stop between Choum and Nouadhibou unless it’s to allow its passengers to pray. It has no toilets and you’ll have to bring supplies of food along for the ride.
Once onboard, passengers can walk around freely, but this can prove incredibly dangerous as there are no barriers stopping from falling off. The train doesn’t even have an emergency brake.
As the train travels to and from the port, the carriages often clash into each other, adding to the health and safety nightmare.
In total, passengers can expect a journey time of up to 20 hours, though its schedule is unpredictable and can take between 11 and 15 hours.
