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30 Dec 20, 7 tweets, 3 min read
This is the world’s longest freight train. It runs almost a mile long and consists of 200 freight cars. Photographer Adrian Guerin spent 26 hours in the Saharan desert on it. This is what he saw: 1/ wired.trib.al/IBSC1hB
Mauritania’s Train du Desert operates daily between Nouadhibou on the Atlantic coast and the iron ore mines in Zouerat—a journey of around 450 miles that takes about 13 hours each way. 2/
Its primary purpose is to transport ore from the mines, but from the beginning Mauritanians have hopped rides on freight cars to reach remote desert settlements. The empty cars create opportunities for locals to courier items from one part of the country to another. 3/
Families transform each open-air freight car into a mobile home with rugs, sleeping gear, and cooking equipment to make the journey more comfortable. 4/
On the return leg, each carriage contains about 84 tons of rocks. Passengers ride atop the slag heap, giving them sweeping views of the Sahara Desert. 5/
Temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. So to keep cool, passengers construct tarps for shade. 6/
Check out more incredible images from Adrian Guerin and learn more about Mauritania’s Train du Desert here: 7/ wired.trib.al/IBSC1hB

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