FIRE display system together with similar modifications to allow for operations in high temperatures. Prior to this the railway had operated US-built EMD SDL40-2s, also with special modifications to deal with operating in dusty and high temperature environments, which themselves were the replacement for twenty-one MIFERNA Class CC locomotives which had been custom-made in France to operate in the same rough conditions. Glencore In 2014, the mining company Glencore paid $1 billion for 18 years of access to SNIM's rail and port infrastructure, which would be connected to branch lines to new iron mines at Askaf and Guelb El Aouj. The deal would have saved the company the cost of constructing their own tracks and facilities. However, Glencore backed out of the project just one year later after the price of iron ore tumbled nearly 40%. See also Economy of Mauritania History of rail transport in Mauritania Transport in Mauritania Railway stations in Mauritania Enclave and exclave - crossborder shortcut to avoid tunnel References Notes Further reading External links SNIM train site Train images at Adventures in Mauritania Map of railway route This Sahara Railway Is One of the Most Extreme in the World (National Geographics Short Film Showcase) Hot, free and dangerous: A train ride in Mauritania (Washington Post) The iron trains of Mauritania (Al Jazeera) Train to (almost) nowhere in Mauritania (New York Times) Atop a long train in Africa, heading for change (Reuters) The Mauritania Railway: Backbone of the Sahara, a short documentary film. Railway lines in Mauritania Railway companies of Mauritania Transport in Western Sahara