a cura di @uqbal.

Un reportage sulla ferrovia probabilmente peggio mantenuta al mondo, ma che in qualche modo, nonostante la sabbia del deserto che ne ingolfa il tracciato e le pessime condizioni di lavoro dei (pochi) addetti, continua a funzionare, attraversando il Belochistan pakistano in direzione del Baluchestan persiano.

The entire stretch of the Quetta-Taftan railway line on our side covers around 732km. The entire area of Chaghi, in general, and Dalbandin, in particular, is sandy and dusty, and trains passing through can get stuck for weeks, especially when the winds blow sand around in summer.

“In Chaghi district, by and large, trains get stuck due to accumulation of several feet of sand on the tracks,” says the railway official.

An area of around 250km to 301km — the distance between gang 16 and gang 19 — in Chaghi is covered in sand. It is in this stretch of rail track that trains find themselves stranded, sometimes for days or weeks. “We either have to remove the sand with the help of 15 gang-men or by private tractors who we have to hire,” he adds.

Immagine: Umer Malik