At more than 430 miles long, the Mauritania Railway has been transporting iron ore across the blistering heat of the Sahara Desert since 1963. One of the longest and heaviest trains in the world, the 1.8-mile beast runs from the mining center of Zouerat to the port city of Nouadhibou on Africa’s Atlantic coast. The train is the bedrock of the Mauritanian economy and a lifeline to the outside world for the people who live along its route.Hop on board the ‘Backbone of the Sahara’ with filmmaker Macgregor for an incredible journey through the stunning Western Saharan landscape.The Short Film Showcase spotlights exceptional short videos created by filmmakers from around the world and selected by National Geographic editors. We look for work that affirms National Geographic's belief in the power of science, exploration, and storytelling to change the world. The filmmakers created the content presented, and the opinions expressed are their own, not those of National Geographic Partners.