Passing the mountain where the Choum tunnel is located, built by the French in Mauritania.

We are passing the mountain where the Choum tunnel is located. This is just before we reach Choum in the Adrar Region, Mauritania. Choum Tunnel was built in Mauritania when it was controlled by the French. The easiest route required running a short section of track through the then-Spanish-controlled Western Sahara, but rather than pay Spain for the land and other concessions, the French engineers instead chose to tunnel under a hill spur near the desert town of Choum. Gerak Darma's team was told once Spain left Western Sahara, Mauritania briefly controlled the territory around where the railroad could have (and should have) been built anyway. Today, the tunnel has been abandoned, as in 1991 the Mauritania Railway was relocated into Western Sahara east of Choum, despite the tunnel existing solely to prevent that exact occurrence. Interesting history.

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A monumental stupidity during colonial times