STORY: Sudan starts to resume train operation after hiatus due to war 
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 27, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 28, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:18
LOCATION: PORT SUDAN, Sudan 
CATEGORY: SOCIETY  

SHOTLIST:
1. various of passengers at the train station
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ABU BAKR ABU AL-QASIM ABDALLA, Sudan's Transport Minister
3. various of passengers boarding the train
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MOHAMED ATIF, Sudanese citizen
5. various of passengers boarding the train
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): AMAL AL-SHEIKH, Sudanese citizen
7. various of the train setting off from Port Sudan      

STORYLINE:

Sudanese authorities have resumed the operation of the train linking Port Sudan in the eastern Red Sea State with Atbara in the northern River Nile State, following a hiatus due to the ongoing civil conflict.

The train set off from Port Sudan on Thursday evening and arrived in Atbara on Friday, marking the first railway line in Sudan to resume operation since the onset of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in mid-April 2023.

Sudan's Transport Minister Abu Bakr Abu Al-Qasim Abdalla said the work would continue to resume the operation of other railway lines.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ABU BAKR ABU AL-QASIM ABDALLA, Sudan's Transport Minister
"The arrival of the Eastern Train represents one of the achievements we present under the current situation. We promise further good news in the days ahead."

According to Musa Al-Qom Al-Jahdi, director general of Sudan Railways Corporation, there will be a train trip every two weeks between Atbara and Port Sudan. The train has a capacity of 432 passengers across six carriages and travels a distance of approximately 600 km in 12 hours.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MOHAMED ATIF, Sudanese citizen
"I am extremely happy that the railway train has returned again. I was supposed to travel yesterday, but I postponed my travel so that I could travel by train. It's a different feeling as we are heading to board the train. The train is a lifeline in Sudan."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): AMAL AL-SHEIKH, Sudanese citizen
"I am happy to be on the first trip between Port Sudan and Atbara, and I hope that the experience will be extended to other cities."

The ongoing civil war has significantly impacted the railway sector in Sudan, leading to a halt to operations of almost 80 percent of passenger and freight trains, as well as the looting of stations and wooden railway sleepers, according to Sudan Railways Corporation.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Port Sudan, Sudan.
(XHTV)