Rail transport in Nauru is used for moving phosphate from the island's interior to the cantilever jetties on the island's western coast, in Aiwo District. For this purpose, a 3.9 km long 610mm narrow gauge railway was built by the Pacific Phosphate Company in 1907. The gauge was upgraded to 914mm by the British Phosphate Commission in 1920. In the past, steam engines were used to power the trains,[1] but the railway is nowadays worked by diesel engines, though occasionally, a tractor is used.
With Nauru's phosphate deposits almost depleted, the future of the railway is uncertain. The trains were still running as of 2008.[2][3]
Nauru's phosphate train features on several Nauru stamps, including a series from 1980 (Yvert no. 211-213) and another one from 1985 (Yvert no. 306, Scott no. 308).
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