Railway Men

The Tunisian National Railway Company is one of the country’s oldest and wealthiest state-run companies. Five employees reveal a darker side of life on the railways. After the euphoria of the Jasmine Revolution, little has changed. On Tunisia’s most infamous railway line, workers rack up many hours of overtime and the worn-out rolling stock is unreliable. As a consequence, the safety of railway workers and passengers is put at risk. But how can life improve for these Tunisians if they have neither the opportunity nor the freedom to report what’s going on?

This uncompromising view behind the scenes of one of the most important Tunisian companies reveals that much change is needed to bring about a fair, equal and safe society. The candid stories of engineers, technicians and conductors are accompanied by their own footage of everyday life on the railways. Hours of delays, narrowly avoided accidents, broken-down locomotives and fights about signaling have become the norm, and anyone who criticizes faces serious consequences.