PHOTOS: South Africa's 'train of hope' is a godsend for millions. But new threats loom

The Phelophepa health-care train on the outskirts of Thaba Nchu, South Africa. Since 1994, the train has traveled the country with its staff of medical providers to reach people who don't have easy access to care. To alert patients, Transnet, the company that runs the Phelophepa, publishes a schedule and community mobilizers in each town make sure patients are aware of the train's arrival. (Tommy Trenchard for NPR)

It's late evening in the town of Thaba Nchu in South Africa's Free State province, and at the local train station, a group of residents snuggle deeper into their blankets to ward off the bitter autumn chill. They have given up warm beds and cooked meals at home in exchange for hard plastic chairs on the platform in their eagerness to get a spot on the train the following day.

Yet none of them is looking to travel.