Marruecos busca una inversión de 38.000 millones de dólares en su red ferroviaria
The Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdeljalil, has confirmed in Parliament that the timetable of the Moroccan railway programme led by the National Office of Railways (ONCF) is linked to the availability of the necessary funds, which are estimated at 400 billion dirhams (MMDH). The transport minister was asked about the project's efforts to find "innovative financial solutions" to mobilise the large network that will carry high-speed TGV trains, Moroccan media Telquel reported.
Morocco's National Railway Agency (ONCF), which is leading the project, said it needed investment from a public-private partnership to complete the project. The new railway consists of more than 3,800 kilometres of medium-speed track and more than 1,300 kilometres of high-speed track; it will run between Tangier and Agadir and from Oujda to Rabat. Minister Abdeljalil confirmed that the new network aims to expand the current connection from 23 Moroccan cities to 43. With the extension, 87% of Moroccans will have access to rail transport, an increase of 36%.
Currently, only 51% of Moroccans have access to the rail network, meaning the project could have a significant impact on the country's transport system. The national railway company ONCF signed a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank in November 2022 to help finance other projects, such as the modernisation of the country's rail network, including infrastructure, equipment and electric traction.
Abdeljalil, in response to an oral question addressed by the Istiqlalian Solidarity and Equality Organisation on "the construction of a high-speed train (TGV) connecting Oujda to Casablanca and Nador to Tangier", said that the implementation of the plan took place on the national railways as part of the long-term development of the network; "in addition to the involvement of local and regional municipalities, innovative financing solutions based on public-private partnership must be found," he added.
Morocco's efforts to become a world power are well known. It has taken just four years for its railway network to have so much potential. On 26 November 2018, the first high-speed railway line linking Casablanca and Tangier was inaugurated. It is 323 km long and was named Al-Boraq in reference to the mythological horse-like creature that transported the Islamic prophets. The high-speed line, the first of its kind in all of Africa, was inaugurated on 15 November 2018 by King Mohammed VI after more than a decade of planning and construction. At the start of service in 2018, travel time between Casablanca and Tangier was reduced from 4 hours and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 10 minutes.
The main rail network in Morocco consists of two lines, a North-South line running from Tangier to Marrakech via Rabat and Casablanca, and an East-West line linking Ushda to Rabat via Fez. These lines interconnect at Sidi Kacem. The main destinations not currently connected by rail are usually served by Supratours, a bus company operated by the ONCF. The same organisation aims to provide a comprehensive service to users with these new four services. From the moment a person starts looking for and organising a journey, until even after getting off the train and arriving at their destination, the new service will inform consumers of any details.
