São Paulo – This Thursday (15) saw Morocco open a high-speed rail capable of speeds of up to 320 kmh. The Al Boraq line – the first in the plans – connects Tangier and Casablanca in a two-hour, ten-minute trip, the Moroccan government reported in its website quoting a story from official news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP).
A Tangier-Casablanca road trip covers approximately 340 km. The new rail line was launched by Morocco’s king Mohammed VI (on the right in the picture at the top of this story) and France’s president Emmanuel Macron (on the left), in the presence of local and foreign authorities. They boarded the train in Tangier and alighted in Rabat, in a one-hour, twenty-minute trip. The train makes stops in other cities, including Kenitra, which is 50 minutes away from Tangier.
The project saw MAD 22.9 billion in investment, or USD 2.3 billion at current exchange rates, as part of the government’s efforts to revitalize and develop the national railway system. This is the first phase of a bigger plan to put in place a major high-speed network.
MAP reported that besides connecting two major economic hubs, the project caters to growing demand for mobility. By its third year of operations, the line is expected to serve 6 million passengers per year, as well as make way for cargo transportation in highways.
The rail is a Morocco-France project rolled out by the former’s National Railways Office (ONCF) and the latter’s National Railway Company (SNCF), with costs partly met by France. Railway training institute IFF has also been established in Rabat.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
