The 183km high-speed line under construction between Tangiers and Kenitra/Port Laoti will open in 2018. The project has a value of EUR 1.4 billion.
The high-speed rail service will be operated between Casablanca, Rabat and Tangiers.
A fleet of double-deckers Duplex trains, being supplied by Alstom and worth EUR 400 million, will operate at a maximum speed of 320km/h on the high-speed line to achieve a Tangiers – Casablanca journey time of 2h 10min compared with 4h 45min currently.
Alstom has delivered the first two pre-production trains which are now being tested. Assembly of the remaining 12 trains is underway and is now 62% complete.
After 2020 the Kénitra – Casablanca (320 km/h) will be completed and Casablanca – Marrakech line will be upgraded in the same time to allow travel times between Tangier – Casablanca in 1h30 minutes and Tangier – Marrakech in 2h45 minutes.
The Kénitra-Casablanca section is particularly important because of its strategic position in the configuration of the national rail network as a hub linking the North, South and East of the country.
The work of the Moroccan high speed rail network started in 2014 in the North of the country is now 70% completed. Final commissioning of the line is estimated for March or April 2018.
Morocco unveils plan for two new high speed lines “Casablanca-Marrakech-Agadir” and “Casablanca-Fez-Oujda”.
The announcement was made by the Director General of the Moroccan Railway Company ONCF, Mohamed Rabie Khlie.
In picture: A high speed train being tested in Morocco
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