Morocco inaugurates high-speed rail line: Africa’s Fastest Train
Morocco’s high-speed rail line is finally here! The Tangier-Casablanca high-speed rail line, which is regarded as ‘Africa’s Fastest Train’ will connect industrial and commercial hubs in the country.
The high-speed line was inaugurated by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, who was joined by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The train is expected to reduce journey time between Tangier and Casablanca, from four hours and 45 minutes to two hours and 10 minutes.The trains has the capacity of running at a high speed of 320kph, and are able to carry 533 passengers.
Morocco bought 12 double-decker, high-speed trains from French group Alstom, to be operated by the state-owned railway ONCF, which expects six million passengers to use the new service annually.
Then project was joint-funded by France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The project which was started in 2011, took 7 years to complete and is estimated to have cost the Moroccan government $2.4bn. It has also drawn criticism as many Morocans believe the investment could have been used on other public priorities such as building major hospitals
It is nonetheless to be noted that the project is part of a larger rail plan by authorities aimed at upgrading Morocco’s transportation system and boosting the economy.
Source: Railway Technology
