Rabat -Railway passengers across Morocco will face an increase in ticket prices as of January 1, 2016.
Rabat -Railway passengers across Morocco will face an increase in ticket prices as of January 1, 2016.
The National Railways Office (ONCF) announced on its website that train ticket prices will cost more starting on the first day of the year.
“The Finance Act of 2016 provides, as of January 1, 2016, an adjustment of VAT [value-added tax] on passenger rail and freight of the current 14 percent to 20 percent,” the ONCF confirmed.
“This adjustment will be reflected in the prices of transport tickets issued by ONCF concerning tickets (all types of trains), subscription cards, card discounts and contracted rates,” the railway office added.
The government has invested “billions of dirhams at a rate of 20 percent” Finance Minister Mohamed Boussaïd said to justify the increase to train users, during the Finance Commission in the House of Representatives last November.
“The increase in VAT will generate no additional revenue to the state. It invests and thus it deducts. It’s just a matter of cash flow” he added.
Minister Boussaïd referred to the increase in train passes as an “increased solidarity” during his announcement at the Finance Commission.
The increase has now taken place despite opposition from several national political parties.
The ONCF, chaired by Mohamed Rabie Khlie, has not yet updated its website to reflect the new higher fees.
The ticket price for Morocco’s most prominent route – Rabat-Casablanca – will see a 2-dirham rise, increasing from MAD 35 to MAD 37.
For the Rabat-Kenitra route, train ticket prices will only increase 1 dirham, reaching MAD 16 per pass.
Longer distance routes will register larger increases. For instance, the Rabat-Tangier route will increase MAD 5, and the Casablanca-Oujda route will rise by MAD 11.
Several train routes will be affected by the new increase, some more than others. For some trips, the increase in price could reach MAD 11.
Train passengers are recommended to divide their current rates by 1.14 and multiply them by 1.2 to compute the new price.
