Rabat – The director general of the National Office of Railways (ONCF), Mohamed Rabie Khlie, has announced that ONCF transported 38 million passengers and 30 million tons of goods in 2017.
“The office has continued to play its role of reference carrier and prominent economic actor, as is reflected by some telling indicators: 38 million passengers carried, 30 million tons of goods transported,” Khlie said in a statement published by ONCF.
“MAD 6.3 billion of investments were made and a significant gain for the community estimated at MAD 2.5 billion thanks to the use of the railway,” he claimed.
The ONCF statement followed a meeting of ONCF board members Friday, which was chaired by the minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics, and Water, Abdelkader Amara.
The director general presented the financial and management aggregates of the ONCF: “A turnover of MAD 3.7, an operating profit of MAD 237 million, an added value of MAD 2.5 billion, and a cash flow of MAD 739 million, with an improvement of 10% compared to the previous year.”
Khlie noted ONCF’s major investment projects. The new high speed train (TGV) project has been completed and will be operational by the end of 2018. Projects for upgrading and increasing the capacity of the existing railway network are underway and will be operational before the end of the year.
“Many benefits will be soon felt by the customers including an increase in the number of trains, capacity building of the lines, service improvement, departure timing, reducing journey times,” Khlie said.
For his part, Amara noted that Morocco is pursuing the dynamic development of its transport infrastructure, “in accordance with the policy of major projects led by King Mohammed VI.”
55 years of service
In 2016, ONCF transported 39.5 million passengers and 28.2 million tons of goods. At the end of 2013, ONCF had a total of 3,657 kilometers of railways, of which 2,238 are electrified.
ONCF increased their passenger traffic from 29.5 to 40.5 million passengers between 2009 and 2015 (up 37 percent), with a turnover rising from MAD 1.1 billion to 1.5 billion (up 35 percent).
ONCF also increased their freight traffic (including phosphates and by-products) from 25 to 32 million tons between 2009 and 2015 (up 27 percent), with a turnover rising from MAD 1.4 billion to 2.1 billion (up 50 percent).
ONCF’s investments reached MAD 30 billion during the period 2010-2015, an increase from MAD 18 billion during the period 2005-2009.
ONCF was created in 1963 and placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Equipment and Transport.
