Rabat – After launching the Casablanca-Marrakech-Agadir high-speed train, Morocco is now aiming to launch a new line linking the capital Rabat to Fez.
According to converging news reports, Morocco’s National Railways Office (ONCF) has already concluded initial studies for the project.
The studies in question pertain to the first part of the railroad linking Rabat, Khemisset, and Meknes.
In addition to the feasibility studies, the ONCF is also set to carry out the second phase of the feasibility study relating to the environmental, and social impact of the project.
ONCF is equally set to launch project studies on the execution and the financing of the project.
The new Rabar-Fez high-speed train is part of a larger strategy to construct a railway network to interlink Moroccan cities.
The ambitious strategy would see the construction of 1,300 kilometers of railways linking 43 cities, up from the 23 kilometers currently available, according to official statements quoted in various news reports. Under the new strategy, the share of the railways with the public transit market would increase from 51% to 87%.
Once operational, these new lines of the railway would support Morocco’s industrial development as the country looks to connect its fourteen ports and ten airports with the railway system.
News of launching the new line coincides with the third anniversary of launching the first high-speed line, the “Al Boraq” train.
Al Boraq has by far proved to be popular among Moroccan railway users, as estimates suggest that the number of passengers doubled between 2020 and 2021.
In 2021, the high-speed train transported 2.4 million passengers, compared to 1.3 million the previous year.
The train’s turnover has equally maintained an upwards trajectory, going from MAD 165 million ($15.8 million) in 2020 to MAD 317 million ($30.3 million) a year later.
Read Also: Minister: ONCF Announces Marrakech-Agadir High-Speed Rail
