By Ahmed Eljechtimi
RABAT, Morocco (Reuters) – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI gave the go-ahead on Thursday for a rail expansion plan worth 96 billion dirhams ($10.3 billion), including the construction of a high-speed line to Marrakesh, the country’s main tourist hub, by 2030, state media reported.
Morocco’s preparations to co-host the World Cup in 2030, together with Spain and Portugal, has spurred the extension of the high-speed, intercity and urban rail networks.
The country also hopes the investments will help develop its nascent rail industry.
The new high-speed line, worth 53 billion dirhams, will start from Kenitra on the Atlantic coast and run 430 kilometres south to Marrakesh, serving Rabat and Casablanca along the way.
Designed for a speed of 350 kilometres per hour, the line will cut the journey between Marrakesh and Tangier by two hours, to 2 hours and 40 minutes, while travel time between Rabat and Casablanca’s main airport will be reduced to 35 minutes.
Moroccan state-owned rail operator ONCF announced in February that it had signed deals to purchase 168 trains from France, Spain and South Korea for 29 billion dirhams.
France’s Alstom will supply ONCF with Avelia Horizon double-decker high-speed trains that can carry 640 passengers and cruise at a speed of 320 kilometres per hour.
The other trains are mainly intercity and urban trains, with ONCF planning to double the number of cities it serves to 43, covering 87% of the Moroccan population by 2040.
The purchase deals also include investments in the country’s rail industry.
(This story has been corrected to say 29 billion dirhams, not 2.9 billion, in paragraph 6)
(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Leslie Adler)
