The Kenitra-Marrakech High-Speed Rail Line, whose construction works were launched on Thursday by King Mohammed VI, will proceed according to the established timeline, said the director of the High-Speed Rail Projects Division at the National Railway Office (ONCF), Khalid Khairane.
Khairane told the press that the work on this line will follow the established timeline in order to be ready for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, a major event that the Kingdom is preparing to co-host with Spain and Portugal.
“We are now preparing to begin the work, knowing that in 2024, we completed all construction contracts,” he explained, recalling that all studies related to this project, which began in 2022, have been completed and that three-quarters of the land required for the construction of the high-speed rail line has been acquired.
Praising national expertise capable of successfully carrying out such large-scale projects, Khairane explained that this rail line, which will span 430 kilometers, will reduce travel time to one hour between Tangier and Rabat, 1 hour and 40 minutes between Tangier and Casablanca, and 2 hours and 40 minutes between Tangier and Marrakech.
“In 2029, we will begin testing on this line to start operations by the end of the same year,” he said.
The Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed rail project, with a budget of MAD 53 billion (excluding rolling stock), is part of an ambitious program mobilizing a total investment of MAD 96 billion. It also includes the acquisition of 168 trains for MAD 29 billion, aimed at renewing ONCF’s existing fleet and supporting development projects, as well as maintaining performance with MAD 14 billion, particularly for the development of three metropolitan transport networks in the Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech areas.
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