60 SNCF engineers have been working for more than six years on the first ever high-speed rail line in Morocco, between Tangiers and Casablanca.

Pioneering projects
The plan to bring 320 kph train travel to Morocco will be rolled out in two stages. The first stretch of track will connect Tangiers with Casablanca (200km) in only 2hrs instead of 5hrs 45min currently. The second stretch between Casablanca and Marrakech (175km) will reduce journey times from 3hrs 30min to 1hr 15min. Work has now started on the first leg at a cost of €1.8 billion.

SNCF gets to work
The ONCF (Moroccan railway company) has commissioned the SNCF with comprehensive consultancy and assistance services for the project owner. A team of engineers has been working in Rabat since January 2009. They have a very broad remit that includes building the line, purchasing rolling stock from Alstom, building a maintenance centre, designing the sales & marketing policy and commissioning the line for active service from late 2015, with a four-month period of start-up support. In total, 55 experts from SNCF International, Inexia, the Rolling Stock Division and SNCF Voyages will be working on the project for 6 years.

Watch this space...
This is the first high-speed rail project in Morocco - and a first for Africa. It gives the SNCF a great foothold in Africa, starting with the Arabic-speaking countries in the North of the continent. We are already starting to look at other projects in Morocco, such as promoting more profitable usage of the rail infrastructure or optimising freight traffic.