High speed: a strategic economic lever for Morocco

1. Development of the railway sector: a successful strategy
2. Cap 2030
3. Morocco and France commit to the railway sector

As part of Morocco's preparations to host the 2030 World Cup, in which the issue of mobility and rapid transport will be one of the main challenges, Économie Entreprises Live organised the second edition of the Rail & Mobility Forum on 21 February in Rabat, under the title ‘High Speed: A Strategic Economic Lever’. The forum aimed to shed light on the projects, ambitions and challenges of the sector in the country.

Morocco is positioning itself in this key strategic market, alongside the major French, Spanish, Chinese and German industrial groups. Among the factors that help to consolidate this presence is Morocco's geographical location, ideal for becoming a rail transport hub in North Africa, with prospects for development on a continental scale. 

The figures recorded by the Moroccan railway sector have allowed it to establish itself as a leader in modern mobility in Africa, with a clear vision to reinforce its competitiveness and connectivity through its Morocco Rail Plan 2040. This is an ambitious project involving significant investment that includes the expansion of the High Speed Line (LGV) network by 1,500 kilometres and the acquisition of 168 new trains by the Moroccan national railway operator, ONCF.

Development of the railway sector: a successful strategy

Said Chandid, Director of Strategy, Cooperation and Quality at ONCF, said that the Morocco 2040 Rail Plan will have a significant impact on sustainable mobility, with zero carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, and the interconnection of 15 international airports, 12 commercial ports, 43 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, with the aim of covering 90% of the national population in terms of rail connectivity. 

Since 2010, the Moroccan National Railways Office (ONCF) has launched an ambitious investment programme that aims to extend conventional lines and invest in the Al-Boraq High Speed Line, which is key to the ambitious master plan that aims to reach 1,500 kilometres of High Speed Lines. 

The project also aims to reduce journey times by up to a third, as well as reducing the number of traffic accidents by 15% (500 fewer deaths per year) and avoiding the emission of one million tonnes of CO2 and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thanks to the fact that 90% of the trains are electric. In terms of job creation, the Morocco Rail Plan 2040 is expected to generate 720 million working days in the sector. 

The ONCF executive emphasised that the High-Speed Line is the ideal technological option for an integrated project involving 12 trains, 200 kilometres of double track, 1,000 Moroccan companies mobilised, 30 million working days and 65% added value. In this sense, Al-Boraq, the Moroccan high-speed railway, is a vector of multifaceted and multisectoral change with dynamic socioeconomic, geographic and urban impacts. 

After six years of operation, the Moroccan high-speed rail network has recorded a turnover of 785 billion dirhams; 5.42 million passengers; a 96% regularity rate; 100% clean energy circulation; and a daily record of 25.7 million passengers on 14 June 2024.

With an excellent quality of service, the rail sector is in third place worldwide in terms of speed, avoiding the circulation of 825,000 vehicles on the roads and some 150 traffic accidents a year. 

Cap 2030

For the ONCF, the Cap 2030 plan is a major development programme based on four main pillars:

• Extension of the High-Speed Line between Kenitra and Marrakech, 430 kilometres long; an operating speed of 320 km/h; 3,500 hectares of surface area; 3 kilometres of tunnels; and an investment of 53 billion dirhams. In terms of its socio-economic dimension, the line will connect five regions with the most important tourist destinations. Five regions that account for 59% of the total population, 67% of the national GDP and 65% of national travel. 
• Development of an RER-type local service on the existing line. 
• Station planning and construction programmes: five large stations, 25 new stations and 10 refurbished stations. 
• Acquisition of trains and development of an industrial ecosystem: 18 high-speed trains, 20 trains for line services, 60 fast shuttle trains, 50 trains for RER services. 
• The railway sector development plan, Cap 2030, is a 10-year programme with a local integration rate of over 60%, more than 10,000 jobs created; more than 1,300 km of new railway lines; 220 kilometres of regional express network (RER); 1,000 trains a day, quadrupling the service. 

The programme also includes airport connectivity as well as connections to three football stadiums, which will make the territory more attractive, with 73% of the population served, and boost urban dynamics with 40 high-speed and local stations, all powered by green energy, that is to say 100% carbon neutral. 

Morocco and France commit to the railway sector

Vincent Toussaint, head of the Regional Economic Service of the French Embassy in Morocco, praised the new era of exceptional bilateral relations between Morocco and France, clarifying that ‘both states have decided to consolidate this relationship, in particular the development of the Moroccan railway potential, which will have great advantages not only for the country's economy but also for Africa’. 

Toussaint urged ‘working together to face the challenges of decarbonised energy’, which will have a great impact on the Moroccan economy, underlining ‘the real will to write a new chapter in the relations between the two countries, of which the first chapter has already been initiated through the railway sector’. 

‘We are happy to have been collaborating in this dynamic of development of the Moroccan economy over the last 15 years, from the automotive sector to the railway and high speed, with the aim of improving the sectors that generate added value and create stable jobs,’ he added. 

‘The win-win partnership we are working on and the multiple agreements and conventions signed between the two countries are accelerating this dynamic to achieve sustainable mobility,’ said the representative of the French Embassy in Rabat, adding that 'we are proud of the inauguration of the first high-speed line in 2018 by King Mohammed VI together with French President Emmanuel Macron and we have been impressed by how well it works, which is a real success’. 

Vincent Toussaint explained that this high-speed line will be complemented by the extension from Tangier to Marrakech, which makes the railway sector a catalyst for development in Morocco and a decisive market for the progress of the economy not only of this country, but of the entire African continent.  

In this sense, he praised the partnership between the ONCF and the French National Railway Company (SNCF) in the field of vocational training, reaffirming that France and Morocco are committed to ensuring sustainable mobility by rail. 

By way of example, France has a railway network of more than 3,000 kilometres, of which 2,800 are high-speed lines. High-speed trains have changed the map of the country, interconnecting cities. They are the safest means of transport and reduce energy consumption by 20%. 

Toussaint emphasised the close Franco-Moroccan relationship in the railway sector and the important role that France plays in supporting the Moroccan railways as a strategic option in terms of transport and economic development. The objective is to increase investment in improving the railway network and to know how to face the challenges of sustainable connectivity that will benefit territorial development, passenger transport and the industrialisation of the country.