Morocco backs its rail project from Tangiers to Lagouira
Morocco wants to connect north and south with a powerful railway line.
The aim is to continue expanding the train network towards the south in order to complete the line between Marrakech and Lagouira, passing through Agadir.
This intention was confirmed by Abdel Samad Kayouh, Minister of Transport and Logistics, in parliament.
The plan that is being developed includes the construction of 1,300 new kilometres of high-speed lines and 3,800 kilometres of standard railway lines.
This plan includes the Atlantic axis that will connect Tangier, from Agadir via Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech, and the Maghreb Corridor, which will link Casablanca with Oujda via Rabat, Meknes and Fez.
The high-speed line linking Tangier with Kenitra, which represents the first phase of this plan, has been a major success, representing a reasonable cost to the Moroccan state coffers and a good travel experience for users. It is worth noting at this point that there are significant time savings using this mode of transport between Tangier and Casablanca.
The Minister of Transport explained that an agreement was signed to finance the study of the Kenitra-Marrakech project, of which 857 million dirhams (about 81 million euros) were allocated to link Marrakech and Agadir.
Morocco is at the forefront of the railway network in Africa, especially in terms of high-speed lines, and seeks to continue strengthening its rail transport network.
As early as 2024, King Mohammed VI explained the importance of linking Morocco from north to south with an outstanding railway network that would unite the country from Tangier to Lagouira. Last year, the Alaouite sovereign addressed the nation on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Green March, in which he said: ‘We also harbour the dream of building a railway line from Tangier to Lagouira, to connect Morocco with the rest of Africa. We pray that God will help us find the financial resources that we lack today to complete the Marrakesh-Lagouira line’.
The Morocco 2040 Railway Plan of the National Railways Office (ONCF) seeks to connect the main cities of the North African country, modernise the train services themselves and thus boost mobility and economic and commercial development in the country. Not only to favour evolution in the nation itself, but also to promote connections in the future with the rest of the African continent.
The ONCF plans to extend the network to Marrakech, mainly in 2030, on the occasion of the next World Cup, which Morocco will co-organise with Spain and Portugal. A sporting event that will require a significant transport infrastructure network at all levels (road, rail and air) to absorb all the movement of country delegations, visitors and the general public.
ONCF's planning for 2040 aims to extend the national High Speed Line from 322 kilometres to 1,300 kilometres in length. The Al-Boraq line is the main exponent of this High Speed network and has been connecting Tangier with Casablanca since 2018, with stops in Kenitra and Rabat.
There are plans to extend the network to 43 cities in total, compared to just over 20 on the current network. This extension would cover 90% of the population, practically in its entirety, instead of just over 50% which is currently covered. In addition, 12 ports and 15 international airports will be connected, compared to six and one at present.
The authorities estimate that this project will create 300,000 jobs throughout the country.
A railway project to Lagouira will also give a big boost to Western Sahara, a region that Morocco claims as part of its southern provinces and for which it proposes a formula of broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty respecting the resolutions of the United Nations (UN) that seeks to develop the territory to the maximum, promoting great social and economic development and putting an end to the Saharawi conflict that has lasted for almost five decades since the end of the Spanish colonial period.