Marruecos recupera su tráfico de pasajeros en trenes tras la pandemia

Despite the problems resulting from the effects of COVID-19, Morocco seems to have been able to emerge from the crisis, which has led to a stabilisation of the economy. The pandemic has triggered measures that have affected all sectors, but one sector in particular has been tourism. However, new reports indicate that, although restrictions over the past year have been tough, passenger traffic on railway lines appears to have increased more, compared to 2020.

The Moroccan National Office of Railways (ONCF) notes in its latest report produced that this trend has been growing over the past year and the department claims to have collected a turnover of Dh3.5bn. 

"Thanks to the good recovery of passenger activity and the resilience of freight transport activities, the office expects to reach a turnover of 3.5 billion dirhams in 2021 compared to 2.8 billion dirhams in 2020, an increase of 25 %," said Mohamed Rabie Khlie, director general of the ONCF.

The report states that one of the points that have led to this improvement has been the easing of regulations and restrictions that were put in place in 2020 in order to avoid as much contagion as possible. The increase in this has been around 64%, from collecting 21.1 million dirhams to 34.5 million dirhams in 2021.

Another related sector that has seen its improvement through the lifting of anti-COVID measures was the rail freight sector. The document notes that this past year it has collected more than 25.5 million tonnes of goods transported, which is an increase of 2.4 % compared to the previous season.

On the other hand, the ONCF is already planning further improvements to be introduced in the country. In November last year, the department presented a 7.7 billion dirham investment plan with the aim of rehabilitating all the country's infrastructure where trains run between 2022 and 2024. Another of the proposals is to renovate and update services so that travellers can enjoy a safe journey and be looked after at all times.

To this end, the Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to distribute the funds evenly, so that each year in which the system is reinforced, rail customers can see the improvements and are not completely affected by works and inconveniences. This year, 2.9 billion dirhams will be distributed; next year, in 2023, 2.2 billion dirhams will be allocated; and finally, in 2024, 2.6 billion dirhams will be allocated to strengthening the train network.

This idea has been supported mainly by the Moroccan government, which, in conjunction with the ONCF, is creating a roadmap to start strengthening the development of the railway industry. "It is a financing plan adapted to accelerate the development of the railway sector in terms of spatial planning and strengthening connectivity between the regions and the main economic poles of the country," the Office stressed.

The National Railway Infrastructure Development Plan is also being developed, with the main objective of building around 1,300 kilometres of high-speed lines and another 3,800 kilometres of railways running through cities. Thus, two new high-speed rail (LGV) lines are planned to be developed, which will expand the rail network. The first will be a line linking Marrakech to Agadir, and the second will be an extension to Marrakech of the line running between Tangier and Casablanca.

The services offered to customers will also be affected and it is intended to carry out a 100% digitalisation, with the mission of allowing a comprehensive service to passengers during their journeys, which will initially provide them with comfort and good accessibility that everyone can understand. Travellers will be able to enjoy the service before they start searching for journeys and even after they have finished their journey.