La tercera línea de alta velocidad de tren en Marruecos está cada vez más cerca
Morocco's development is unstoppable. The Alawite kingdom is following in the footsteps of Western nations to improve the lives of its citizens and is becoming an increasingly modern and adapted country. One of its bets in this development is the high-speed train (TGV). The authorities in charge of the matter already assure that the third line of the LGV (high-speed line) is closer and will soon be available for Moroccans to use and enjoy.
In a short time, the Kingdom's citizens will be able to travel around their country's geography in a faster way. The ONCF, the National Railway Office, claims that this third line will cover a total of 1,300 km, making it the first route to cover this distance in the country's history. In addition, it will connect 43 cities across the country, up from 23 at present.
This represents a clear increase in work in this industry. Morocco is firmly committed to its railway line, which is becoming increasingly advanced and provides services that none of its neighbours can match. At present, no country in Africa has an LGV line equal to Morocco's, making the Kingdom the king of this industry. The only nations that come close are Egypt and Tunisia, but there is still no developed infrastructure.
The country of the pyramids is the only one that can match the Moroccan sector, as it is running a similar project with the German company Siemens, but even so, it will not be able to be compared to the Moroccan project. Tunisia, for its part, is evaluating how to build a high-speed rail line, but experts believe that this idea will never be possible due to financial problems, the exacerbated crisis and corruption problems.
The ONFC is increasing the railways' market share. Its main objective is to attract more and more passengers to use its lines and travel. It is currently at 51% of Moroccans using the LGV network, but, with this third line, it is expected to increase to 87%.
However, giving importance to the use of the train is in line with Morocco's plans to care for the environment and the planet. The more people use the rail system, the more environmental pollution generated by cars will be reduced. At the same time, the trains have started to become more sustainable in order to reduce the carbon footprint as much as possible and have a telematics system that provides a glimpse of improved digitalisation in the Kingdom. In addition, the roads will be freed up, as more people will use this option.
In this sense, travellers will be able to feel relief in their own pockets. Due to the war in Ukraine and the high cost of petrol as Russia's response to Western blockades, they can save more and see their wealth increase. This will also reduce the kingdom's energy bill and mean it will not have to rely so heavily on imports from other countries.
But the Office's plans do not end there. With this third line, the aim is to ensure that trains do not only pass through the cities. The ONFC wants the LGV network to be connected to 14 seaports in the country and 10 airports. In this way, travellers will not have to make numerous transfers to reach other less accessible points.
For its part, the ONCF has already announced that the line from Rabat to Fez is almost finished and the first studies have been completed for the route that will cover the cities of Rabat, Jemisset and Meknes. This follows the completion of the Tangier-Casablanca high-speed line in November 2018. The Casablanca-Marrakech-Agadir route is also in gestation.