Rail transport in
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
is operated by the national railway operator
ONCF
ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ''al-Maktab al-Waṭaniyy lis-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway operator. ONCF is a state-owned company that is under the c ...
. It was initially developed during the
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...
.
High speed rail
On 26 November 2018, the first high-speed rail line linking
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
and
Tangier
Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
was launched. It is called
Al Boraq (البُراق) in reference to the mythical creature that transported the Islamic prophets. This 323-kilometer-long (201 mi) high-speed rail service is operated by the
ONCF
ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ''al-Maktab al-Waṭaniyy lis-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway operator. ONCF is a state-owned company that is under the c ...
. The first of its kind on the African continent, the line was inaugurated on 15 November 2018, by King
Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI (; born 21 August 1963) is King of Morocco. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II.
Upon ascending to the throne, Mohammed initially introduced severa ...
following over a decade of planning and construction.
The line is constructed in two sections—a new route from Tangier to Kenitra and an upgrade of the existing route from Kenitra to Casablanca.
The Tangier–Kenitra line has a top speed of , while the Kenitra–Casablanca line was rated for when service began, with a planned upgrade to .
The trackage from Kenitra to Casablanca is planned to be eventually replaced by a new high-speed right of way, with construction scheduled to begin in 2020.
At the launch of service in 2018, the travel time between Casablanca and Tangier was reduced from 4 hours and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 10 minutes.
The completion of dedicated high-speed trackage into Casablanca would further reduce the end-to-end travel time to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Al Boraq trains are scheduled to depart Casablanca and Tangier every hour from 06:00 until 21:00 (from 07:00 on Sundays).
As of 2019, the rolling stock operating on the line consists of 12
Alstom Euroduplex trainsets, with each set comprising two power cars and eight bilevel passenger cars.
The passenger capacity is 533 across two first-class cars, five second-class cars, and a food-service car.
The Tangier – Casablanca line is the first phase of what is planned to eventually be a 1,500 kilometers (930 mi) high-speed rail network in Morocco.
Main connections
The main network for passenger transport consists of a North–South link from
Tangier
Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
via
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
and
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
to
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
and an East–West connection linking
Oujda
Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...
in the East via Fes to Rabat. The North–South and East–West links interconnect at
Sidi-Kacem. Major destinations currently not linked by rail are usually served by Supratours, a bus company operated by the ONCF.
[ONCF website abou]
Supratours bus services
, visited 7 July 2012
The most important long-distance train services are:
Night trains
The ONCF operates special night-trains on the long-distance main-line links. The following routes offer night-trains:
:*
Marrakech–Tangier section
:*
Casablanca–Oujda section
:*
Casablanca–Nador section
:*
Tangier–Nador section
These long-distance trains operate with non-motorized
passenger cars
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
that have individual compartments. Second class compartments have two couches opposite each other, each couch offering 4 places. In first-class cars, each compartment offers 2 × 3 places and foldable arm-rests divides the places. In 1st class, each passenger has a reserved assigned seat.
Each compartment has its own door to the aisle and curtains can be drawn to keep the compartment dark. In the night-trains, passengers in a 2nd class compartment tend to draw the curtains, switch off the lights and close the sliding door, hoping that no passengers will enter their compartment so the existing cabin passengers might have more space. In 1st class, however, each seat is manually assigned. Thus, the system is not used.
When trains are not busy, couches are usually empty, so passengers can lie down at times.
Besides these 'normal' compartments (that are also used on day-time trains and special night-trains) they also offer sleeper-cars with bedrooms/compartments or couchettes. A bed or couchette has fixed price, regardless of the travelling route or distance. Beds and couchettes have to be reserved when tickets are brought.
[ONCF website information o]
Trains du Nuit
(French), visited 19 July 2011
Marrakech–Tangier section
There is a daily train on the Marrakech-Tangier section in each direction. On this route, standard 6 or 8-person compartments are available, as well as 4-person couchette compartments.
Timetable
for this section:
Northbound: Marrakech (21:00), Casablanca Voyageurs (0:45), Rabat-Ville (1:57), Kentira (2:37), Sidi-Kacem (3:33), Tangier (7:25).
Southbound: Tangier (21:05), Sidi-Kacem (1:30), Kentira (2:35), Rabat (3:15), Casablanca (4:30), Marrakech (08:05).
Casablanca–Oujda section
Besides normal running trains, this section also runs a special
hotel train service. This train only offers reserved sleeping compartments, compared to other normal services. The train service opened on 29 June 2010.
It featured in the James Bond film
Spectre
Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to:
Religion and spirituality
* Vision (spirituality)
* Apparitional experience
* Ghost
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...
.
Timetable for this section:
Westbound: Oujda 21:00, Taourirt (22:43), Fez (3:00), Kentira (4:30), Rabat (6:15), Casablanca-Voyageurs (7:15)
Eastbound: Casablanca-Voyageurs (21:15), Rabat (22:23), Kentira (22:51), Fez (1:30), Taourirt (5:03), Oujda (7:00).
Hotel train service timetable:
Northbound: 21:00 Oujda-Casablanca
Southbound: 21:15 Casablanca-Oujda
Casablanca–Nador section

Nador is not the start or terminus; trains run from/to nearby
Bin Anşār or
Nador Port
The port of Nador is a commercial port on the Mediterranean servicing the Rif area of Northern Morocco.
The port is officially in Beni Ensar and shares its piers and entrance with the port of the Spanish enclave Melilla. It is a semi-artificial ...
.
The night-train on this route only offers 2 person sleeping compartments with full beds. No couchettes are available.
[ONCF Website Grand Ligne]
Nador-Casablanca
, Visited 24 June 2012
As the train does not go to Taourirt, there is no need to change driving-direction and thus no need to move the engine. The day trains all stop at Taourirt and as the link to Nador is actually before the station of Taourirt (coming from Fes) the direction of travel has to change, including moving the locomotive from one end to the other.
Timetable
for this section:
Westbound: Nador (19:43), Fez (1:00), Casablanca (06:15).
Eastbound: Casablanca (19:45), Fez (0:15), Nador (06:00).
Tangier–Nador section
Trains on this section normally run to and from
Bin Anşār or
Nador Port
The port of Nador is a commercial port on the Mediterranean servicing the Rif area of Northern Morocco.
The port is officially in Beni Ensar and shares its piers and entrance with the port of the Spanish enclave Melilla. It is a semi-artificial ...
.
Timetable
for this section:
Northbound: Nador (17:43), Fes (23:00), Tangier (07:00)
Southbound: Tangier (21:35), Fes (2:30), Nador
(09:32).
Urban
Light rail
*
Casablanca tramway
*
Rabat–Salé tramway
The Rabat–Salé tramway () is a tram system in the Moroccan agglomeration of Rabat and Salé cities which opened on 23 May 2011.
Network
The first tram network to exist in Rabat was inaugurated in 1917 and operated until 1930 when it was repl ...
* (proposed)
*
Tangier tramway (2 lines project, 25 km, 8.4 billion MAD)
Heavy rail
*
Train Navette Rapide : Rapid transit rail (since 1984) from Rabat to Casablanca extended to Kenitra and Settat (200 km);
**
Casablanca Airport rail link (30 km, since 1993);
**
Casablanca – El Jadida Rapid transit line (100 km, since 2002);
*
Al Bidaoui : Casablanca overground rail (since 2002);
**
Casablanca RER line (RER 63 km mass transit rail including 9 km underground rail, planned for 2020)
*
Le Bouregreg : Rabat overground rail (since 2012);
Projects

The national railway-operator ONCF is working on several projects. The largest project is
a high-speed railway from Tangier via Rabat and Casablanca to Marrakech. Also a (passenger) rail connection between Tangier and Tangier MED, the port on the Mediterranean near Tangier, will give passengers arriving by ferry a connection to the main lines. A train will operate every 2 hours between the port and Tangier city. A freight-line from the
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
factory at Tangier MED is already operational The Marrakech to
Agadir
Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...
railway is also planned to be completed by 2025, becoming the first rail line to reach the southern
Souss-Massa
Souss-Massa () is one of the twelve regions of Morocco, regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 51,642 km² and had a population of 2,676,847 as of the 2014 Moroccan census. The capital of the region is Agadir.
Geography
Souss-Massa bord ...
region.
History
Railway links to adjacent countries
*
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, route has been closed since the 1990s – tracks use
same gauge
*
Gibraltar (UK), no connection; a ferry service connects Gibraltar to the Tanger-Med port and railway station
*
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
: Since 2003, the creation of a direct link with Spain via a
railway tunnel
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
under the
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa.
The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...
has been studied. This tunnel would connect the Moroccan rail infrastructure with the European one via Spain.
[BBC News]
Africa and Europe set for tunnel-link
published 13-3-2007, visited 2 May 2011 In
Tangier
Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...
the tunnel would connect to the currently-being-built High Speed Line Tangier–Marrakech.
*
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...
: Via the proposed network-extension from
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
via
Guelmim
Guelmim is a city in southern Morocco, often called ''Gateway to the Desert''. It is the capital of the Guelmim-Oued Noun region which includes southern Morocco (south of the Souss-Massa region) and the northeastern corner of Western Sahara. The p ...
to
El Aaiún
Laayoune or El Aaiún (, Latn, ar, al-ʕuyūn , , ) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is the ''de jure'' capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, though it ...
would connect Morocco to the Western Sahara. Currently, ONCF daughter-company Supratours operate bus routes from Marrakech to Western Sahara, such as
Tan-Tan
A tan-tan is a cylindrical hand drum from Brazil that is used in small samba and pagode ensembles. It imitates the big Surdo which is played by the famous samba ''baterias'' (percussion ensembles). But due to its smaller size the tan-tan is not a ...
or
Laâyoune.
Morocco claims Western Sahara as part of Morocco and thus as national routes.
*
Mauritania
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
: A section of the
Mauritania Railway
The Mauritania Railway is the national railway of Mauritania. Construction of the line began in 1960, with its opening in 1963. It consists of a single, railway line linking the iron mining center of Zouérat with the port of Nouadhibou, via ...
; which (since the closure of the
Choum Tunnel), cuts across the extreme south-eastern corner of Western Sahara.
See also
*
Economy of Morocco
The economy of Morocco is a market economy, governed by the law of supply and demand.
Since 1993, in line with many Western world changes, Morocco has followed a policy of privatisation. Morocco has become a major player in African economic af ...
*
History of rail transport in Morocco
*
Transport in Morocco
There are around of roads (national, regional and provincial) in Morocco. In addition to of highways (August 2016).
The Al Boraq, Tangier–Casablanca high-speed rail link marks the first stage of the ONCF's high-speed rail master plan, pursuan ...
* For more information on the Taourirt–Nador branch line, see
Nador Railway stations
The city of Nador in Morocco has two railway-stations: Nador Ville and Nador South. Further on the line there is also a station at Beni Anşār / Aït Nsar and the terminal Beni Anşār / Aït Nsar Port, which is generally indicated as Nador P ...
References
Notes
Further reading
*
External links
{{Africa in topic, Rail transport in
Rail transport in Morocco