Rail transport in Morocco
Encyclopedia
Rail transport in Morocco
is operated by the ONCF. It is the continent's second most developed rail transport system, after South Africa's
.
and Casablanca
to Marrakesh and this N/S link interconnects with the East-West connection linking Oujda
in the East via Fes to Rabat.
The most important long-distance train services are:
These long-distance trains operate with non-motorized passenger cars 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 x 3 places and foldable arm-rests divides the places. In 1st class each passenger has an 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 passengers have more space. In first class each seat is assigned thus there the system doesn't work.
When trains are not busy you can be lucky and have a full couch available per passenger so you can lie down.
Besides these 'normal' compartments (that are also used on day-time trains, the special night-trains also offer sleeper-cars with bedrooms/compartments or couchettes. For a bed or couchette you pay a fixed price, regardless of the route or distance traveled. Beds and couchettes have to be reserved when you buy your ticket.
timetable:
Departure Marrakech at 21:00 with stops at (amongst others) Casablanca Voyageurs (0:45), Rabat-Ville (1:57), Kentira (2:37) and Sidi-Kacem (3:33). Arriving in Tangier at 7:25 hrs.
Departure Tangier at 21:05, Sidi-Kacem (1:30), Kentira (2:35), Rabat (3:15), Casablanca (4:30) and arriving in Marrakech at 08:05 hrs.
Deoarture Oudja: 21:00, Taorirt (22:43), Fez (3:00), Kentira (4:30), Rabat (6:15) and arriving at Casablanca-Voyageurs: 07:15 hrs
Deoarture Casablanca-Voyageurs: 21:15, Rabat (22:23), Kentira (22:51), Fez (1:30), Taorirt (5:03), terminating Oujda: 07:00 hrs.
This train is a so called Hotel train
Dept. Casablanca: 19:45, Fez (0:15) arriving in Nador at 06:00.
Nador is not start/terminus: trains run from/to Bin Anşār
or Nador Port
start: Tangier 21:35, Fes (2:30) arrival in Nador at 09:32
start/terminus: trains run from/to Bin Anşār
or Nador Port
, has been closed since the '90s. - same gauge
Spain: Since 2003 there are studies being done about the creation of a direct link with Spain
via a railway tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar
. This tunnel will connect the Moroccan rail-infrastructure with the European via Spain. In Tanger the tunnel would connect to the -currently being built- High Speed Line Tanger-Marrakesh.
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
is operated by the ONCF. It is the continent's second most developed rail transport system, after South Africa's
Rail transport in South Africa
Rail transport in South Africa is the most important element of the country's transport infrastructure. All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa...
.
Main connections
The main network for passenger-transport consists of a North-South link from Tanger via RabatRabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
and Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
to Marrakesh and this N/S link interconnects with the East-West connection linking Oujda
Oujda
Oujda is a city in eastern Morocco with an estimated population of 1 million. The city is located about 15 kilometers west of Algeria and about 60 kilometers south of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the Oriental Region of Morocco and the birthplace of the current Algerian president,...
in the East via Fes to Rabat.
The most important long-distance train services are:
| From: | To: (and vice-versa) | via / change at: | traveltime | Number of trains per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casablanca Casablanca Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture... |
Fes Fes Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region.... |
- | 3h20m | 18 x |
| Casablanca | Tangier Tangier Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel... |
- | 4h45m | 8 x |
| Casablanca | Oujda Oujda Oujda is a city in eastern Morocco with an estimated population of 1 million. The city is located about 15 kilometers west of Algeria and about 60 kilometers south of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the Oriental Region of Morocco and the birthplace of the current Algerian president,... |
direct or via Fes | 10h | 3 x (one of them night-train) |
| Casablanca | Nador Nador Nador is a city located in the northeastern Rif region of Morocco. The city is a Mediterranean port on the Bḥar Ameẓẓyan lagoon , and it is the major trading center in the region for fish, fruit, and livestock... |
direct (1x), via Fes or with transfer in Taourirt Taourirt, Morocco Taourirt is a town in Taourirt Province in the northern part of Morocco. Situated in the Oriental region about 100 km west to the city of Oujda.... |
8h30m up tot 10h |
4 trains/day of which 2 are night-trains |
| Marrakesh | Fes | - | 7h10m | 8 x |
| Marrakesh | Tangier | via Casablanca Voyageurs Casablanca Voyageurs Casablanca Voyageurs is a station in the city of Casablanca, Morocco.The station is an important transfer-station connecting several main-lines of the Moroccan railway network.... |
9h30m | 6 x one direct night-train |
| Tanger | Oujda | direct link at daytime night-train change at Sidi Kacem |
10h20m (day) 10h35m (night) |
one day train, one night-train |
| Nador | Taourirt | gives connection to E-W mainline | 1h42m | 3 x (the direct night-train to/from Casablanca doesn't stop in Taourirt) |
| Casablanca | Oued Zem Oued Zem Oued Zem is a city in Khouribga Province, Chaouia-Ouardigha, Morocco. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 89,970.-References:... |
- | 3h | 1 x |
Night trains
The ONCF operates special night-trains on the long-distance main-line links. The following routes offer night-trains:- Marrakech-Tangier vv
- Casablanca-Oujda vv
- Casablanca-Nador vv
- Tangier-Nador vv
These long-distance trains operate with non-motorized passenger cars 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 x 3 places and foldable arm-rests divides the places. In 1st class each passenger has an 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 passengers have more space. In first class each seat is assigned thus there the system doesn't work.
When trains are not busy you can be lucky and have a full couch available per passenger so you can lie down.
Besides these 'normal' compartments (that are also used on day-time trains, the special night-trains also offer sleeper-cars with bedrooms/compartments or couchettes. For a bed or couchette you pay a fixed price, regardless of the route or distance traveled. Beds and couchettes have to be reserved when you buy your ticket.
| Bed and couchette-prices Moroccan trains | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | persons per compartment | Adult | (accompanied by an adult) >- |
Bed | 1 | Dh. Moroccan dirham The dirham is the currency of Morocco. The plural form is pronounced darahim, although in French and English "dirhams" is commonly used. Its ISO 4217 code is "MAD". It is subdivided into 100 santimat . The dirham is issued by the Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of Morocco... 600 |
Dh. 490 |
| Bed | 2 | Dh. 460 | Dh. 340 | ||||
| Couchette | 4 | Dh. 350 | Dh. 280 |
Marrakech-Tangier vv
Every day there is one train on the route Marrakech-Tanger in each direction. On this route the standard 6 or 8 person compartments are available as well as the 4 person couchette-compartments.timetable:
Departure Marrakech at 21:00 with stops at (amongst others) Casablanca Voyageurs (0:45), Rabat-Ville (1:57), Kentira (2:37) and Sidi-Kacem (3:33). Arriving in Tangier at 7:25 hrs.
Departure Tangier at 21:05, Sidi-Kacem (1:30), Kentira (2:35), Rabat (3:15), Casablanca (4:30) and arriving in Marrakech at 08:05 hrs.
Casablanca-Oujda vv
The time-tables for Oujda trains are:Deoarture Oudja: 21:00, Taorirt (22:43), Fez (3:00), Kentira (4:30), Rabat (6:15) and arriving at Casablanca-Voyageurs: 07:15 hrs
Deoarture Casablanca-Voyageurs: 21:15, Rabat (22:23), Kentira (22:51), Fez (1:30), Taorirt (5:03), terminating Oujda: 07:00 hrs.
This train is a so called Hotel train
Casablanca-Nador vv
Dept. Nador: 19:43 hrs, Fez (1:00) arriving in Casablanca at 06:15 hrs.Dept. Casablanca: 19:45, Fez (0:15) arriving in Nador at 06:00.
Nador is not start/terminus: trains run from/to Bin Anşār
Bin Anşār
Beni Ansar or Aït Nsar is a town in Nador Province, Oriental, Morocco, located 12 km north of the City of Nador. It is bordered on the north by the autonomous Spanish city of Melilla...
or Nador Port
Nador Port
The port of Nador is a commercial port on the Mediterranean Sea servicing the Rif area of Northern Morocco.The port is officially in Bin Anşār and shares it piers and entrance with the port of the Spanish enclave Melilla...
Tangier-Nador vv
Leaving Nador: 17:43 hrs, Fes (23:00) and terminating in Tanger at 07:00start: Tangier 21:35, Fes (2:30) arrival in Nador at 09:32
start/terminus: trains run from/to Bin Anşār
Bin Anşār
Beni Ansar or Aït Nsar is a town in Nador Province, Oriental, Morocco, located 12 km north of the City of Nador. It is bordered on the north by the autonomous Spanish city of Melilla...
or Nador Port
Nador Port
The port of Nador is a commercial port on the Mediterranean Sea servicing the Rif area of Northern Morocco.The port is officially in Bin Anşār and shares it piers and entrance with the port of the Spanish enclave Melilla...
Hotel-train
The 21:00 Oujda-Casablanca and 21:15 Casablanca-Oujda train is a so called Hotel-Train: these trains ONLY offer reserved sleeping places and no 1st and 2nd class seats. This special Hotel Train service started on 29 June, 2010Railway links to adjacent countries
AlgeriaRail transport in Algeria
Rail transport in Algeria is operated by the SNTF , the official railway of Algeria.- Railway links to adjacent countries :...
, has been closed since the '90s. - same gauge
Spain: Since 2003 there are studies being done about the creation of a direct link with Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
via a railway tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
. This tunnel will connect the Moroccan rail-infrastructure with the European via Spain. In Tanger the tunnel would connect to the -currently being built- High Speed Line Tanger-Marrakesh.
- Western SaharaWestern SaharaWestern Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
: Via the proposed network-extension from Marrakesh via GuelmimGuelmimGuelmim , is a town in southern Morocco, often nicknamed Gateway to the Desert . The population of the city is 95,749 . It is the capital of the Guelmim-Es Semara region which includes southern Morocco and northern Western Sahara. It is home to a camel market...
to El AaiúnEl AaiúnEl-Aaiún , is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. Administered by Morocco since 1976, El-Aaiún is the capital of what the Moroccan government call the region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, and POLISARIO call Occupied Territories...
would connect Morocco to the Western Sahara (which they claim to be Moroccan) and could give connection to African coutries to the South of Morocco.
See also
- Transport in Morocco