Kingdom
Kenitra–Marrakech High-Speed Line (LGV): Progress reaches 30%
This project will significantly reduce travel times. The journey from Tangier to Marrakech will drop from nearly 6 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes, while Rabat to Tangier will take only one hour.
The completion rate of the Kenitra–Marrakech high-speed rail line (LGV) has reached 30%, the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Abdessamad Kayouh, announced on Monday in Rabat.
Responding to oral questions in the House of Representatives, the minister specified that the railway programme led by the National Office of Railways (ONCF) represents a total investment of 96 billion dirhams, including 53 billion for the new 430 km high-speed line between Kenitra and Marrakech.
This project will significantly reduce travel times. The journey from Tangier to Marrakech will decrease from nearly 6 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes, while Rabat to Tangier will take only one hour. Travel time between Rabat and Mohammed V Airport will be reduced to 35 minutes, and that between Casablanca Airport and Marrakech to 55 minutes.
The minister also stated that studies for the second phase, Marrakech–Agadir, have been completed. This project, estimated at 55 billion dirhams, will notably require the construction of numerous bridges and tunnels in the High Atlas.
Regarding suburban RER-type trains, progress has also reached 30%. On the Rabat–Kenitra–Skhirate axis, a train is planned every ten minutes to help reduce urban congestion.
The ONCF also plans to acquire new carriages for more than 160 Atlas trains and to build a factory in Benguerir dedicated to the maintenance and manufacturing of locomotives, with a local integration rate of 62%.
According to the minister, train punctuality now exceeds 87%, with user satisfaction above 80%.
