Morocco Savvy

The Moroccan train timetable gets a complete overhaul later this year, with almost 100 new services added to the schedule.

In a statement released today, the railway company ONCF says that the number of train services will be gradually increased from 147 to 240. The first of these new services are being introduced before the summer, the company added.

The new trains will be added on ONCF’s main lines: Tangier to Casablanca, Fes to Marrakech and Casablanca to Marrakech. Travel times should be reduced thanks to the increase of services, the company says.

This year also sees the completion of renovation work at several stations, most notably Asilah, Mohammedia, Rabat Ville, Salé Ville and Marrakech. Work will start at Casablanca Port and Fes stations.

ONCF had a good year in 2006. The company transported 23.5 million passengers, 12 percent more than in 2005. This year, some 5 billion dirham (US$ 590 million) is being invested in infrastructure and rolling stock, the statement says.

Originally expected last September, Morocco’s sharp new shuttle trains are running late - so what else is new? 

Morocco, the travel guides will tell you, has a surprisingly good train service. That’s still true, but cracks have been appearing in the last few months.

First, the railway company ONCF increased its fares on a number of routes that are particularly popular with tourists. While foreigners will laugh at two extra dollars to get from Tangier to Marrakech, the higher prices weren’t exactly small change to Moroccans.

Then there’s the delays. The ONCF boasts that 90 percent of its trains are on time, but that is not the perception among its passengers. Rabat to Casablanca, in particular, has become notorious for delays.

To the ONCF’s credit, a lot of those delays seem to be caused by theft of the copper cables used to operate train signals. With high prices, copper theft is now a problem all over Europe as well.

But the train company will find it harder to explain the poor quality it offers. Train passengers complain regularly about the trains’ dirty toilets and the legendary climate control. Newspaper Le Matin writes that some railway cars “feel like ice houses, while others serve as saunas”.

The article also zooms in on the delay in the introduction of the ONCF’s sparkling new double decker trains. They were expected to come into service between Casablanca and Rabat last September, but only one of the 24 new units is operational.

The others, an ONCF spokesman tells Le Matin, have been delayed for further tests.

Another delay. Moroccans will no doubt find a good punch line for that joke.

• What to expect from trains in Morocco

Anyone remember the shopping mall next to Casablanca Port station? It’s gone, demolished - Centre 2000 is no more.

The Moroccan railway company ONCF has started the demolition of one of Casablanca’s weirdest corners, the Centre 2000 next to Casablanca Port station. 

Built in the late Seventies, Centre 2000 was conceived as a modern shopping mall in the heart of the city. But lately, with the building left to rot amid a legal battle over its future, it became a popular hangout for street children and other homeless people. Shoppers weren’t charmed and stayed away.

Only train passengers waiting for their departure would have a quick coffee on one of the mall’s outdoor terraces.

That pit with terraces was a nice enough place to have a drink, but as you would look around, you couldn’t help wondering what the point of the place was.

The ONCF will use the land to expand the Casablanca Port station and build new headquarters for the company. The area around the station is being refurbished completely, with the Accor group building three hotels in the project, known as Casablanca City Center.

It took the railways almost six years to evict the 60 shopkeepers from Centre 2000. With the last legal challenge squashed in court, the bulldozers arrived this week.

• Still, Casablanca has its moments

A dream for decades, the train tunnel between Morocco and Spain “will happen”, says a Moroccan minister - no telling when, though.

Imagine boarding a train in Seville at 8 AM and arriving in Casablanca at 10:30. Or in Marrakech at 11.

It’s a picture that Karim Ghellab, the Moroccan minister of Transport, paints in this Sunday’s Washington Post (free registration required). All it takes is a tunnel between Spain and Morocco and a high-speed rail link.

“It’s not easy to predict a date yet, but it is a project that will happen,” Ghellab tells the newspaper.

It’s worth remembering, though, that this idea has been around since the Seventies - it’s never gotten further than dreams, sketches and signs of intent from both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar.

The article neatly sums up the pros and cons. It’s good for tourism and trade. It would benefit the economies of both Morocco and Spain (and the rest of the European Union).

But it will cost a fortune (US$ 13 billion, some people say), it will be very difficult to build under the deep waters of the Strait and plenty of people in Europe fear it may turn into an underground entrance into the Union for thousands of illegal immigrants.

Right now, the umpteenth “feasibility study” is under way. When that is finished in a few years, a final decision should be reached. The European Union and private investors will have to bring the cash, so presumably they get to decide on the project.

Still, the Post reminds us, Rabat and Madrid are dedicated to the project. It may not make much economical sense (Channel Tunnel, anyone?), but it would certainly be a great sign of improved relations between Spain and Morocco to see the idea move beyond the drawing board.

The biggest optimists think the tunnel could be a reality in 2025.

• Until 2025, ferries will have to do the trick, then

Morocco’s railway company enters a new phase in upgrading its network and facilities.

Last week, King Mohamed VI visited Fes (in his Royal Train) for the official kick-off of the next phase in the extensive program of modernisation by the railway company ONCF. The work is expected to be finished in 18 months.

Fes will get a new train station, five times larger than the current one. About a third of that space will be used for shops, restaurants and other commercial activities.

At the same time, the rail tracks between Fes and Meknes will be doubled, allowing for more and faster services. It’s the last stretch of rail between Casablanca and Fes to get double tracks.

The ONCF expects to bring the travel time between the two cities down from 4h30m to 3h20m once the project is completed. 

• Find out how to behave on a Moroccan train for 4.5 hours over at the Morocco FAQ