High Speed Train Passengers in 2019
The director of the National Railways Office said the high-speed train was “very profitable”, but it was not clear if he had started paying off his heavy debts.
Rabat – The Director General of the National Railway Office (ONCF), Mohamed Rabie Khalli, said that the Moroccan high-speed train is about to transport 3 million passengers in 2019.
Speaking at a press conference in Rabat on Wednesday, 20 November, Khalili stated that the high-speed train had already transported 2.5 million passengers from January to the end of October, according to La Nouvelle Tribune.
In an interview with CNN at the opening of the train, Khlie examined 3 million passengers in the first year, as of 2021, 6 million annually.
The high-speed train called Al-Buraq started operating in Morocco just over a year ago. French President Emmanuel Macron went to Morocco to open the train with King Mohammed VI and ride it on its first trip. The train is the first high-speed train in Africa.
The train stops at only four stops in Casablanca, Rabat, Kenitra, and Tangier. The journey from Casablanca to Tangier on Buraq takes only 2 hours and 10 minutes.
High-Speed Train Numbers
The Moroccan government begins the contract with a series of infrastructure and railway projects as part of regional development reforms.
Khalili said, with an average of 8,250 passengers a day in 2019, the average train occupancy was 68%.
For comparison, the French high-speed train linking Paris to Lyon benefits from an 80% occupancy rate. While the high-speed ICE train in Germany only has 50%. According to the European Environment Agency, high-speed trains generally have higher occupancy rates than regular trains, which “on average fill 35%”.
What about religion?
Khalili said that one of the train’s contributions was to prevent road accidents. He said that if passengers take the train instead of cars or buses, Morocco is likely to see 150 fewer traffic accidents this year.
Khalili said that the cost of a train per kilometer is “the most competitive in the world”. ONCF only sells 15% of Al Buraq tickets online, but this percentage has increased dramatically since the online sales were launched.
The general manager said that Al-Buraq’s revenues covered all its operating expenses, saying, “The project is very profitable.”
Morocco borrowed a lot from France to launch the € 2 billion high-speed rail project. The railways were also funded by the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. While Al-Buraq’s revenues pay its operating expenses, it is unclear whether it has begun to pay off its large debts.
The Moroccan government spent 5.8 billion dirhams (540 million euros) on building the railways. The Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development also contributed 1 billion dirhams (94 million euros).
Morocco planned to launch Buraq in December 2015. After years of delay, he made his first flight on 15 November 2018.
Connecting Casablanca Airport TGV High Speed Train
Rabat – Moroccan Minister of Equipment and Transport Abdelkader Amara announced that his country will invest 3.8 billion dirhams to connect the Moroccan high-speed train known as TGV, LGV or Al-Buraq. Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca.
The Al-Boraq high-speed rail service is a key project for Moroccan infrastructure.
The announcement came during field visits to the Casablanca-Settat region last week that included ministers, government officials and elected officials.
Amara talked about the budget set for road and infrastructure projects. Stressing that investments in the road sector amounted to 5 billion dirhams to complete the projects that were launched between 2015 and 2019.
The investment envelope also includes projects under implementation that must be completed between 2020 and 2022.
Projects scheduled to start in 2020 will cost around 4 billion euros. The budget will cover the construction of the Casablanca-Berrechid Highway and three axes of the Tit Mellil-Berrechid Road.
Ongoing rail projects in the Casablanca-Settat region require an investment budget of 10 billion dirhams.
Amara announced that the country will invest 3.8 billion dirhams to implement the Mohammed V-LGV airport project.
LGV, or TGV, is one of the leading projects in Morocco. Morocco launched the Buraq in November 2018. The express train transported 3 million passengers in 2019, the National Railway Office (ONCF) announced.
Amara concluded his statement by saying that port projects in the region require a budget of 5.7 billion dirhams between 2014 and 2018.
The size of the investment should reach approximately 1.6 billion dirhams between 2019 and 2022.