Railway Operators in Morocco
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ONCF - Office
National des Chemins de Fer du Maroc
Network length, gauge and electrification (2007):
- 2093km standard gauge, 1022km electrified at 3000V= and 186km at
25kV 50Hz
Railway construction only began in 1916 in Morocco , with narrow-gauge
lines built by the French Army. Later on, this network was rebuilt to
standard gauge, extended and operated as from 1923 by 3
concessionaries:
- CFM (Chemins de Fer du Maroc), held by French Paris-Orléans (Sidi
Kacem-Marrakech)
- TF (Tanger-Fez), held by French PLM and Spain
- CMO (Chemin de Fer du Maroc Oriental), vested in the mining
concession of Bouarfa (Fez-Oujda-Bouarfa).
In the Spanish-led territory (North), a railway was also built on
Tetuan-Ceuta in 1913-1918 by CEC (Compañía Española de Colonización),
yet to iberic-gauge. It passed to state-run FF.CC.MM (Ferrocarrilles de
Marruecos) in 1942 and closed down in the aftermath of independence
(1956).
In 1963, the Kingdom of Morocco eventually took over the French
concessions, and merged them into ONCF (Office National des Chemins de
Fer Marocains), registered as an EPIC, i.e. an industrial and
commercial state corporation.
Passenger traffic primarily consists in mainline services, ranking
among the best in Africa. Loco-hauled Trains Nobles run a 2-hr
regular-interval timetable on Fez-Rabat-Casablanca-Marrakech (with a
few extensions to Tanger and Oujda), while semi-fast EMUs have been
running shuttles (Train National Rapide) every 30-60min on
Rabat-Casablanca since 1984. Freight traffic is primarily driven by
phosphates.
There have been extensive track and catenary renewals since the
early-1980s, while double-tracking of Fez-Marrakech is almost complete.
Along with a cross-Straight tunnel to Spain (works due from 2008), ONCF
also eyes a 350km/h HSL on Tanger-Marrakech-Agadir. The re-instatement
of the "Transmagreb", which ran on Rabat-Alger-Tunis in 1972-1976, is
also on the agenda.
In November 2018 the 186km high-speed line "Al Boraq" Tanger-Kenitra
was inaugurated, with scheduled services starting before the end of
2018.
In 2013, ONCFM passenger traffic amounted 38.1 million passengers,
travelling 5.3 billion passenger-km. Freight amounted 36.2 million
tonnes and 5.7 billion tonne-km.
Website: http://www.oncf.ma/
Stock Tables:
Last update: 16-11-2018