Morocco’s Transport Minister Abdessamad Kayouh says a new high-speed rail line linking Kenitra to Marrakech is expected to be completed by September 2029.
Speaking in parliament on Monday, Mr Kayouh said work on the 430km line was around 30% complete and it would “drastically reduce” travel times between major cities.
The new line is expected to cut the journey between Rabat and Marrakech to 1 hour and 40 minutes, compared with about four hours currently.
Travel between Casablanca and Marrakech would take around 1 hour and 15 minutes, while trains from Tangier to Marrakech are expected to take about three hours.
The project is part of a wider railway investment programme led by ONCF worth an estimated MAD 96bn.
The programme includes around MAD 53bn for the Kenitra to Marrakech high-speed extension, MAD 29bn for the purchase of 168 new trains, and MAD 14bn for upgrades and maintenance across the existing rail network.
Trains on the new line are expected to operate at commercial speeds of up to 320km/h. The route will also serve strategic locations including the future Grand Stade Hassan II in Benslimane.
Construction plans include 15 major viaducts, along with the installation of 100,000 tonnes of rail and 800,000 sleepers.
French rail company Alstom has been awarded the contract to supply 18 Avelia Horizon high-speed trains for the network.
Mr Kayouh also said feasibility studies for a future extension to Agadir had been completed.
“With a cost of about MAD55bn, the line between Marrakech and Agadir will cross the High Atlas, with 70% of the works involving bridges and tunnels. The ministry is currently looking for international funding for this project,” he said.
The planned 240km extension is expected to reduce travel time between Marrakech and Agadir to around one hour. A new station, Marrakech-Palmeraie, will allow trains from northern Morocco to continue directly south without reversing direction.
Morocco is accelerating several transport projects ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
The long-term goal is to connect Tangier to Agadir through a 900km Atlantic high-speed rail corridor, cutting the journey between the two cities to about four hours.
