High-speed Train: Morocco Commissions Africa’s First Rail Line

Morocco on November 15, 2018 made rail transport history by inaugurating the continent’s first high-speed or bullet train line from Casablanca to Tangier, the kingdom’s two economic hubs on the Mediterranean coast, Radio France International, RFI reported. The project was commissioned by King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron.

With the development, travel time between Casablanca and Tangier by normal train has been slashed from five hours to two and half hours, officials explained. In the long run, the bullet train line will be extended to connect the two southern cities of Marrakech and Agadir. Worth 2.3 billion Euros (1,508.7 billion FCFA), the project took 8 years to complete. Half of the funding came from France, while Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, UAE, provided the remainder.

According to an economist, Mehdi Fakir, the dividends of high-speed train transport are enormous. “It is not a matter of luxury. Time is a major factor in business travel. The new line will ease travel between Morocco’s ...