Morocco begins building a high-speed rail line between Kenitra and Marrakech

The project is a component of Morocco’s larger initiative to build and upgrade significant infrastructure in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

The second phase of Morocco’s high-speed railway project began Thursday at the Rabat Agdal train station in the Moroccan capital, where work on the Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed railway was initiated.

430 kilometers of high-speed rail will be added during this phase, linking Kenitra to Casablanca, Morocco’s commercial center, and Marrakech, the country’s ancient city, further south. It is anticipated that the project will be finished and operational before Morocco, Portugal, and Spain co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The Tangier-Kenitra line, which employs French technology and design standards and has a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour, was launched in 2018, making Morocco the first African nation to run a high-speed railway.

With a total investment of 96 billion Moroccan dirhams (about 10.3 billion US dollars), the second phase of the project also include improving existing railway lines and purchasing high-speed trains and cars, according to the official MAP news agency.

The project is a component of Morocco’s larger initiative to build and upgrade significant infrastructure in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup in 2030.