MOROCCO: Speaking at a press conference on November 20, Moroccan National
Railways Director General Mohamed Rabie Khlie told media representatives that the
high speed Al Boraq service launched by King Mohamed VI and French President
Emmanuel Macron on November 15 2018 had carried 2·5 million passengers in the nine
months from January to October. The number of trips is expected to reach 3 million in the
first full calendar year in December, equivalent to about 8 250 passengers a day.
Al Boraq services operate up to 28 return workings a day over the 363 km between
Tanger, Kénitra and Casablanca, reaching a maximum speed of 320 km/h. The fleet of 12
TGV 2N2 double-deck trainsets supplied by Alstom had operated around 7 000 trips,
achieving punctuality of about 97%. Khlie had indicated earlier that traffic on the Tanger
– Casablanca corridor had increased by around 35%, journey time having been cut from
4 h 45 min to 2 h 10 min.
Passenger satisfaction on Al Boraq trains was recorded at 92%, thanks in part to a wide
range of fares, comfortable interiors with guaranteed seats, plus high standards of service on board and at stations.
ONCF said that the performance of Al Boraq services was ‘very satisfactory’, achieving
an operating margin ‘ranking among high international benchmarks, ensuring that all
operating costs were covered’. The high speed service had also proved to be a catalyst
generating socio-economic activity, ‘symbolising a new era of mobility’.
Accompanied by President of the National Foundation of Moroccan Museums Mehdi
Qotbi, Khlie took the opportunity to unveil commemorative sculptures themed around art
and travel at Casa-Voyageurs and Rabat-Agdal stations
source: https://www.railwaygazette.com
