The construction of Morocco’s new high speed train will be complete by the summer of 2018, a period between June and September, according to according to Rabie Khlie, the Head of the National Office of Railroads (ONCF), reports Morocco World News.
The high speed train is believed to be the first one to operate in Africa links Tangier to Casablanca also known as TGV is currently 86 percent completed according to Khlie who was speaking at the opening of the Sixth Annual International Conference on Security and Safety of Rail Activity.
At a speed of 320KM/H the train will cut the five hour journey to a two hours and 10 minutes journey, still with two stops at Rabat and Kenitra.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) granted a loan of MAD 1.23 billion to the ONCF in march this year, an amount that will be used in the construction of stations for TGV.
Morocco, France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE, are funding the TGV’s $2 billion investment for new trains and tracks.
According to CNN, the train is double the speed of South Africa’s Gautrain, launched in 2012, which falls short of the criteria for high-speed rail.
With the fast train the Tangiers-Casablanca route is expected to generate a sharp increase in passenger numbers that will boost tourism, support wider economic growth in the cities, and recoup the investment on it.
