Morocco's high-speed train cited by U.S. Congressman in California rail critique

Morocco has been referenced by American politician Kevin Kiley in his critique of California’s high-speed rail project. Kiley, a U.S. representative for California's 3rd congressional district since 2023, highlighted that while California struggled to implement a high-speed rail system, Morocco successfully launched theirs in 2018.

«The reality is that speed trains have been built in many parts of the world», Kiley said on June 30 in a short video shared online, noting that Americans see these systems working abroad. He mentioned that one of the initial operators of California's high-speed rail authority, frustrated with the political dysfunction, left for Morocco, which he described as «less politically dysfunctional».

Kiley pointed out that the operator helped launch a high-speed rail train in Morocco in 2018. He lamented that California's project failed due to political issues rather than technological limitations or a lack of demand.

Kiley was referring to Al Boraq, a 323-kilometer high-speed rail service between Casablanca and Tangier in Morocco, the first of its kind on the African continent, which opened on November 15, 2018, after a decade of planning and construction by ONCF, Morocco's national railway company.