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French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Thursday, November the 15th, to Morocco to inaugurate alongside King Mohammed VI the high-speed rail line, linking Tangier to Casablanca.
The ceremony, which took place under drastic security measures, was held in the new Tanger-ville train station. The latter, considered as an economic hub linking Europe and Africa, hosted the high-speed train that drove the two heads of state to Rabat, says AFP.
(VIDEO) - SM #MohammedVI et @EmmanuelMacron inaugurent la gare de #Tanger et dévoilent symboliquement la plaque commémorative du lancement de la première #LGV d'#Afrique, baptisée #AlBoraq. @AmbaFranceMaroc @NadalDiplo @MarocDiplomatie @Elysee pic.twitter.com/mA69e9vHut
— 2M.ma (@2MInteractive) 15 novembre 2018
The president was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. The owners of the French companies who contributed to the construction of the project, namely Alstom (rail transport company), Ansaldo STS (Italian transportation firm), Cegelec (French electrical engineering company) and Colas Group (French civil engineering firm specializing in road construction). Emmanuel Macron flew to France after the end of his short visit to the Kingdom.
Retrouvez les temps forts de la visite de travail du président @EmmanuelMacron, ce 15 novembre au Maroc, à l’occasion de l’inauguration de la #LGV #AlBoraq @SNCF @ONCFgroup pic.twitter.com/xLv4AVrAM7
— La France au Maroc (@AmbaFranceMaroc) 16 novembre 2018
The embassy of France in Morocco published a report, summarizing the highlights of Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Morocco. However, the Elysee seemed that it forgot that the inauguration was not attended by the French President only, but also by King Mohammed VI.
320 km per hour between Tangier and Kenitra
Thursday, the train reached a maximum speed of 320 km/h between Tangier and Kenitra, before making it to the Rabat-Agdal station at a speed of 160 km/h, the technical team told AFP. Other trains will also have to reach the same speed.
Dubbed Al Boraq, the Moroccan TGV is the result of a strategic partnership between Rabat and Paris. France was a primordial partner in the building of the high-speed rail line. The European country contributed to the financing of LGV, granting Morocco loans that covered more than 50% of the project’s expenses, reports Le Point.
The eight double-decker cars that make up this LGV can host a total of 533 passengers in two classes. In three years of operation, the National Office of Railways (ONCF) expects to attract six million passengers.
Train tickets for trips linking Tangier to Casablanca will be sold for 299 dirhams for the first class and 187 dirhams for the second one. Ticket prices will generally vary between 243 and 364 dirhams for the first class, depending on the season and demand and between 149 and 224 dirhams fro the second class, announced ONCF in a press conference held Friday.
Train tickets from Rabat-Tangier will be sold for 234 and 143 for the first and second class respectively.
