MOROCCO: Hyundai Rotem is in advanced negotiations as part of an ongoing tendering process for the supply up to 150 trainsets for Morocco’s national railway ONCF, a representative of the South Korean company confirmed to Railway Gazette International at the Rail Industry Summit exhibition in Casablanca on December 10.
Within a budget of of 16bn dirhams, ONCF has been seeking 18 high speed trainsets, 40 inter-city EMUs for operation at up to 200 km/h, 60 regional and 50 suburban trainsets. The contract would include 20 years of maintenance.
For the supply of the inter-city, regional and suburban trainsets, CAF, Alstom and CRRC are also understood to be involved in the tendering process besides Hyundai Rotem.
ONCF is expected to receive a further batch of 12 high speed trainsets with an option for six more under an agreement with Alstom announced on October 28. This was made in Rabat during a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, but an Alstom representative has told Railway Gazette International that the agreement has not yet been fully finalised.
2030 FIFA World Cup service boost
To be in service by the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will have venues in Morocco, the high speed trainsets are intended to run on the Kénitra – Casablanca – Marrakech high speed line, for which a package of civil works contracts was awarded in November.
The inter-city EMUs are expected to replace loco-hauled coaches on existing services, while the TNR-branded regional trains are to boost capacity.
With the suburban EMUs, ONCF has plans to launch dedicated RER services in the urban areas of Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech in the coming years.
