Morocco on Thursday unveiled Africa’s fastest train. The train will ensure that traveling time between the commercial and industrial hubs of Casablanca and Tangier are shortened.
Morocco’s monarch, King Mohammed VI unveiled the train with the support of French President Emmanuel Macron.
They both boarded the train for the inaugural trip from Tangier to the capital Rabat.
The train is expected to run at 320km (198 miles) per hour, with traveling time between Casablanca and Tangier now just about two hours long.
The only other train that comes close to this is South Africa’s high-speed Gautrain which links Johannesburg’s international airport to the city’s financial district Sandton.
But Morocco’s train is twice faster than the Gautrain. The project cost $2bn since its launch in September 2011.
It was commissioned then by the king of Morocco and Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France. Funding was also provided by Morocco and France with support from other Arab states.
The train is named LGV – French word for “high speed line”. Morocco bought 12 high speed trains from the French train manufacturer Alstom.
Source: Africafeeds.com