Across Morocco on the high-speed El Boraq
You can still take the Marrakesh Express of the 1969 song, but sleek El Boraq, Africa’s first high-speed train, now cuts that journey time in half.
I’ve spent many long hours on Moroccan trains over the last 20 years or so, but now I’m taking a maiden voyage on El Boraq from Tangier to Casablanca, followed by the Al Atlas train from Casa to Marrakesh.
Named for the lightning-fast, mythical creature that whisked the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem to heaven and back in the space of one night, El Boraq was inaugurated in 2018, and currently runs between Tangier on the Strait of Gibraltar and the country’s largest city, Casablanca, on the Atlantic.
It took some years to build up to that launch, completely overhauling existing stations and laying the fast track. Stations in the cities of Tangier, Kenitra, Rabat and Casablanca had to be rebuilt to accommodate El Boraq. In future, the high-speed service will be extended to the tourism magnets of Marrakesh and Agadir. There’s talk, too, of joining Africa to Europe with a line between Madrid and Tangier via a tunnel under the Strait of Gibraltar in time for the 2030 Fifa World Cup, hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal.
Most visitors to Morocco come to explore the ancient cities full of Islamic architecture with exquisite, sculpted plaster, colourful mosaics and painted wood, to trek the rugged High Atlas Mountains or to ride camels in the Sahara. But there’s another side of this fast-developing country to discover that might come as a surprise: it’s modern, forward-thinking and investing heavily in infrastructure like city tramways, impressive ports and the high-speed train. Today I’m in the new Tanger Ville Station; it’s enormous, modern with lots of glass, tall palm trees and other leafy plantings, the wide concourse surrounded by shops and fast-food outlets. As I have a first-class ticket, I can use El Boraq’s comfortable lounge with free Wi-Fi, drinks and magazines.
Twenty minutes before departure, we’re called on to the platform, first class passengers using a door from the lounge. As I’ve bought my ticket online, I just have to show it on my phone at the ticket check. And there’s the train. It’s smooth and shiny, a silvery grey with green and orange streaks down the sides. If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s a repurposed TGV Euroduplex, or double-decker, just as you’d see in France, tweaked to accommodate local conditions.
The route takes us southwards along the Atlantic coast, past the seaside resort of Asilah with its pretty white medina and pirate history. Beyond it, we gain speed as we approach the fast section of track, and suddenly we’re travelling at 320kmh — the train is smooth and silent, while the view outside is blurred. After a while, I walk through to the buffet car for some coffee and breakfast.
We reach the busy market town of Kenitra in 50 minutes, and after that our speed is reduced to 160kmh, though there are plans to upgrade the next section of track between Rabat and Casablanca. As we near the former, capital of Morocco, we pass the new 55-storey, 250m Mohammed VI Tower and the nearby Grand Theatre designed by Zaha Hadid, one tall, black and powerful, the other sensual, low-lying and white.
The sea views after Rabat are striking, and easier to see now were travelling at a gentler pace. We pass the industrial town of Mohammedia and the beaches where Casablancais spend summer weekends before El Boraq pulls into Casa Voyageurs Station on time after a journey of just two hours and 10 minutes, less than half the five hours the ordinary train takes.
But I’m not planning to be in Casablanca for long. After a change of platforms, I board the Al Atlas train to Marrakesh, Morocco’s most alluring destination. We leave the coast and travel inland, heading south where the landscape varies between desert-like scrub and farmland, punctuated by small towns and villages, each with their mosque minaret. There are just three stops, at the towns of Berrechid, Settat and Ben Guerir.
Eventually, the impressive, snow-capped High Atlas Mountains come into view once we get close to Marrakesh, where I’m welcomed by another airy, well-planned station with lots of taxis outside to take me to my hotel.
But if you do have that Crosby, Stills and Nash song in your head, or would rather save the cost of a night in a hotel, the nostalgic Marrakesh Express sleeper between Tangier and the Red City is for you. It departs Tanger Ville at 11.45pm each night and pulls into Marrakesh Station at 9.10am the next morning. You can take a second- or first-class seat, or a bunk with a freshly laundered sheet, pillow and blanket.
It’s a slow train and makes six stops during the night, but you won’t notice as you’ll be gently rocked to sleep as the train clicks over the rails.
The details
Distance: 502km
Duration: El Boraq Tangier to Casablanca, followed by Al Atlas Casablanca to
Marrakesh: 5hr 30min / Marrakesh
Express: 9hr 16min overnight
Ticket types: First or second Class. On El Boraq, first class has three seats per row; in second class, it’s four. On Al Atlas trains, first class has six-seater compartments, while second class compartments seat eight.
How to book: Buy tickets at a station or online at oncf.ma. Book sleeper compartments in person at a station or at marrakechtickets.co.uk up to two months in advance and be sure to take your passport when booking.
When to go: Spring and autumn are the best months.
The book
Epic Train Trips of the World by Lonely Planet, RRP $55.
