Morocco is extending Africa's only high-speed railway to Marrakech: 430 km from Kenitra, launched by the King in April 2025, 350 km/h design, Tangier–Marrakech in 2h40 — the spine of a $9.5-billion rail plan for the 2030 World Cup.
The Kenitra–Marrakech high-speed line is Morocco's flagship: 430 km of double-track, electrified, 350 km/h-design railway officially launched by King Mohammed VI on 24 April 2025, completing the Casablanca corridor and reaching Marrakech — Tangier–Marrakech in 2h40 (down over two hours), Rabat–Casablanca Airport in 35 minutes. A 3.3-km tunnel under Rabat links Salé to Rabat-Agdal.
The existing service already works: Al Boraq Euroduplex trains (12 sets, 533 seats) run Tangier–Kenitra at up to 320 km/h — Africa's first and only high-speed service — continuing on classic tracks through Casablanca. The extension adds 18 Alstom Avelia Horizon sets on order from 2027, plus metropolitan transit programmes for Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech inside the $9.5-billion plan.
The horizon: a further Marrakech–Agadir extension is on the drawing board (the eventual 1,280-km network), and a fixed Morocco–Spain link remains the perennial strait dream. For the 2030 World Cup, the map is the message: every host city on one high-speed spine.
Marrakech's rail story is Africa's best: the continent's only high-speed service already runs Tangier–Casablanca at 320 km/h, and the Kenitra–Marrakech extension — royal-launched, Chinese and Moroccan contractors on the civil works, 18 Alstom Avelia Horizon trainsets on order from 2027 — puts the Red City 2h40 from Tangier and under two hours from Casablanca, with a 35-minute airport link at Mohammed V. Practically today: ONCF's comfortable first-class trains run Casablanca–Marrakech in ~2h40 on the classic line (from ~$15), the station sits in Guéliz walking distance from the new town, and overnight trains run to Tangier; buy at the station or via ONCF's app — trains sell out in season. For the watcher: the rail plan is the World Cup's backbone — six host cities (Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat, Tangier) need moving fans, and the 1,280-km eventual network (Agadir extension next) is how Morocco intends to look like a European host. The tell is the airport link: Rabat–CMN in 35 minutes changes the whole national map.
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