French Rail Giant Alstom Uses Spanish Subsidiary to Bid on Moroccan Train Contract Amid Diplomatic Tensions

Alstom is interested in the call for tenders launched by the ONCF. While the French company provided the first twelve high-speed trains for the Al Boraq service in 2018, this time it fears not being able to win the new market due to tensions between Rabat and Paris. It has therefore tasked its Spanish subsidiary with submitting the bid, as relations between Morocco and Spain are good. Alstom Spain has thus been entrusted with presenting the offer and conducting the negotiations with the ONCF and the Moroccan government for the supply of 168 trains: 150 trains for inter-city services, Rapid Shuttle Trains and Metropolitans, as well as 18 High-Speed Trains for the extensions of the High-Speed lines, reports Eleconomosta.es. The contract for the construction of these new trains is estimated at 1.467 billion euros (16 billion dirhams).

Alstom’s Spanish subsidiary has been working for more than a decade to provide various rail transport solutions to Morocco. In 2011, it delivered 190 Citadis model tramways destined for the transport systems of Rabat and Casablanca, used daily by 100,000 and 220,000 people respectively. It had been tasked with submitting a preliminary offer during an expression of interest launched by the ONCF in September 2022, which had attracted 10 manufacturers from around the world.

The acquisition of the 168 new trains is in line with King Mohammed VI’s vision, aimed at strengthening the national rail as the preferred choice for sustainable and inclusive mobility. The call for tenders is structured around three components: the purchase of the trains, whose delivery schedule will be spread over 4 years between 2027 and 2030; the maintenance partnership (establishment by the ONCF and the selected manufacturer of a joint structure, which will be responsible for carrying out, on behalf of the ONCF, the routine and industrial maintenance services of the trains) and industrial development.

In addition to Alstom, the Spanish company Talgo is also showing interest in the call for tenders launched by the ONCF for the acquisition of new trains.