Morocco’s $1 Billion Train Deal Attracts Global Rail Giants

There are new developments in the ONCF’s call for competition for the train acquisition project. The application files for this international call for competition for the acquisition of 168 trains, including 150 trains for intercity services, fast shuttle trains and metropolitan trains, as well as 18 high-speed trains for the extensions of high-speed lines, will be submitted to the Office on Tuesday. Five global rail giants are engaged in fierce competition for this mega contract: the French Alstom, the Spanish Talgo, the South Korean Hyundai Rotem, the Basque rail manufacturer CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) and the Chinese giant CRRC.

The acquisition of the 168 new trains requires an investment of 16 billion dirhams (MMDH). According to the office, this structuring project aims to strengthen the national rail as the preferred choice for sustainable and inclusive mobility. The call for competition is structured around three components: the purchase of trains, with a delivery schedule spread over 4 years between 2027 and 2030; the maintenance partnership (establishment by ONCF and the successful bidder of a joint structure, which will be responsible for carrying out, on behalf of ONCF, the routine and industrial maintenance services for the trains); and industrial development. For this last component, the successful bidder will have to carry out an industrial development project, through the construction of a manufacturing plant and the development of a rail ecosystem, composed of suppliers and subcontractors, with an export ambition, similar to what has been done in the automotive and aeronautics industries.