Morocco’s Railway Giant Derailed by Landmark Court Ruling

The case was brought to court by a lawyer who had seen her train delayed by an hour and a quarter. She argued that this setback had prevented her from carrying out professional missions in Rabat and had had negative consequences on the relationship with a client.

Faced with the complaint, the ONCF had argued that the delay was due to maintenance work, describing it as a "fortuitous event independent of its will". The court rejected this argument, considering that "periodic maintenance does not constitute a case of force majeure" because it is predictable and attributable to the Office itself.

Confirming a first instance decision, the courts therefore ordered the ONCF to pay compensation of 10,000 dirhams to the plaintiff for the "moral prejudice due to the long delay". The Court of Cassation made the judgment final, stressing that the ONCF’s commitment is "an obligation of result consisting in transporting the passenger to the destination within the scheduled time".