Morocco Selects Alstom for Major High-Speed Rail Contract

This contract would be part of the series of major contracts won by Emmanuel Macron during his recent state visit to Rabat, with a total value estimated at ten billion euros. The contract has not yet been signed, but Alstom has already been selected as the "preferred bidder" to deliver 18 high-speed trains from the Avelia Horizon family to the Moroccan National Railway Office (ONCF), as part of the call for tenders launched for this purpose. The competitors of the French company can challenge this decision of the Moroccan authorities within the time limits provided by law. Once this requirement is met, Alstom and the ONCF will proceed with the official signing of the contract.

Morocco hopes to receive these trains before the 2030 World Cup, which it is jointly organizing with Spain and Portugal. "It is this two-story model that tipped the scales in favor of Alstom in this call for tenders, given that the models proposed by the manufacturers CAF, Talgo and Hyundai Rotem are single-level trains," explains a source from the ONCF quoted by Hespress.

"Alstom is delighted to have been selected as the preferred bidder by the ONCF for the call for tenders for high-speed trains. As the tender process is still ongoing, we cannot provide further comments at this time," the French manufacturer confirmed to BFMTV, stating that "the new generation of Avelia Horizon trains has the most competitive life cycle cost per seat on the current market and significantly improves the passenger experience".

The value of the contract would be estimated at 750 million to one billion euros, depending on the options that will be retained. France could finance part of this amount, in accordance with the declaration of intent on "financing facilities" for the railway sector, signed between the two countries. For the record, France had financed 51% of the construction of the kingdom’s first high-speed line connecting Tangier to Casablanca, at a cost of 2 billion euros and inaugurated in 2018. The restoration of diplomatic relations between France and Morocco, added to Alstom’s long-standing presence, which has two factories in the kingdom, have certainly worked in favor of the choice of the French industrial.