Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed line: Marrakech within direct reach of Casablanca in 2029

Morocco has operated Africa's first high-speed line, between Tangier and Kenitra, since 2018. Its extension to Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech is the country's largest railway project to 2030.

The facts

The Kenitra-Marrakech line is 430 kilometres long. Construction began in April 2025. Dynamic trials are scheduled for 2029 and commercial service before the end of that year. The budget is 53 billion dirhams, within a 96 billion dirham railway programme to 2030 that also covers rolling stock and station modernisation.

The target commercial speed is 320 km/h. Official journey times between Casablanca and Marrakech have not yet been published by ONCF; we do not invent them. Today, the conventional train links the two cities in a little under three hours.

What it changes for Marrakech

Marrakech is already the country's second-largest airport, with 28% of national traffic in 2025. High-speed rail adds a second gateway, this time facing the domestic market and travellers arriving in Casablanca. For an owner, this means steadier rental demand, less dependent on direct European flights alone, and a city that is easier to reach for a short stay.

For land, the effect is felt first around the station and along the roads linking it to the hotel and villa districts. The south-western areas, the Amizmiz road and the Ourika road, remain around twenty minutes from the station and the airport.

What it does not change

A railway line does not create demand; it shifts it and makes it easier. The quality of a villa, its plot, its orientation and its management weigh more on its value than the opening date of a station. We factor the high-speed line into our reading of the cycle, not into the price.