Morocco to revive high-speed Casablanca-Madrid rail project ahead of co-hosting World Cup 2030

By bne IntelliNews October 17, 2023

Morocco plans to establish a railway connecting Casablanca and Madrid and covering the distance between them in 5.5 hours, state media outlet SNRTNews reports.

While it is unclear how much the high-speed rail project will cost or be funded, the aim is for it to be completed ahead of the 2030 World Cup. 

The project, proposed by the National Company for the Studies of the Strait of Gibraltar, will support infrastructure and transportation between Spain, Morocco, and Portugal, which will jointly host the soccer tournament, set to attract millions of fans from across the world.

Morocco and Spain last February relaunched the Gibraltar Strait tunnel project, which is expected to facilitate the construction of the railway project. 

Spanish transport minister Raquel Sanchez said earlier the project idea was presented in 1979 in Moroccan city of Fez. King Hassan II of Morocco and King Juan Carlos I of Spain agreed at that time to work toward the development of the project to boost bilateral ties between Europe and Africa.

However, construction works halted due to the diplomatic problems between Spain and Morocco. But the latest Spain’s decision to endorse Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara revived their determination to resume halted projects. 

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