Construction of low-voltage systems for Casablanca tramway lines is expected to commence soon in Morocco, this comes after Casa Transport SA awarded a €15 million contract to the French Colas Rail Company, a leader in railway infrastructure.
It is said that the new agreement involves studies and installation of low-voltage systems on track, installation of video surveillance and sound systems, supervisory control and data acquisition, multi-service network, time synchronization, as well as telecommunications within a period of thirty months.
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The contract comes after those previously awarded in 2021 for electrification (catenaries and electrical substations) as well as railway track laying for the central section of the Casablanca tramway’s two lines, T3 and T4.
These two lines are expected to contribute to the public transportation options offered in Morocco’s most populated city, which has a population of roughly 4 million people. Line T3 will have 20 stations along a 14-kilometer double-track platform, while Line T4 will have 19 stations on a double-track platform.
It is said that the French Development Agency (AFD) is providing a €100 million loan for the new line extensions, and the International Finance Corporation is also providing a $100 million loan.
Casablanca tramway lines contract to Colas Rail
The new contract, according to Hervé Le Joliff, Chairman of Colas Rail, demonstrates that the Moroccan local authorities and Colas Rail have a real relationship based on trust.
He said that his team is fully dedicated to delivering an integrated, reliable, as well as a safe system to their historical partner, referring to prior projects for the Casablanca tramway.
The French Colas Rail is said to be involved in all tramway system construction projects in Morocco since its formation in 2008, including the Rabat-Salé tramway lines 1 and 2 and their extensions, as well as the Casablanca tramway lines T1 and T2.
September 2015
Construction of Second Line of Moroccan tramway launched
The construction of the second line of a Moroccan tramway was launched early this month.
The 15-kilometer (T2) of Moroccan tramway will run from Ain Diab to Ain Sebaa railway station via the El Fida and Derb Sultan districts.
According to the deputy project owner of Casa Transport the project looks forward to serve Hermitage ,Mers sultan, Derb Kabir, Hay Al Amal, Hay Al Farah, Hay Tissir, Hay Jamal, Laayoune, Hay Massira, Hay Mohammadi, Dar Lamane, El Badr and is expected to be completed in the shortest time that has been already set.
He added that the second line will serve the areas which are highly populated at an estimation of 0.5Million inhabitants.
The project involved the construction of the first Line that currently services Sidi Moumen in the east with Ain Diab and the Faculties district in the west.
The project is estimated to cost about 3.7 billion dirhams as the first phase of the project coasted almost double of the second phase cost.
According to the resources the project will be funded by the Casablanca Urban Commune, the Grand-Casablanca region, in addition to funds from France.
“The work of the second line will be ready by the end of 2018,” said Casa Transport.
The Casablanca Tramway network is expected to cover 110 kilometers by 2022.
January 2020
Morocco to receive US $100m for tramway and road projects
Morocco is set to receive US $100m funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for construction of two tramway lines and rural road projects in Casablanca-Settat region. The funding agreement was signed between the President of Regional Council of Casablanca- Settat region, Mustapha Bakkoury, Director General of Casa Transports, Nabil Belabid and IFC Vice President for the Middle East and Africa, Sergio Pementa.
Project details
The funding will see expansion of the tram service through construction of the two lines. The expansion will add 39 stop stations and 26km of track to the existing tramway network. Upon completion, travel time will be reduced by 40%.
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Work for the lines will be conducted by local company Casa Transports, which specializes in infrastructure and urban transport works. This project requires a total investment of US $728.3m and the government plans to mobilize the remaining amount from private and public financial institutions.
Government’s transport strategy
Part of the money is also set to upgrade rural roads in the remote communities. This will in turn connect more than 400,000 residents to school, hospitals and other services. The infrastructures are expected to be commissioned by 2022.
The Kingdom of Morocco is planning investments of around US $25bn in road construction up to 2035. The Moroccan government has announced that more than 5,500km of new highways and expressways are to be constructed with the investment. Also 45,000km of new rural roads will be constructed while more than 7,000km of rural roads will be modernized.
November 2020
Casablanca tramway, Morocco: Casa Transport signs a loan agreement for construction of two new lines
Casablanca Transport en Site Aménagé SA (Casa Transport SA), a local development company (SDL) responsible for “sustainable and united development” of Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, has signed an over US$ 121M loan agreement that will be supplemented by approximately US$ 606 000 technical assistance grant, with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for the construction of two new lines (T3 and T4) for the Casablanca tramway.
The T3 line will be constructed from Boulevard Abdelkader Essahroui to Gare Casa Port via the city Centre, a distance of approximately 14 kilometers. This line will have twenty stations and five multimodal transfer points. The T4 line on the other hand will cover a distance of 12.5 kilometers from Boulevard Okba Ibnou Nafiaa to Arab League Park via Boulevard Mohamed VI. It will have nineteen stations and four transfer points.
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With a total investment of over US$ 771M, the two lines will be built simultaneously and are set for commissioning in 2024.
A decisive step in Casablanca’s urban transport plan
Nabil Belabed, the Chief Executive Officer of Casa Transport said that the implementation of this project is an important step in Casablanca’s urban transport plan. “The long-term objective of the project is to provide a quality public transport network that is as wide as possible and that offers efficient intermodality with other modes of transport,” explained Belabed.
According to the Director of AFD in Morocco, Mihoub Mezouaghi, the project also aims to promote adapted access for people with reduced mobility but also safer access for women to public transport, thus helping to facilitate their greater economic and social inclusion.
“Today tramways are the preferred mode of public transport in Casablanca. Currently, on tramway lines T1 and T2, 49% of the users are women,” he clarified.
May 2021
T3 and T4 lines of Casablanca tramway in Morocco taking shape
The third and the fourth lines of the Casablanca tramway in Morocco are taking shape following the start of welding of the first rail tracks at the level of the Bd Mohammed VI between Bd la Resistance and Rue Ifni.
According to Casablanca Transport en Site Aménagé SA (Casa Transport SA), a local development company (SDL) responsible for “sustainable and united development” of Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, this is the first step in a long series since it will take a total of nearly 7,000 similar welds to connect the entire 110,000 linear meters of the project. The company said that each welding operation, connecting the rail tracks every 12 to 18 meters, requires high technicality and lasts about 50 minutes.
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This stage of the project will be followed by other stages of development from testing of the rolling stock to dry running in real traffic conditions.
An overview of the T3 and T4 lines
Upon completion, the T3 line will be 14 km long with a total of 20 stations and 5 connection points with lines T1, T2, T4 and BW1. It will serve the terminus axes Bd My Abderrahman (towards Casa port station), rue Ibnou Majid El Bahar, rue Smiha, bd Strasbourg, bd Mohammed VI, bd Idriss Harti, Bd Idriss El Allam, bd Abdelkader Essahraoui, avenue 10 mars, terminus rue 1 bus terminus.
Spanning over a distance of 12 km, the T4 line on the other hand will have 19 stations and 4 connection points with with lines T1, T2 and T3. The line begins in the city center at bd Moulay Youssef (Parc de la Ligue Arabe) and continues its trajectory on rue Allal El Fassi, rue Rahal Meskini, Place de la Victoire, rue Barathon, rue Capitaine Puissesseau, Route des Oulad Ziane, A3 highway crossing, avenue 10 mars, Avenue Anoual / Rue du Nil, bd Idriss el Allam, bd Idriss El Harti, Terminus bd Okba.
