Posted the 08 February 2018

ONCF: 30 “new generation” electric locomotives recently added to strengthen the fleet

ONCF: 30 “new generation” electric locomotives recently added to strengthen the fleet

 08/02/2018

To implement the national rail transport development strategy, ONCF launched an international tender for the acquisition of 30 new electric locomotives.

This operation is the first in a series of programed progressive acquisition of rolling stock, including in particular self-propelled trains for the transportation of passengers, wagons for the transport of goods as well as locomotives.

Following this call for tenders, a contract was awarded to ALSTOM for the manufacture and supply of the 30 electric locomotives mentioned above, for a total amount of approximately 1.4 billion dirhams, covering equipment and spare parts and financed in full by the French government, thanks to a loan with a maturity of 40 years, with a grace period of 10 years and an interest rate of 0.0016%.

These latest-generation locomotives, complying with the standards and standards of the International Union of Railways (UIC), will be designed according to state-of-the-art features and specifications: on-board computing, driving assistance, improved control and safety systems, etc. These will be capable of reaching a maximum speed of 180 km/h and will be operated at 160 km/h.

These acquisitions are a logical continuation of the major infrastructure projects being completed throughout the national rail network, making it a vast work site from Tangier to Marrakesh (with the entire doubling of the tracks between Casablanca and Marrakesh, strengthening the capacity of the main Kenitra-Casablanca axis, reshuffling of the Casablanca interchange…) in addition to the Tangier-Casablanca high-speed line.

By acquiring these new locomotives, ONCF intends to support an ever-increasing demand for transport by train, modernizing and reinforcing rolling stock and increasing the passenger transport supply. These locomotives will also serve to improve transfer times between regular and high-speed trains on the busy axes namely, Casablanca - Fez and Casablanca - Marrakesh, while offering high performance products and services.