Morocco will produce its own trains
The information went unnoticed, but it is of paramount importance for the future of the railways in Morocco. Indeed, the national railroad company (ONCF) has published a call for expressions of international interest for a multi-year program for the purchase of self-propelled trains and a long-term partnership relating to their maintenance. However, it is the second part of this announcement that poses a problem: it involves the establishment of a production unit for self-propelled trains on national territory around which a rail ecosystem would be articulated. The word is out. ONCF plans to set up this ecosystem which will enable it to locally develop the production of train sets for its trains, and later, to see the possibility of exporting them to Africa and Arab countries.
Its officials want to take advantage of the opportunity of the implementation of the program of renewal of the train sets of ONCF to establish in Morocco a real railway industry, with its subcontractors. One of the renewal programs for train sets aims to build a factory specializing in the train industry. It is with this idea in mind that ONCF is committed to the acquisition of between 80 and 100 train sets. The project is in an advanced stage. The deadline for submission of competitors’ expression of interest files had been set for November 16. It seems that the opening of the bids has not yet started. Pending the outcome of this stage, the content and structure of ONCF’s project are defined on a preliminary and provisional basis.
The call for demonstrations provides for an industrial component of the project. This involves the construction and operation in Morocco of an industrial unit for the local manufacture of train sets. A railway ecosystem of suppliers and subcontractors bound to be developed, in cooperation with the public authorities, around the industrial production unit. By 2035 and according to a roadmap called “ambition 2025-2035”, this industrial unit will be focused, in addition to its initial calling, towards an export activity. It consists in the supply of train sets to the African and European or Arab markets.
M.C.
