Morocco's Train Maroc: Riding the Rails from Casablanca to Marrakech

Morocco doesn't often appear on lists of great rail destinations. That's a mistake worth correcting.

Photo by Earth Photart on Pexels.

ONCF — the Office National des Chemins de Fer, Morocco's national railway — quietly operates one of Africa's most reliable and genuinely enjoyable train networks. The flagship route between Casablanca and Marrakech covers roughly 240 kilometres, passes through the agricultural heartland of the Doukkala-Abda plains, and deposits you at the edge of the medina in around three hours. Fast enough to be useful. Slow enough to actually see the country.

The Train Itself

Forget any preconception about decrepit rolling stock. Morocco invested heavily in its rail network ahead of hosting international events, and the Al Boraq high-speed line between Casablanca and Tangier — launched in 2018 — is genuinely world-class, running Spanish-built Alstom Euroduplex trains at up to 320 km/h. That's the headline service, and it deserves its reputation. But the Casablanca–Marrakech corridor is where the journey earns its character.

Here, you'll board a double-deck Bombardier coach in Casablanca Voyageurs station — a grand, vaguely Art Deco building that still commands respect — and settle into first class for less than what you'd pay for a mediocre airport sandwich in London. First class on ONCF means wide seats, air conditioning that actually works, and a quieter car. Worth the modest upgrade every time.

What You'll See

Leaving Casablanca, the city peels away quickly. Within twenty minutes, you're watching flat, wheat-coloured farmland roll past under a sky that feels enormous. Olive groves appear. Occasional minarets punctuate the horizon. Closer to Settat — about halfway — the land begins to fold, very gently, into low hills.

This isn't the Bernina Express. Nobody's going to gasp at vertiginous viaducts or glacier-capped peaks. What the journey offers instead is something rarer on well-trodden tourist circuits: an ordinary Moroccan afternoon, glimpsed from a train window. Women in djellabas waiting at unmanned crossings. A shepherd guiding a flock along the verge. A petrol station with hand-painted signage. Travel that actually goes somewhere, through something real.

Building a Wider Rail Itinerary

The Casablanca–Marrakech leg is best understood as an anchor for a longer trip. ONCF's network connects Morocco's four imperial cities — Casablanca, Rabat, Fès, and Marrakech — in a rough loop, making it entirely possible to design a two-week journey without touching an airplane or a tour bus.

A logical sequence:

graph LR
    A[Tangier] --> B[Rabat]
    B --> C[Casablanca]
    C --> D[Marrakech]
    D --> E{Desert by bus}
    E --> F[Fès]
    F --> G[Tangier]

The Tangier–Rabat–Casablanca leg on Al Boraq is the speed showcase; the Casablanca–Marrakech run is the scenery. Fès requires a change at Casablanca or Rabat depending on your direction, but connections are straightforward and the stations are well-signed in French and Arabic. The one gap — there's no direct rail line to the Saharan south — is easily filled with a CTM long-distance bus from Marrakech to Merzouga, which is itself a reasonable journey if you haven't overdosed on overland travel by then.

Practical Details Worth Knowing

Tickets are available at station counters, on the ONCF website (oncf.ma), or through the Blablacar Bus app, which now integrates some ONCF services. Book first class on the Casablanca–Marrakech route at least a day ahead during Ramadan or summer school holidays; otherwise, walk-up tickets are usually fine.

Casablanca Voyageurs is the main hub — not Casa-Port, which serves suburban lines only. Get that wrong once and you'll remember it permanently.

Marrakech station is a ten-minute walk from Jemaa el-Fna, which means you can step off the train and be standing in one of the world's great public squares before the hour is out. Few arrivals in travel feel quite that dramatic with so little effort.

Why This Journey Earns Its Place

Morocco by train rewards the kind of traveller who finds value in transitions, not just destinations. The country between Casablanca and Marrakech — unhurried, agricultural, quietly beautiful — is a version of Morocco that most visitors completely miss because they flew directly to the medina.

Slow down. Take the train. That middle distance, so easy to skip, is exactly where the trip becomes yours.