Inside the Al Boraq High Speed Train
Although I spent the night in the city of Rabat, hardly ever saw much of it. I managed to get to my accommodations but it was late and everyone just wanted to sleep. The following day, I had to check out early to continue my journey. Hopefully, I have more time now. I would be catching a high speed train from Rabat to the northern city of Tangier. This time, I knew what I was doing. The guesthouse was near the Rabat Ville train station but that is not where my train will be departing from. That would be Rabat Agdal. Since Rabat Agdal is just a station down Rabat Ville, there are frequent trains going there. As I was waiting for my train, I came to the realization that the time on my phone was wrong. I was actually an hour late. My perfect timing for getting to Tangier was crushed at this realization.
Little Demand for High Speed Rail Services? Who Cares? It’s Fast!
For some reason, my phone was unable to detect the correct time. I suspect that it is because I had a local sim and my regular sim. This probably confused the software and probably chose my home time. There is nothing much I can do now. When I got to Rabal Agdal, I quickly purchased a ticket to Tangier but there is one departing soon at least my luck was changing. Rabat Agdal is a surprisingly modern train station. If you look at the building, you probably won’t even think that you are in Africa. However, there is more surprised to come. Apart from the fancy and modern train station here in Rabat, Morocco also has the fastest trains in Africa operating from here. The Al Boraq is Africa’s first bullet train.
Keeping an Eye on the Speedometer on Board the Al Boraq High Speed Train
For now, the Al Boraq only goes from Tangier to Casablanca. There are plans to extend it but there are still questions on the demand for such a service. To me, it is a showcase of the ambitions and capability of the country of Morocco. Besides, it is very nice to be able to get from one place to another by just boarding a high speed train. The insides of the train were very nice and not unlike an aircraft. There were screens which would show you how fast the train is going. I wasn’t very impressed when the train was getting out of Rabat, fast but not bullet train fast. The train was still fast when it was climbing up a mountain. However, things started to change after that. Soon the speed was climbing up and broke 300 kilometers per hour. The last time I have been on a train which went that fast was in China. I was very impressed to see that they have something like that here. It might be a vanity project with little demand, but it shows that this is a country that wants to be something.
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