I rode Africa's first superfast bullet train that could go from New York to Washington DC in 90 minutes, and I understand why it's controversial
- Morocco recently unveiled the first high-speed railway system in Africa, which connects the coastal city of Tangier with the capital, Rabat, and Casablanca, the country's business hub. Eventually, it will travel to the tourist destinations of Marrakech and Agadir.
- Last month I rode the train roughly the distance between New York and Washington DC in two hours. The ride, which takes over five hours on conventional rail, will eventually be cut down to 90 minutes.
- I found the experience delightful, with cheap first-class tickets, plush comfortable seats, air-conditioned cabins, plenty of leg room, and an interior design that evoked the golden age of rail.
- While the $2 billion train system is impressive, it's hard not to think of the robust public debate currently happening in Morocco, which has left some critics questioning the economic viability of the train.
People often visit Morocco for a glimpse of the past.
There are snake charmers and monkey tamers putting on a show for tourists in the central square of Marrakech and winding labyrinths of the country's old medinas. There are remote mountain villages that make you feel like the first foreigner to have ever stepped inside and golden, timeless seas of sand.
One thing most people don't visit Morocco for, however, is a glimpse of the future. The Moroccan government and its king, Mohammed VI, are hoping that will soon change with the opening of a high-speed rail system.
Opened in November after over a decade in development, the Al Boraq is Africa's first high-speed train. Morocco is hoping that foreign investors and Moroccans will look to the project as evidence that the country is on the fast-track to progress. Whether that is actually the case or not is up for debate.
"In French, it's called les grands chantiers, the closest translation of which is 'grand design'," Zouhair Ait Benhamou, a PhD candidate at Paris Nanterre University who studies big ticket projects like Morocco's high-speed rail, told The Guardian last month.
For some Moroccans, the train is an expensive folly whose funds would have been better spent on overcrowded schools or the overtaxed medical system. For others, the belief is that the benefits of having futuristic infrastructure will "trickle down" to the rest of Morocco. Only time will tell.
After riding similar trains in China, Russia, and Korea, I knew I had to give Morocco's version a try. Here's what it was like to ride first-class from Tangier to Casablanca.
I arrived at the Tanger Ville Railway Station in the northern coastal city of Tangier about a half hour before my train at 5 p.m.
While Morocco already has an extensive rail network that serves 40 million passengers, the country has been developing high-speed rail for a decade.
Many analysts have suggested that the bullet train is about more than the revenue it will generate, but rather "a flagship project that enables Morocco to shine in Africa," as one geopolitical analyst told The Guardian.
As I've observed with the high-speed rail stations in China, the Tanger Ville station looks more akin to an airport than a train station. There are high-end shops, a cafeteria, and even a first-class lounge.
Buying a ticket is very easy. You can buy them online from ONCF, the Moroccan train authority, or in the station.
A helpful sign tells you all the train times for both regular and high-speed trains.
The machines are easy enough to use. Anyone who has visited a major city and used the metro system can figure it out. It accepts cash and credit cards.
I got a first-class ticket for $25.
After getting my ticket, I headed to the Al Boraq lounge, for people traveling on the high-speed train.
The lounge was nice, but packed. The downstairs was filled with people and no seats were available.
At least there was plenty of free coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.
Thankfully, there was an upstairs.
The vibe of the Al Boraq Lounge is very tech co-working space circa 2016.
During about a month in the country, the Al Boraq lounge was one of the few places that I found working public Wi-Fi.
It's understandable why the railway has infuriated people like those in charge of the Stop TGV campaign and politicians like Omar El Hyani, a Rabat city councillor, and Omar Balafraj, a member of parliament for the Federation of the Democratic Left party.
As a voice over the intercom informed me and the other passengers that the train was ready to board, I headed out to the platform.
There's a sign that lets you know if you are at the correct platform.
It's easy to be dismissive about the prestige factor, but I saw the excitement on Moroccan passengers first-hand, as many took selfies of themselves in front of the train.
Because I'm a bit of a worrywart, I double-checked the other sign above the train to make sure I was getting on the right one.
As I walked, I made a mental note of the cafeteria car.
The first-class car was at the end of the train. I almost went into the wrong car a few times.
As I walked into the first-class cabin, I was struck by the fact that the interiors looked distinctly Moroccan.
There's a large set of racks to stow your luggage.
One thing that I enjoyed about the Moroccan TGV is that the design had an old-school flair that integrated classic elements like the art-deco lamps and seats that face each other.
Not all the rows were double rows that faced each other. But I happened to be in one.
Each seat reclined via a motorized switch. It was a little jarring at first.
Each row had a privacy shade to block out the sun.
There were a couple of hooks on each row so you could hang your jacket.
Each row had a power outlet so I could plug in my laptop. But there seemed to be only one power outlet per row.
The tray table on the double rows folds out for each person. It's a much roomier table than you'd typically get from a seat-back on an airplane.
With no stops until Kenitra, 128 miles to the south of Tangier and almost all the way to the capital of Rabat, the train quickly picks up speed.
The high speed train to Casablanca currently takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes, less than half the time it takes on a regular train.
After getting settled in, I took a walk through the train to get a feel for what the other compartments look like.
The second-class compartments are closer to the cafeteria car as well.
The menu is nothing to write home about. A mix of sandwiches, coffees, pastries, and snacks.
I bought a bag of chips and took a moment to take in the landscape as it blew by.
By then, the train had sped to its top speed of 320 km/h (200 mph).
The cafeteria car had a retro futuristic vibe with its curved ceilings, wavy bar table, and colorful stools.
After finishing my bag of chips, I headed back to my car for the remaining hour or so of the ride.
You could definitely feel the higher speed, though it's probably a credit to the engineering that I didn't feel it too much.
The bathroom, though new, didn't seem well-kept. This was the bathroom for the first-class cabin, with rust already forming around the sink and soap spilling out of the dispenser.
With a two-hour train, the ride goes by quick. Before I knew it, we had passed Rabat and were just a few minutes away from the end of our journey at Casablanca.
Though the train's Moroccan critics have a point about public resources being put into a shiny bauble, it's hard to ignore how well such developments have worked out for similar developing countries.
The train comes into the Casa Voyageurs station, the primary train station in Casablanca.
The Casa Voyageurs station looks just as snazzy as the Tanger Ville Station.
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