How To Take the Train in Morocco
Morocco has a fast, modern, and affordable train system! We utilized it several times during our one month living in Morocco. I will explain the tips and tricks to make it an even easier experience, particularly if taking the train from Casablanca.
ONCF is Morocco’s national railway operator. They have a fancy website, but it has too much information and I found it difficult to navigate — so the page you actually want is the one with the train schedules, located here. You can then search for your locations and dates.
Of note, Casa Voyageurs it the main downtown Casablanca train station (Casa Port is also located in Casablanca). “Aeroport Med V” is the Casablanca airport train station, located about 30 kilometers away.
Purchasing tickets
There is an option to buy tickets online at the ONCF website, HOWEVER, we were never able to successfully purchase online — unclear if it was because of our international credit card or something else, but purchasing in person was straight-forward, and you can purchase literally minutes before the train departs.
At Casa Voyageurs you have the option to purchase your ticket from a kiosk or an agent. The kiosks have an English language option and are easy to navigate. The agents also speak English and there are often 5 – 10 agents working, so the line moves quickly. You can pay with cash or credit card.
When purchasing you will be asked:
– Where you are headed
– What time you want to leave
– Do you want 1st class or 2nd class
You can also purchase your return ticket, which I recommend since busier locations like Marrakech may sell out of 1st class tickets.
The cabins in 1st class and 2nd class are the same size but in 1st class they seat only three people per row and in 2nd class they seat four people per row, so it will be a tighter squeeze. The train tickets are cheap and there is not much of a price differential between 1st and 2nd class, so I recommend doing 1st. (For example: 1st class Casablanca to Marrakech was 150 dirham ($15) and 2nd class was 120 dirham ($12))
Boarding the train
Once you have your tickets, you can head towards your train platform, which will be displayed on a screen with all scheduled departures. You will go through a quick security screening and then you will head down an escalator to the train platform. First class is usually at either the very front or very back of the train, the operators will guide you where you should go.
Some of the trains have Casablanca as their starting point, other trains are passing through. If Casablanca is the starting point, you can board the train and wait until departure. If the train is passing through, you want to be waiting on your correct area of the platform because when the train arrives, it will only be stopped for a few short minutes.
The first class cars will be labeled on the outside with a number “1,” in addition to which car it is — find the one with your car number, in the example above, the car number is 12.
Once in your car, check the cabins to see where your seat is located. We found that people generally sit in their assigned seat, but, for example, seats 21 and 22 will be across from each other (not next to each other), which isn’t ideal if traveling as couple, so people will rearrange as needed.
After that, it is is pretty smooth sailing! The trains themselves are clean, quiet, and air conditioned. The train may make a few stops (for a few minutes) on the way to your destination — from Casablanca to Marrakech we stopped once, from Casablanca to Fes we stopped four times.
getting a taxi from casa voyageurs
One last thing — and it is literally the only bad thing I have to say about the train system — when you exit your train platform after arriving at Casa Voyageurs, you will see these taxi signs. *sigh* DO NOT FOLLOW THE SIGN. The sign is pointing towards the BACK of the train station, where a group of taxi drivers are waiting for tourists to offer rides. Because you’ve now walked all the way to the back of the station with your luggage and are not near a road, they will try to drive up the price. It is a shitty thing they do and really irritates me.
If you exit the opposite direction of the sign, you exit out the front of the station where all the locals are hailing taxis and you will often find a taxi driver willing to either 1) run the meter or 2) offer you a much more reasonable rate. You shouldn’t have to pay more than 50 dirham ($5) to get to your hotel or lodging if its in the downtown area.
If you are spending time in Morocco, please see my other posts:
That’s it! Please let me know if you are planning to travel in Morocco via train and have any questions, I am happy to help!
Well that’s good to know the next time I go. I’m sure it will help other people as well!
John
Thanks, John! Hopefully it makes someone’s travels a little less stressful in the future
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