Casablanca to Marrakech with ONCF's classic train across Moroccan desert

[@jefdepijper4550]

I did the same trip 35 years ago. Morocco is one of the most beautifull countries to vist, I’ve been 20 times

[@jefdepijper4550]

@Omari Mockoy not impossible but true....

[@jalilessanaa3920]

@Omar kon ghir sketti wla sir t3elem langlais

[@Edward4Plantagenet]

Did you forget you already visited 19 times before 😂😂😂😂 Morocco is not huge Divorce country that needs 20 times, 3 would be Max 😅.

[@hassanabda1927]

Se déplacer et voyager par train dans ce magnifique et charmant pays comme le Macroc 🤗c'est extraordinaire🤗.

[@scottyerkes1867]

Wow!! The station at Casablanca is like an art gallery. Beautiful.. The seats are comfy and i like the colorful upholstery. Thank you Thibault for a great review😀😀♥️♥️

[@sivasankarancm2751]

Beautifully and splendidly made video never expected such ambience in the station ,inside the train as also well maintained tracks and related infrastructure in this part of Africa.

[@zenjii1]

Wow, i didn't expect this train report after your last one reviewing the Al- Boraq!!! This is great because I hope to make a train trip with my family with the Al-Boraq and a regular train when I visit Morocco...

[@massinissanumidia9252]

Thats very old train. We know casablanca to marakch since 2012. What's the new now??

[@moadghazi]

@@massinissanumidia9252 el boraq it's a faster train 350 km/h from tangier to Casablanca

[@moadghazi]

@@massinissanumidia9252 and Casablanca to Marrakech now its 2h30 in 2012 was 4H30 not in the boraq but there is now 2 railways

[@reysaj]

I did the same trip last January 2020 from Casablanca to Marrakech for the Marathon International de Marrakech. It was my first long distance train 🚆 ride and equally enjoyed very much the travel, the sightseeing in Marrakech and Casablanca and of course I enjoyed my first ever participation of an international marathon.

[@pascalnemecek1502]

Super ce voyage Marocain entre Casablanca et Marrakech en train. Très sympa à regarder, aux arrêts , portes ouvertes et beaux panoramas. C'est toujours bon des trains corail. Belle vidéo ferroviaire et bravo pour ce beau partage. Fan de voyage en train . Salutations Pascal de Normandie 🇨🇵 👍👍👍👍🚂🤩👌🇲🇦🙋

[@ferseal4]

Stunning report Thibault. Hard to do it as the train was very crowded, but that's a very good sign, isn't it? I like the way they integrated the old and the new station in Casablanca, good job Marroco.

[@ygr4943]

They do that for all the stations. They keep the old one and build bigger modern ones next to them. Some of the very old stations even get turned into museums

[@mohammed_the_train_spotter]

Morocco*

[@toddlithgow]

Marrakech station looks great, I love the contrast between the palm trees and the blush/brown buildings. Its rare to have such nice greenery in train stations, often they are very grey and functionalist

[@IAyouuub]

Yes, Todd. The contrast impression that you have is due to the rule that Morocco follows to make each of its cities have a characteristic and not resemble the other cities. There is Chefchaouen, the blue city, and Casablanca, which is distinguished by European architecture and white buildings, as its name indicates. Ifrane, Switzerland of Morocco, for its architecture that resembles the houses of Switzerland, its snowy climate and its beauty (I recommend you see pictures of it in the internet). And Marrakesh, that is called the Red City, and the city of palms, because it has a very high and huge number of this type of trees, and it also owns buildings in red color. What really left you with that impression, is that not like other cities, it is completely forbidden to build buildings with more than five floors in Marrakesh, Yes! In order to make the palms remain tall above the buildings, which is What gives the city a charming aesthetic. I hope that was helpful 🤗.

[@wbl.m.5965]

@@IAyouuub Yes of course Ayoub . Thanks for your helpful explanations👍 ✅.

[@IAyouuub]

@@wbl.m.5965 😇 You're welcome!

[@ygr4943]

@@IAyouuub Actually the 5 floors policy is to make the buildings uniform and thus make the city more attractive. And it's not about palm trees it's rather about the Koutoubia mosque so that it remains the highest building in the city.

[@IAyouuub]

@@ygr4943 Oh, thank you for the info! It sounds logical too, but for the purpose of the palm trees, I was having a quick discussion with local residents on the bus and I heard this information from them, because I currently live in Marrakesh. I do not know frankly what is right, it seems that it is for both purposes, maybe? 😅

[@truckerallikatuk]

Good for Morocco? That station would be a highlight in most nations on this planet.

[@mmans8191]

Thanks for posting this vid about the Conventional Train in Morocco called the AL-Atlas train (Max speed is 100 miles/hour or 160 km/hr). It's one of the four kinds of trains in Morocco besides the Alboraq (TGV: Top speed 200 miles/hour or 320 km/hr), TNR: A Regional Train(Top speed: 160 km/hr), it's a double-deck train and only used for the Casablanca-Rabat regions: the two most crowded regions in Morocco and the third is the one (Top speed: 160 km/hr) from the Mohamed V airport to Casaport Station. It's like the AL-Atlas train and runs for almost 18 hours every day. The one corridor cars you saw are built-in Morocco by a Moroccan company. A long time ago, I saw a report about it. It rebuilds the old ones and makes new ones. It builds about 8 cars/month which is a normal train with 8 cars and two locomotives. Morocco is planning to build the locomotives locally with the help of the Spanish railroad company...Thanks again for your great work! By the way, Utah has a lot more scenic views than Morocco. It's another level. Cheers,

[@Sayitlikitiz101]

As an Ohioan who's been to Utah a couple of times, I concur that Utah does! However, it doesn't come close to Morocco when it comes to being interesting. Morocco is on a bad day stunning and bewitching. I know from experience how kind and generous its people are. You get over Utah's scenery after a few hours or days, and the people, well..., Salt Lake City's residents are nice! The rest of the state is... "the hills have eyes".

[@nicetarek]

@@Sayitlikitiz101 😂 the hills have eyes

[@Yourworstdream..]

13:55 They built the second line recently thats why it looks new. Before it takes 3h20 to reach casablanca from Marrakech, now is more less. By the way you can book a trip from Marrakech to casablanca with just 49dh 😉.

[@omarhamid3638]

Thanks Thibault. Lovely to see this trip through Morocco and it’s gorgeous landscapes 😊😍👍 I love how they have kept the old Casablanca station and built in harmony the new next to it. Gorgeous!!

[@PatrickLechevallier]

J'aime les trains et j'aime beaucoup le Maroc....Merci pour la tres belle vidéo!

[@davidmaclachlan]

Fantastic and thanks for sharing! These trains look they could use a bit of tlc. Never took the train in Morocco but drove Fez to Marrakech and then to Agidir. Flew back home via Casablanca, New York, and Toronto. Brings back memories...

[@williammerry4746]

Loved this introduction to the most interesting Moroccan countryside. And that fantastic station in Casablanca. Amazing shots taken out of the open doors. Be careful young man. We don't want to lose you. Another outstanding report. Great stuff. It is good to see trains being used as they should be too.

[@LynneFarr]

In the US, those swirling dust clouds are called "dust devils". Tornados are a lot bigger and usually more powerful. The middle of our country is called " Tornado Ally". We don't get tornados very often here though.

[@nicetarek]

we also call them the devil's eye here in Morocco

[@wikiwoof9590]

@@nicetarek thats crazy that it’s so similar

[@thefallen2811]

In Argentina, at least in the northern part of Neuquén province where my grandmother comes from, those dust swirls were also thought of as apparitions of the devil. The custom upon seeing one was making the sign of the Cross and then praying either the Lord's prayer or Hail Mary until it disappeared

[@x1achilles99]

Beautiful video. Impressive trains in 🇲🇦 Morocco. I was kind of hoping to hear Crosby Stills & Nash singing "Marrakech Express!"

[@1970jel]

Wow Thibault, what a nice ride. The landscape was gorgeous. I liked your Al-Boraq video but this one, hanging out of the door, superbe! Merci bien!

[@jawadkarim448]

Thanks for this amazing video 😍, I enjoyed watching it ❤️🇲🇦❤️ I love my country 💕😍 it's makes proud, knowing that people from different countries come and enjoy their trip to Morocco ❤️🇲🇦🇲🇦

[@EMTevjorgensen]

Makes me want to travel to Morocco now. At least when it's safe and you can from the US.

[@SuperHihi9]

Absolutely it's Safe our country thank God it's Safe we have so many visitors each year and now working on it to make it a better place for us and for everyone and there are other places and sure u'll foll in love with it so welcome anytime u want and make sure that everyone Will be happy when they'll c u

[@abdella012]

you are more than welcome here, it's a very calm and safe country, you'll enjoy it !

[@freewal]

You are more than welcome sir.

[@jackscara3902]

Did you know that Morocco was the first country in the world to recognize the USA?

[@noone2262]

Morocco is really safe compared to other arab/African countries they've also managed to limit the pandemic so yeah maybe just wait for them to reopen the borders that's my plan aswell.

[@richardclarke376]

wow, just added Morocco to my bucket list

[@SuperHihi9]

Welcome anytime it's Ur country and there are other places I'm sure u'll foll in love with it

[@budapestkeletistationvoices]

Weather is nicer there than in the British Empire

[@hafedregragui62]

7:15 E-1351 NEZ CASSÉ manufactured by ALSTHOM, SCIF for ONCF specialized in towing phosphate trains from Casablanca to Khouribga

[@chrishurkey8505]

Moroccan train stations looks good

[@MegaFarkh]

Basically from Casablanca to Marrakech you aren't on the desert yet, a very dry summer but still not considered desertic. The report is amazing.

[@plus_2853]

It's considered semi-arid you can farm on those lands if you have enough water

[@tompao7832]

Nice video. I made the same trip about 25 years ago. Then there were only the original Corail coaches and the line was mostly singetrack and with many more curves, but electrified. It was a very pleasent ride, we very quite impressed by ONCF. We had been to Spain and Portugal just a few months before, and the rail journeys there was nothing to write home about. Well the Lisboa-Porto Alpha service was alright, I think they to used Corail coaches at the time (mid 1990:s).

[@hafedregragui62]

ONCF had their corail around the same period SNCF did in 1975 and luckily are still in service!

[@andrephx90]

The renovated Alfa is quite good (shame the lines is running on are so outdated) and the Corail units of the Intercity (slower, lower price than the Alfa) are bound to be renovated and will most likely run alongside former spanish ARCO coaches (also renovated) soon to be entering service here in Portugal.

[@strafrag1]

Wow, great video and thanks for posting this one. It's really my first African rail tour. I always loved those SNCF Corail coaches and I actually have models of them on my HO layout. Cheers and thanks for the great info and tour.

[@goransukovic8703]

Morocco is the roll model country in last decade. I admire their government. And Moroccan people , generally.

[@cephalopod7300]

Always interesting to see what comments people are weirdly sensitive about in each country. For Morocco it seems to be having landscapes described as desert when they support some agricultural production and are not full desert by Moroccan standards. I don't think Thibault meant this to be in any way offensive. It is visibly arid compared to temperate parts of Europe, that's all. Morocco is a beautiful country and I really enjoyed watching this journey.

[@alfelker]

Thanks for showing us the "new" Morocco. Very much improved highways as well now. We drove down to Morocco in our '70 Dodge Dart Swinger car in Jan/1978 from Germany. We took the ferry across by ourselves and met an Australian couple who were travelling by bike. They joined me on my trip. We drove down to Casablanca and got hit by a bus in Rabat. Just hit the rear quarter panel of our car. I didn't give right-of-way to bus, so my bad. No stop signs then. lol Took us 2 days to get there. We then drove down to Marrakech and then over the Atlas mountains to the "real" desert at Ouarzazate. We then drove to the Blue Oasis near Erfoud to see the red sand desert. Back over the mountains and then on to Algeria. Finally back to Morocco after 2 days and took the ferry from Melilla to Malaga. The trip took about a month. I went back 2 more times in different vehicles, but finally made it to Agadir. We used to pass the train all the time when we drove around Morocco because of the tracks back then. Fun times.

[@central-city]

Waw, ça a l'air sympa en effet, j'ajoute le Maroc à ma liste!

[@IAyouuub]

Je vous conseille de le mettre en haut de la liste, c'est un pays vraiment merveilleux et ses habitants sont très gentils et généreux et vous aident comme s'ils vous connaissaient depuis longtemps, mais les paysages et les sites archéologiques ne sont pas à discuter vraiment, mais à découvrir.

[@jkardez4794]

Enjoyed the trip. The trains are superb and the interior layout too is quite good and clean. The speed is remarkable and if they are able to stick to the schedule then it's no surprise that the trains are full. It was gratifying to note that the old terminus is still standing alongside the modern one. Definitely a pleasant way to travel as a tourist. Thanks for show.

[@rezaalan3991]

Great trip, the train, the landscape, the station, looks awesome.

[@lizharrison2462]

Made me think of the Crosby, Stills and Nash song “Marrakesh Express”.

[@timnewman1172]

It was playing in my head the whole time!

[@interstellarphred]

Without the livestock riding along.

[@christophernoble6810]

Impressive video. Love the shots from the open door at 160 km/h! 🙀

[@brinicole2999]

That looked like a perfect day for a train ride!

[@jstoney6471]

The small tornado is also called a"Dust Devil"!

[@mohcinemabsoute9323]

In Morocco we believe also that two or more spirits (Djinn) are fighting ìn dust

[@timnewman1172]

An amazing trip, thanks for sharing Thibault!

[@jonfelty2658]

Good to see you again...Thanks for the great video/train report!

[@iaintaylor5585]

The Marrakesh Express. Yes, it is a great trip. I did it 10 years ago. I have gone by road too, in 1970s. It was slow. Lots of police/military roadblocks just after an attempted coup.

[@mohammadaz4746]

This is for safe and security , all city in Morocco like that on entrance and exit except military it's in the borders , have nice day from laayoune city in Morocco Sahara.

[@abdella012]

@@mohammadaz4746 تا راه داوي لك على سبعينات اتبي داوي على الانقلاب

[@abdella012]

i hope you enjoyed it, do you have any pictures from that trip you can share please

[@mohammadaz4746]

@@abdella012 اتبي راه عرفت شنو قال وداك شيء لكاين دبا هو لقلت

[@dakhla3254]

Yes that was in 1971. 1972. Now the country has the longest highway network in north africa. No police whatsoever to bother travellers. Morocci has changed for the better since the seventies.

[@RegenTanzer1]

Another great train trip! (Then I watched again, your video for Africa’s first HS train.) thanks!!

[@sirgermanm78]

The Best in this vídeo was to see your face and the strange sensation to run through and fro the whole traín.

[@davidoickle1778]

That small tornado is called a "dust devil." That one was small even for a dust devil.

[@IAyouuub]

We call it in Arabic (إعصار - Issar) or (زوبعة - zawbaa). It's here stronger than the one in the video though in some desert places 😊 And also in our heritage we believe that two jinns (spirits) fight in the dust, haha 😅 But we know that they are legends, of course, but they are a beautiful inheritance

[@cristeavelneeagabrielle5527]

I was last time in 2017 ..they change allot .....i was a few hours with local train ...in summer ..was no coment ..but the view was fantastic ...and the trip ..i lost weight..i eat healthy dry food ..and all my vacation was super

[@eottoe2001]

"Wouldn't you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express They're taking me to Marrakesh All on board the train, all on board the train All on board" ~ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

[@mbclev]

"Take the train from Casablanca going south..." (which was exactly done here).

[@eottoe2001]

@@mbclev we had an older family friend who traveled all around the world but the place he kept going back to was Morocco. Haven't been there but it is on the list.

[@carminesabinopalermo505]

The station of Casablanca is very beatiful

[@bwolper]

That was my first Aftican train! That was great!

[@otacilioviagenspereira526]

The best vidio congratulation. I'm Laércio from Florianópolis Brasil 👊

[@charlesbaran1106]

You were probably the only person wearing an Alaska Railroad shirt in Morocco!

[@travelsofmunch1476]

Bruh this is simply a better passenger railway than in the US😭 looks great

[@josfitz]

It would have been helpful if you had provided at least one statement to support your fantastic claim. My opinion is opposite. I believe outside of the frequency of service, this equipment looks somewhat dated and worn compared to US passenger trains. Al-boraq and the places it travels to and from - have been presented throughout history as deserts in the sun in certain exotic foreign far away places.

[@travelsofmunch1476]

@@josfitz Corail cars. Nicer and mostly newer than the Amfleets. Far more modern feel of the interiors. Electrified track on conventional network with new caternaries and track. Much nicer station in Casablanca, faster to take the train than the car, much cheaper, and on and on and on

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

Story is some Corail cars, with technical support, were acquired by Cuba Railways from France in the 1990s or 2000s. They did acquire former TEE rolling stock that had run between Paris and Amsterdam, and put it on the Havana-Santiago route. Now, go to neighboring Mauritania to look for the extreme opposite of ONCF passenger service, the iron ore train between Nouadhibou and Zouerate.

[@RVail623]

Cuba received a shipment of ~80 China-made passenger cars about a year or so ago. The track condition is still decrepit, however. And: due to fuel shortage, the passenger service has been curtailed, AFAIK.

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

@@RVail623 the second hand cars from Europe and Canada were years before they finally got anything new from China.

[@maxart3392]

True, but I'm not sure whether those TEE cars are actually Corail, since they are made of ribbed stainless steel (or aluminium?). I've recently seen one slightly wrecked in Bayamo. As to those chinese cars, they are a joke: they are new, yet only 1st class coaches are air conditioned and I don't believe they will last more than the lousy chinese "Yutong" and "King Long" busses that are falling apart after a few years of use. Some retired Corails from France would probably serve better and longer. Por Cubans, they deserve better.

[@moor4zeyn244]

Miss m'y morocco 🧡

[@swebass88]

At 13:50, that was a dust devil, completely harmless!

[@WordTradeCenter1992]

In Italy, instead of removing the first and second class compartment carriages, they had to give the option to choose as in Marocco. Compartment carriages are way way better than the open ones. Thumbs up for marocco amazing train!!

[@abdeljalilzoubir1106]

Au maroc ONCF c'est notre fierté.it's our pride.

[@ianto1983]

What a beautiful trip report! Thanx for sharing!

[@normanjack9243]

I have Crosby, Stills, and Nash playing in my head as I watch this.

[@interstellarphred]

Me Too!

[@eastwestdividetrains]

Salaam alaikum! Nice contrast between (a) the fancy station, aircon coaches, 160km/h running and smooth track and (b) randomly unlocked doors and smoking

[@dr.opalwinfinger1574]

It doesn't get any better, does it? Real freedom.

[@cocobongo4541]

just got the homesick feeling i want to go home so bad havent been there since 2019 greeting from boston us

[@2393sam]

L'expérience me seble très agréable et les infrastructures! Je suis au Canada, et sincèrement pour un pays qui s'est bâtit avec le train, on fait pic.

[@Barflax]

I hope you visiting that cafe on upper floor viewing people on that big square with a tea mint in your hand, lovely.

[@peacewazobia1144]

Nice one from you...I will love to visit Morocco one day.... beautiful train

[@deepwoodguy2]

Those "out the door" shots were fantastic, flying by the poles and country side...reminded me of u tuber, shiey, he did his outdoor shots from a boxcar, train hopping....really enjoy your vids..🏆👍

[@infinitum432]

Shiey, GifGas, Vagabond, Hobo Shoestring there are many more train hoppers. But here at Simply Railway it's slightly different. Very nice video indeed, I enjoyed i too!

[@EElgar1857]

Great video, and it's very nice to really see you in the intro & "outro"! 😁

[@RailwaysExplained]

Great review! 👌

[@MoroccanReverb]

9:12 actually there is luggage compartment its just that people dont have the effort to put a heavy bag in a tall place

[@joseteixeira8448]

I absolutely love your videos from a new subscriber.

[@SimonMile]

This is awesome. I‘ll travel morocco by train in two months after watching this!

[@ahmednaim1017]

Your knowledge about are deep and on point 😊 . You're certainely a railway professionnel 😊. Stay safe

[@cherylsemrau4375]

I would love to go on this trip

[@hoof2001]

Flying Gulf Air in the 80s, there too smoking in a non-smoking cabin was tolerated. On one Middle Eastern airline, Kuwait, I remember the cigarette smoke billowing out of the crew area under the curtain on a 747 as we took off while the prayers for a safe trip were being shown on the screen in the cabin. Happy but worrying days

[@fatwalletboy2]

Even 1st clasd packed! Love old corridor coaches.

[@rafiqmaddni5524]

I like ur vlog ...from pakistan 🇵🇰

[@simeonsimeonov3319]

I liked the little not about smoking that you did there.

[@samtrak1204]

I love this video just like all the rest you make. I'm impressed with the speed of the non-high speed train. 100 mph is faster than anything in the USA except the NEC and a short stretch in Michigan. How is the ride quality of those old reliable Corail coaches and ONCF cars? It sounds pretty smooth and quiet.

[@drixmax5]

Nice Tripreport . Just to say that is not the desert what you see it's just an impression of this part of Morocco and did you take the TNR Service ? Because it's one of the most train service takes moroccans particulary beetween Casa Port and Rabat .

[@samizdat_]

These videos are so calming lol

[@richardc488]

Thank you Mr Simple

[@bobby7411]

Beautiful video !!! 🔝👍🏻😍

[@nancycatania7763]

I really enjoyed your video! Thank you!

[@antejl7925]

The train line to Oujda in the east is great. And Oujda is a very nice untouristed city. In 1989 trains continued to Algeria.

[@danilokeven5513]

Thank you to share.

[@hainam8614]

I was very busy that now I have time to watch your video. Btw keep going you're doing a great work!

[@wilsonkhan9740]

Just amazing, from Bangladesh

[@Abnerbandanovotempoinscrito1mi]

Muito lindo trem simply boa viagem ai

[@pierrethery7894]

voyage de noces à bord de ce train magie des paysages et surtout grande grande gentillesse des marocaines et marocains

[@MOROCCANTRAINS]

EXCELLENT VIDEO 💯

[@amtrakharry]

That was and amazing trip... WOW...

[@cjb8010]

I prefer the quaintness of the old station rather than the stark and harsh lines of the new. I’ve always been fascinated by Morocco, and not just because I watched the Humphrey Bogart film Casablanca as a child. ;-)

[@elbahijabdelmoutaleb6397]

you welcome to morocco 🥰🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦

[@naturalrelax2020]

Hi. New sub here. Thanks dear for sharing our culture and best. To all i say welcome to morocco. You will find all u need

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

You are gonna love traveling on trains in India if unique rolling stock and standing at the doorstep during the train ride is your thing.

[@francescoboselli6033]

10:00 that toilet gives me so much Italian regional train vibes 😂

[@cincofr7079]

آه كم أنت كبير يا مغرب الحمدلله 🤲

[@nicowag45]

merci, ca donne vraiment envie d'essayer!

[@javi2696]

Muy bueno. Interesante la red y los trenes de Marruecos 👍🏻

[@5606_7_da_cp]

Quando em andamento, os bogies destas carruagens produzem o mesmo som que os das carruagens Corail que as locomotivas da série 5600 da CP (as que tracionam os comboios Intercidades em Portugal) e as da série 2600 (que fazem, por exemplo, o inter-regional Figueira da Foz/Valença, e que são muito parecidas com a locomotiva que aparece entre o minuto 7:14 e o minuto 7:18) tracionam. While on service, these wagons' bogies produce a very similar sound to the bogies of the Portuguese Corail wagons which are pulled by the 5600 series' (which do the Intercity services in Portugal) and by the 2600 series' (which pull some inter-regional trains such as the one which goes from the Portuguese city of Figueira da Foz, in Coimbra, to the also Portuguese city Valença, in Viana do Castelo, and are very similar to the locomotive which appears in between the minutes 7:14 and 7:18).

[@sihamsikou3447]

Welcome in morrocco

[@houzoud2416]

Cross desert" haha, between Casa blanca and Marrakech is fertile land with grape, olives and orange farms.

[@disqoglossus2621]

except for the Jbilets, that's not "true" desert either, but looks quite like it if you come from Europe.

[@marocvlogslive8689]

شكرا لكم أصدقائي الحمدلله بفضلكم تجاوزنا 4000 ساعة وننتظر 1000مشترك ❤