Alstom will supply more Avelia Horizon HSTs for ONCF

On 28 March 2025, Alstom has signed a contract with the Moroccan National Railway Office (ONCF) worth 781 million EUR to supply up to 18 Avelia Horizon high-speed trains. An initial agreement for the order of 12 units was announced during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to King Mohammed VI in October 2024, there is also an option for six more trains. This fleet will be reqiured for operation on the extension of the Tanger - Kénitra HSL to Casablanca and Marrakech.

Morocco is currently pursuing an ambitious plan to modernise its infrastructure, with a particular focus on its rail network in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2030, which the Kingdom of Morocco is co-hosting with Spain and Portugal. One of ONCF's objectives is to increase the country's rail coverage rate to 87 % of the population by 2040 (currently at 51 %) by linking more than 40 cities, compared to the 23 ones at present.

We asked Alstom, if this sentence from its press release: „The train will consist of two innovative, shorter power cars and double-deck articulated cars“ means that the new ONCF units will be of the same design like SNCF‘s newest TGV M type.

We further asked how many cars the new ONCF Avelia Horizons will have, what is the maximum speed, the traction power, the passenger capacity, and when the 12 units will be delivered. We are waiting for an answer.