Introduction
Today I’m on my way to Rabat, the royal city and the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. I have an appointment there at ten in the morning. The Moroccan state railways operate a fleet of French TGV trains between Casablanca and Tanger on the Mediterranean coast that also call at Rabat Agdal station. The TGV runs from Casa Voyageur to Rabat in 45 minutes.
Casa Port to Casa Voyageur
I exit the Sofitel at 07h40 and cross the road to Casa Port. I purchased the tickets the day before at the ticket counter in Casa Port station. ONCF have a website, but buying tickets online doesn’t seem to work yet. A single ticket in First Class, including seat reservation, will set you back EUR8.50.
There is a train to Casa Voyageur every thirty minutes. However, the trains are not overly punctual, which is why I decide to already take the train at 07h50, an hour before my departure to Rabat, just to be on the safe side.
The service to Casa Voyageur is operated by an old regional train that continues from Voyageur all the way to the airport. The trip to Voyageur takes about fifteen minutes, mainly because the train moves at a snail‘s pace.
Casa Voyageur to Rabat
Casa Voyageur is a modern railway station. I have no idea how long it’s been open, but it looks new, with plenty of shops to pass the time.
Boarding for the train starts about 25 minutes before departure.
Both from the outside and the inside, the train looks like your bog standard French TGV. The only difference being that this train looks much newer, or less used, than some of the sets you encounter on the French network.
The cabin is comfortable and spacious. Of course it also helps that occupancy in the First Class coaches is quite low, with only few passengers.
The train departs exactly on time. Between Casablanca and Rabat the train’s top speed is restricted to 156km/h. It only speeds up on its dedicated highspeed line after Rabat.
Rabat station is another modern looking building. Presumably because it’s the royal city, Rabat is a lot cleaner, more modern, and much better kept than Casablanca. The city itself is generously laid out and has a lot of parks.
Alas, trying to find a taxi to take me to my appointment proves difficult. As a rule, the drivers here tend to be wary of foreigners and usually just ignore them. But eventually I find a guy willing to take me on.
Hi William————– Nice train,cheap fare, and nasty looking weather. Surely not Lounge food?!
Hi Peter, there is an Al Boraq lounge in both Casablanca and Rabat, but I didn‘t try them. I guess they‘re probably quite similar to the lounge at Gare de Lyon in Paris.
When i finally have my Swiss holiday[september probably] i’m thinking of doing the whole thing by train. Will try for lunch at Le Train Bleu en route.
From London to Lucerne would be about seven hours. Longer of course if you plan for lunch at the fabulous train bleu.
Looked at the Menu——–Wonderful!. It might not be Lucerne. Not sure if i’d get Lounge access travelling with a first class railpass——probably not. Much as i love Flying, you dont get the feeling that you have ‘travelled’ —–know what i mean?
There aren’t all that many train lounges anyway. Certainly none in Switzerland. I think a journey by train is always nice.