Riding Morocco’s EXTREME Saharan Desert Train!

this is Morocco's Saharan Desert Express running through the sweltering Saharan Desert Dunes at up to 160 kilometers an hour today I'll be taking this train on an incredible journey from Marrakech to Casablanca in a first-class compartment this is going to be an unforgettable trip with many surprises along the way so join me as I head into the desert hello and welcome back to another video today I'm here at Marrakesh station Sheltering from the sweltering 42 degree heat beneath the Relentless today I'm going to be catching a thankfully air-conditioned Mainline service operated by oncfd national operator up to Casablanca I'm booked into first class for this trip so it should be a lovely Journey throughout the desert let's go welcome to Marrakesh Morocco's biggest tourist destination and the southern Terminus of the country's rail network the station here is truly beautiful opening in 2008 yet built to a classic style let's head inside the station and have a look around Marrakesh station is a wonderful construction and represents the city well just look at that grand roof as for facilities the station is pretty well appointed there's a McDonald's restaurant in the main Concourse as well as something serving more local food heading upstairs quickly there's honestly not a lot here [Music] however you are able to get a great view of the bustling Concourse below let's take a look at the departures my train is number 624 the 1650 Al Atlas service to Fez confusingly the other 1650 departures are actually the same train but different destinations are shown that you have to change for anyway let's head downstairs past the various shops and go to board my train before getting access to the platform one must first pass a ticket inspection between the station building and the platforms there's a really nice outdoor waiting area thankfully in the shade there's something about Moroccan station designs that I really like each of the major terminals has its own unique style so every Journey feels like an adventure my train into the deserts departs from platform 3 and it looks like it's already here waiting we'll look at the carriages later on but first there's something special to see at this station hidden away beside Platform One is the historic station building this was built in 1923 During the period of French rule back to our train these carriages are based on the French co-rail design some of them were built new for oncf while the rest were imported secondhand this Fleet consists of both compartment carriages and open carriages with first class and second class variants I'll be traveling in a first class compartment for today's trip here comes the locomotive from the sidings once this is hooked up the air conditioning will start working so I can get on board and start having a look around the locomotive is a Moroccan Series E 1400 a modern European style locomotive built in France but with modifications to handle the intense heat in the desert this service is one of the AL Atlas trains operated by oncf the national operator of all trains in the country they serve as an inter-city operation running between larger cities with stops only at Major stations on route time to get on board I'm traveling in coach 11 today which is located towards the rear of the train there's not much to be said for accessibility here with stiff doors and steep climbs to board first class consists of nine compartments each seating six passengers around a small table I will be traveling in seat 96 which is at the rear of the garage luckily I've got a window seat there's no way to choose your seat on oncf trains so I was certainly pleased to have got a window anyway let's have a look at today's route we'll be heading north for the entirety of the journey speeding through the picturesque desert as we make a few stops on Route before arriving in to Casablanca the journey is scheduled to take 2 hours and 38 minutes to cover the 246 kilometers or about 153 miles we end up departing Marrakech on time today at 16.50 now I can only apologize on behalf of oncf for the disgusting state of the windows but to be fair this is just what happens when you run trains through Sandy environments thankfully I have a solution for this which we'll be taking a look at later the first few minutes of our journey are spent looping around to the outskirts of Marrakesh as we aim to make our Way North [Music] once we've left the city though the landscape shows less signs of Life only palm trees and dried grass are visible after a while even this begins to drop off leaving a Barren and dry landscape to view [Music] anyway let's take a look around the compartment before we get to the best part of the route Moroccan trains can get very busy especially in peak times so I decided to film this before anyone else got on the seats Here In First Class have a traditional pattern on them and I think it looks great as for comfort the seats are very good with lots of padding and good ergonomics there's also a large winged headrest every seat has adjustable armrests which are wide and well padded the seats can also be reclined done by pulling the seat base forward luggage space can be found above the seats with sizable luggage racks capable of handling larger items heavier items are best placed beneath the seats if possible at the window you can find an effective sunblind which is very much appreciated when the sun is beaming into your eyes sadly this one didn't stay down also by the window there's a table this can fold out and is actually fairly large there are also a few cup holders normally beneath the table you can find a bin however mine was missing above the compartment door there's a button to control the compartments light there are also individual reading lights found above your seat back to the journey our train is beginning to build speed as we run through the Flatlands in fact we're actually already running at our top speed of 160 kilometers an hour this continues for much of the journey passing little but the occasional Road or farmland as I mentioned in a previous video Morocco is a major exporter of fruit and vegetables aided by its diverse climate after around 45 minutes we're on the approach to our first station which is where the scenery begins to get really good the station of benguria is a junction with the town it serves being known for its University military operations and phosphate production as we depart you can see wagons full of phosphate waiting to be transported along the Safi Branch to access the port Morocco is the second largest producer of phosphate in the world with only China ahead of them distant Hills indicate that the scenery is beginning to get exciting but I really don't think the windows are going to do this any justice it turns out these doors don't lock so you can just open them and enjoy the unobstructed views also if you head to the very rear of the train you can look out of the back opening The Last Passenger doors on the train allows an incredible view of the consist weaving its way through the desert the route is very windy so there's plenty of Curves to get incredible views like this on here we passed the station of City Abdullah though from what I can tell this station does not receive any trains [Music] after standing by the door for a while I decided to have a sit down here you can see an abandoned rail Bridge there are quite a lot of these on today's route with the newer Bridges being straighter allowing for faster running anyway let's take a look around to the rest of the train this is second class on the AL Atlas most carriages contain these very dense eight-seater compartments and after a few Journeys in these I highly recommend that you avoid it there are also some open carriages which are a lot more spacious however there's no way to choose which Carriage you reserve each carriage has two toilets one located at each end next to the doors [Applause] these toilets unfortunately flush right onto the track though cleanliness in here is generally satisfactory soap and water were both available but there wasn't any way of drying your hands off after [Applause] with that out of the way I decided to sit on the doorstep again and enjoy some more of the passing scenery watching this nine Carriage train hurtle along at up to 160 kilometers an hour while Meandering through this Dusty landscape was something special for me and unlike any train journey I had taken before [Applause] eventually we're once again slowing down as we enter another urban area this is the city of sitar a small City roughly an hour away from our destination [Music] a brief stop is made here before we continue onward to Casablanca Morocco's largest city [Music] station is massively oversized for the service it receives there are 10 platforms here with five being through tracks and the rest terminating all this is despite sitters receiving just one or two trains per hour the remainder of our trip sees us traveling through green Landscapes such as fields and a clusters of trees for much of the journey we also closely follow the Casablanca to agadir Motorway agadir is Morocco's most popular seaside resort having been rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in the 1960s to attract tourists as of 2023 the city is not served by any form of Railway but this is due to change in the future with the expansion of Morocco's existing high-speed alborakline from Tangier to Casablanca which will also serve Marrakesh on Route at speeds of up to 320 kilometers an hour anyway as well as being the country's largest city Casablanca also serves as its main rail Hub with most routes running to from or through the city the city also has a large network of commuter trains such as this one running in from the airport our first station in Casablanca is Casa Oasis a small station serving the neighborhood of the same name in the west of the city as we're approaching our destination let's talk about the price for today's Journey for this trip I bought a flexible first class single at a cost of 144 Moroccan dirham I think this is great value for money the first class compartments on the AL Atlas offer a very comfortable way to travel at pretty good speed especially in comparison to the uncomfortably cramped second class the main station for long distance travel in Casablanca is Casa viju like in Marrakesh it's a very modern design constructed next to the well-preserved old station building we end up arriving at Casa voyagia just a couple minutes behind schedule at 19 30. I really enjoyed the AL Atlas train it was a comfortable and cheap ride through some fascinating scenery the likes of which I've not traveled through before if I had just one complaint it would have to be the life of seat selection as this results in a real gamble as to what type of seat you'll end up in as always let me know what you thought of oncs Al Atlas service in the comments and for a look at the incredible high speed train in Morocco then click up here now what's up [Music]

Channel: Superalbs Travels

Views: 77,400

Keywords: Superalbs Travels, Al Boraq, ONCF, Morocco TGV, Maroc TGV, african railway, african trains, indian railway, indian trains, nonstop eurotrip, simply railway, seat 61, africa, morocco, maroc, casa, casablanca, casa-voyageur, casablanca à tanger, tanger à casablanca, kenitra, rabat, fes, first class, train review, high-speed train, trip report, Première Classe oncf, trainspotting, al atlas, marrakech, marrakesh, corail, e1400, benguerir, desert train, sahara, desert, european railway, interrail

Id: gEPKTyw6P1U

Length: 13min 43sec (823 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 05 2023