Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Casablanca light rail line opens


And while on the subject of Casablanca, the city’s first light rail line was officially inaugurated this month by King of Morocco. The 31 km (19-mile) Y-shaped light rail route has a total of 48 stops, and runs from the eastern suburbs through the city center to Bd Anouai, where the two branches split to serve Hay Hassani and Ain Diab near the Atlantic coast and Facultés in the southwest. Trains run every four to five minutes during peak hours and every 8½ minutes off-peak. It is expected to carry around 250,000 passengers daily.

The line is operated with a fleet of 74 Alstom low-floor cars assembled in France. Alstom won two contracts in 2010 covering the installation of signal systems and power supplies. A separate contract awarded in July 2012 covers maintenance of the car fleet and infrastructure for the initial five years.

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