Casa-Port Railway Terminal

Casa-Port Railway Terminal (Arabic: محطة الدار البيضاء الميناء‎, French: Gare de Casa-Port) is an ONCF (Office National des Chemins de Fer du Maroc, "Moroccan National Railway") station in the centre of Casablanca, near the Port of Casablanca. It is served by suburban, regional and long-distance trains and is one of the major Casablanca stations, together with Casa-Voyageurs.

Casa-Port
The new passenger hall in November 2014
LocationCasablanca
Morocco
Coordinates33°35′57″N 7°36′43″W
Owned byKingdom of Morocco
Operated byONCF
Platforms4
Tracks6
ConnectionsCasablanca Tramway Line T1
History
Opened1907
ElectrifiedYes
Services
Preceding station Following station
Terminus Train Navette Rapide Ain Sabaâ
towards Kenitra-Medina
Casa-Voyageurs
towards Mohammed V Airport
 Al Bidaoui Terminus

Layout

The station is a terminus, with 6 tracks and 4 platforms. Most notably, it is served by the Train Navette Rapide (TNR) from Casablanca to Kénitra via Rabat.

Renovation
Renovation work in progress, June 2013

The terminal went through a renovation from 2008 to September 2014.[1] The project included modernizing the rail infrastructure and platforms, as well as building a new passenger area, shops, and a 500-place underground car park, in addition to 27,000 square metres (290,000 sq ft) of office space.[2] ONCF's total investment is around 100 million MAD.[3]

During the renovation, access to the platforms was via a temporary passenger building on the Boulevard Moulay Abderrahmane. Boarding and alighting points were moved to allow train movements without interruption to other traffic.

After the works are complete, the station will comprise 8 tracks with 5 platforms and have a capacity of 20 trains per hour (t.p.h.), handling 10,000 passengers a day.[4]

The reconstruction works had several setbacks. The initial plan for the works, managed by the ONCF with AREP/Groupe 3A as contractors, was for them to end in 2012, then in 2013.[4][5] The trickiest part of the construction was new underground levels in unstable soil, close to the sea – in 2010 the whole site was flooded – and the contractor's failure, which meant re-tendering to a wider market of larger contractors.[3][6] Despite multiple delays in the construction project, the brand new railway station was inaugurated on 25 September 2014 in the presence of King Mohammed VI.

Local transport

The station is accessible by taxi. A station on Casablanca Tramway Line 1 is about 900 metres (980 yd) away, in the Place des Nations Unies.

References
  1. "Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI inaugure la nouvelle gare ferroviaire de Casa-Port". lematin.ma. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  2. "L'ONCF s'associe à Deutsche Bank dans la nouvelle gare de Casa-Port" [ONCF partners Deutsche Bank in the new Casa-Port station]. lavieeco.com (in French). 15 February 2008. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  3. "Entretien avec M. Khlie, DG de l'ONCF : La gare Casa-Port sera livrée dans les deux mois" [Interview with Mr. Khlie, Director-General of the ONCF: Casa-Port station will be ready in two months]. Le Matin (Morocco) (in French). 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  4. "La gare ferroviaire Casa Port sera prête en 2013" [Casa Port railway station will be ready in 2013]. Le Matin (Morocco) (in French). 4 October 2012. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  5. "La nouvelle gare de Casa Port opérationnelle en 2012" [New Casa Port station operational in 2012]. lavieeco.com. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  6. "Casa-Port Chantier inondé, circulation bloquée" [Casa-Port site flooded, traffic blocked]. L'Economiste (in French). 8 December 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2014.


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