The Moroccan company ONCF and the French National Railway Company (SNCF) signed on the 6th January in Rabat a contract in the amount of € 175 million over 15 years, providing for the creation a joint venture for maintenance of future TGV in Morocco.
The contract was signed by Guillaume Pepy, the president and CEO of SNCF, and Mohamed Rabie Khlie, CEO of ONCF. The joint venture called “Moroccan Company of maintenance of high-speed trains” will be owned 60% by the Moroccan operator and 40% by the French National Railway Company.
The services will cover the spare parts, technical support, maintenance engineering services and transportation of spare parts between France and Tangier.
The agreement also includes a training of the Moroccan railway company staff to maintenance of high speed trains by SNCF employees. Note that the two operators have been working together since 2009 on the project to build the high-speed train link between Tangiers and Casablanca.
SNCF is helping ONCF to open a business training Institute of the railway, which will be operational in April in Rabat.