Casablanca Tramway

The Casablanca Tramway (Arabic: طرامواي الدار البيضاء‎ Tramwāy ad-Dār al-Baiḍā’, French: Tramway de Casablanca) is a low-floor tram system in Casablanca, Morocco. As of 2019, it consists of two lines - T1 from Sidi Moumen to Lissasfa, and T2 from Sidi Bernoussi to Aïn Diab—which intersect at 2 points and form a 47 km network with 71 stations. Two additional lines, T3 and T4, are scheduled to open in 2022.[1]

Casablanca Tramway
Alstom Citadis vehicle on line T1 at Place des Nations-Unies station
Overview
Native nameTramway de Casablanca
LocaleCasablanca, Morocco
Stations71
Websitehttp://www.casatramway.ma
Service
TypeTramway
Services2
Operator(s)RATP Dev Casablanca
Rolling stock74 Alstom Citadis 302
Daily ridership220,000 (2019)
Ridership12
History
Opened13 December 2012 (2012-12-13)
Technical
Line length47.5 km (29.5 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed19 km/h (12 mph)
Route map

History

The Casablanca Tramway is the second modern tram system in Morocco, after the Rabat-Salé tramway, but is longer and has more stations.

It was first inaugurated by King Muhammad VI on 12 December 2012. At that time, it consisted of one 31-kilometre Y-shaped line with 48 stops, connecting Sidi Moumen in the east with Ain Diab and the Facultés district in the west. The line forked toward Ain Diab and Facultés after Abdelmoumen Station.

A second line was opened 24 January 2019. It connects Sidi Bernoussi to Ain Diab, using the segment of the previously existing line from the split to Ain Diab. Line 1 was also extended from Facultés to Lissasfa.[1]

Construction

Project management on the first line was provided by Casablanca Transports en Site Aménagé ("Casa Transports"), a limited company created for the purpose in March 2009. Stakeholders were the Ministry of Finance & the Interior, local government (the Grand Casablanca regional government, the Casablanca préfecture and Casablanca urban commune), and several institutional investors (King Hassan II, CDG Capital, Banque Populaire du Maroc, and ONCF). Casa Transports awarded the construction contract to a global group headed by the French group Systra. Project support was subcontracted to the Spanish group Ayesa Tecnología.[2]

Preparatory work started in 2009, with construction of the first line starting in 2010.[3] The line was inaugurated on 12 December 2012 by King Mohammed VI, with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in attendance. Commercial services started the next day.[4][5]

The 20 km (12 mi) of Zones 1 and 3 were constructed by Yapı Merkezi, the 10 km (6.2 mi) of Zone 2 was constructed by Colas Rail.

Current network

Line T1

As of 2019, Line 1 of the Casablanca Tramway serves 36 stations between termini in Sidi Moumen and Lissasfa.[1] The line is 23.5 km long and takes 73 minutes from one terminus to the other.[6] It opened December 2012, and was extended January 2019.[1]

Line T2

As of January 24, 2019, the 17 km (11 mi) Line T2 runs from Ain Diab to Sidi Bernoussi, via the Ain Sebaa, Hay Hassani, Al Fida and Derb Sultan districts. It uses the segment from the split to Ain Diab in the previous configuration, in addition to new line.[7][8]

Operation

Travel time between termini is around 69 minutes from Facultés and 77 minutes from Hay Hassani. With a 75% priority at junctions, the average speed comes close to 19 kilometres per hour (12 mph). On weekdays, the tramway runs from 06:30 to 22:00 at weekends it runs from 06:30 to 23:30. Service averages were planned to be every ​4 1⁄2 minutes in peak hours and ​8 1⁄2 minutes off-peak.[9]

Casa Transport awarded a five-year contract to operate the tramway to the CasaTram consortium of RATP Group, Caisse de dépôt et de gestion and Transinvest as partners.[10][11] In January 2016 RATP Group became the sole shareholder.[12]

Following a competitive tender process, RATP Group was awarded a further contract until December 2029 having beaten bids from a National Express / ALSA / ONCF consortium and Transdev.[13][14][15]

Engie Ineo and Engie Cofely Morocco supplied signaling and other systems for Line 2 as well an extension of Line 1.[16][17]

Rolling stock

The tramway is operated by 74 Alstom Citadis type 302 low-floor trams, built by Alstom in France.[18][19][20] Final assembly was completed in Reichshoffen, Alsace. Trams have air conditioning and tinted windows, and an information system in both Arabic and French. They run typically in pairs with a total length of 65 metres (213 ft).[21] A further 50 are to be delivered in 2018 to operate Line T2.[22][23]

In July 2017, Alstom, Bombardier / CAF, CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive and Škoda Transportation were shortlisted to bid for a contract for 100 trams for Lines T3 and T4.[24]

Fares

Ticket prices are subsidised by the Moroccan government and the city of Casablanca, and set at a flat rate of 6 dirhams per journey, with a weekly season ticket at 60 dirhams and a monthly season ticket at 230 dirhams. Fares are paid by a paper smart card at turnstiles on each station platform[25] Students get a reduced monthly season ticket of 150 dirhams.[25] A combined tram-and-bus fare is being considered.

Usage

In the first month of service, between 40,000 and 45,000 passengers used the service each day, on average.[26] A survey in June 2013 recorded 70,000 commuters.[27] By 2013, the tramway had met its objectives by carrying over 100,000 passengers a day.[28] From 2015, 255,000 passengers a day are expected on Line T1.[27]

Incidents

Tramway operations have resulted in many accidents: in the first 13 months, 180 accidents were reported.[29][30]

  • On 1 April 2013, a lorry hit a tramcar at full speed. Both the lorry and tram drivers were injured, according to a witness. The impact was so hard that part of the tram was derailed.[31][32]
  • On 2 August 2013, a man was crushed to death.[33]
  • Two days later on 4 August 2013, a motorcyclist was hit by a tram and died.[33]
  • On 14 January 2014, a man died after being hit by a tram.[34]
  • On 24 April 2014, a 26-year-old woman was fatally injured by the tram.[35][36]
  • On 4 July 2014, a coach owned by a private firm failed to give way to the tram, and struck it. Part of the tram was derailed.
  • On 13 January 2015, a rider who entered the tram platform died after being hit.[37]
  • On 8 November 2017, two teenagers on a motorcycle were injured after hitting a tram line.
  • On 26 December 2017, two women were struck crossing the tramway and were injured.

Future
Projected plan of the Casablanca Tramway network in conjunction with commuter rail and rapid transit buses for the period 2022–2030 (presented February 2017).

The Schéma directeur d'aménagement urbain (SDAU, "Master plan of the Director of urban planning")[7] and the Plan de déplacement urbain (PDU, "Urban transport plan")[8] for Greater Casablanca foresee a final network of 4 tramway lines, two traversal (T1, T2) and two radial (T3, T4). These lines will interchange with the now cancelled Casablanca Metro and the operational Al Bidaoui suburban railways.[7][8] Casablanca will have a network totalling 76 route km (​47 1⁄4 route mi), costing 5.9 billion dirhams.[27]

Lines T3 and T4

Long-term plans in the SDAU[7] and PDU[8] are for new lines T3 (14 km (8.7 mi)) and T4 (13 km (8.1 mi).

Line T3 will connect the Sidi Othmane district to the El Hank district via the city centre to Casa-Port railway station, and T4 will connect the Sbata and Lissasfa districts via the Aïn Chock and the Facultés district.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. "Inauguration Officielle De La Ligne T2 Du Tramway De Casablanca Et De L'extension De La Ligne T1" [Official Inauguration of Line T2 of the Casablanca Tramway and the Extension of Line T1] (PDF) (Press release) (in French). Casablanca. Casa Transport SA. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  2. Who is producing the project? Casablanca Transport (French)
  3. Casablanca Tramway, Morocco Railway Technology
  4. Inauguration of Casablanca's first tram line in Morocco Euro Transport Magazine 12 December 2012
  5. Royal opening launches Casablanca trams Railway Gazette International 14 December 2012
  6. "Casa Tramway". casa-tram.ma/ (in Arabic). Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  7. Allal, Sakrouhi (October 2008). "Schéma directeur d'aménagement urbain" [Master plan of the Director of Urban Planning] (PDF) (in French). Agence urbaine de Casablanca. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  8. "PROBLEMATIQUE DES DEPLACEMENTS URBAINS A CASABLANCA – Cas du projet de transport en commun en site propre (TCSP)" [REQUIREMENTS FOR URBAN TRANSPORT IN CASABLANCA – Public transport projects on dedicated land] (PDF) (in French). 13 November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  9. Timetables Archived 25 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Casa Tram
  10. Casablanca light rail operations contract awarded International Railway Journal 16 July 2012
  11. Casablanca tram operating contract awarded Metro Report International 16 July 2012
  12. RATP Dev is now the sole shareholder of Casa-Tram Railway Pro 6 January 2016
  13. French State-Owned Company to Take Over Operation of Casablanca Tramway Morocco World News 12 June 2017
  14. RATP Dev to retain Casablanca tram operating contract International Railway Journal 13 June 2017
  15. RATP Dev retains Casablanca operating contract Metro Report International 20 September 2017
  16. Engie wins Casablanca tram extension contracts International Railway Journal 2 January 2017
  17. Casablanca tramway extension contracts awarded Metro Report International 4 January 2017
  18. "La ville de Casablanca choisit le Citadis d'Alstom pour son futur réseau de tramway" [The town of Casablanca chooses Alstom Citadis for its new tramway network] (in French). Alstom. 18 November 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  19. Casablanca chooses Citadis trams Metro Report International 17 November 2009
  20. Casablanca tram contracts awarded Railway Gazette International 15 November 2010
  21. Inauguration of Casablanca's first tram line in Morocco Alstom 12 December 2012
  22. Casablanca orders Alstom LRVs for tram Line 2 International Railway Journal 13 October 2015
  23. Casablanca orders 50 more Cttadis trams Metro Report International 13 October 2015
  24. Four shortlisted for Casablanca LRV contract International Railway Journal 26 July 2017
  25. "Tramway de Casablanca – le ticket à 6 dirhams" [Casablanca Tramway – tickets 6 dirhams]. L'Economiste. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  26. "Débuts en douceur pour le tramway de Casablanca" [Smooth start for the Casablanca Tramway]. Le Soir (Belgium) (in French). 23 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  27. .Benlahrech, Ryadh (2013). "Le tramway qui facilite le train-train: Spécial Villes" [The tramway which eases commuting]. Jeune Afrique (in French) (4): 68. ISSN 1950-1285.
  28. Djama, Nasser (19 December 2013). "Après le succès du tramway, Casablanca va préparer son futur métro aérien en 2014" [After the success of the tramway, Casablanca gets ready for Skytrain in 2014]. L'Usine Maroc (in French). Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  29. Zerrour, Laila (16 April 2014). "Tramway de Casablanca: Une quinzaine d accidents par mois" [Casablanca Tramway: Around 15 accidents a month]. aujourdhui.ma (in French). Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  30. "Maroc: près de 15 accidents par mois liés au tramway à Casablanca" [Morocco: Nearly 15 accidents a month on the Casablanca Tramway]. Le Soir (Belgium) (in French). 13 January 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  31. "Tramway Casablanca : Trois blessés dans un accident" [Casablanca Tram: Three hurt in accident]. La Nouvelle Tribune (in French). 1 April 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  32. "Un camion heurte le tramway à Casablanca" [Lorry hits tram in Casablanca]. L'Observateur du Maroc (in French). 1 April 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  33. "Accidents de la circulation: Casa Tram part en "guerre"" [Traffic accidents: Casa Tram's part in the "war"]. L'Economiste (in French). 6 August 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  34. "Un mort après un accident de tramway à Casablanca" [One dead after Casablanca tram accident]. Bladi.net (in French). 14 January 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  35. Farkouch, Kenza (24 April 2014). "Casablanca : Une femme mortellement heurtée par le tramway" [Casablanca: Woman fatally injured by tram]. Yabiladi (in French). Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  36. "Tramway de Casablanca : un accident de plus, meurtrier cette fois" [Casablanca Tramway: One more accident, this time fatal]. Biladi Maroc (in French). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  37. Yabiladi.com (14 January 2015). "Casablanca : Un accident de tramway fait une victime". yabiladi.com (in French).

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