Oriental Desert Express

The Oriental Desert Express is a privately chartered tourist train offered between Oujda and Bouarfa, Morocco.[1][2] It runs along a little-used railway line, and was featured in the 2015 film Spectre.

The rail network of Morocco, c. 2012. The Oriental Desert Express runs along the far east north–south line.

History

The 305-kilometre (190 mi) line used by the Oriental Desert Express was originally built in the 1920s and 1930s as part of the Mediterranean–Niger Railway, but is now only used twice a week by trains carrying zinc, lead, and copper from local mines.[2][3] Edi Kunz, a Swiss citizen living in Morocco, learned of the line and worked with Moroccan authorities for three years to start a tourist train along it, overcoming questions from the Moroccan government over the use of a historical "prince's wagon" passenger car and from the Swiss embassy in Morocco over the train's viability. Kunz ended up committing five million euros to the project.[2] The first trip was made in 2006,[4] and the train runs twice annually, such as in 2013[5] and 2017.[6]

Outside camera shots of the Oriental Desert Express were featured in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre.[7]

Journey

As of 2017, the total travel time of the Oriental Desert Express can take between eight or twelve hours.[2][4][7] The express begins in Oujda in the early morning with an EMD GT26CW-2 locomotive, known locally as a DH-370, and a consist of cars that include both air conditioning and open windows.[2][4] Traversing the Hautes Plaines, the train makes a stop at the small town of Tendrara, Tagmoḍant. While the train generally travels at a speed of about 50 kilometers per hour (31 mph), travel time between Tendrara and Bouarfa can vary greatly due to unplanned stops to clear sand from the railroad track, for which the train carries diagonal shovels, and meeting nomadic tribes.[2][4][7] One such meeting was related by Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

... again the train stops. There are sheep outside and tents. We have arrived at nomads. The family leader invites us to tea in his tent. The women look at us curiously. But soon a conversation begins with hands and much laughter. The family belongs to the tribe of the Arabic-speaking Beni Guil, who have lived as nomads for over a thousand years.[4]

References
  1. "Bienvenue sur Maroc Train". Maroc Train. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  2. Zaireg, Reda (2 March 2016). "Oui, le train marocain apparu dans le dernier James Bond existe, et vous pouvez monter à bord". Al Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  3. Brookes, Julia (31 October 2015). "Shaken and stirred: on the trail of the new Bond film". The Times. London, England. p. 30.
  4. Torcasso, Rita (8 June 2012). "Oriental Desert Express: Sand auf den Schienen". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  5. Miller, Aaron (9 January 2013). "The best desert adventure holidays". The Independent. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  6. "Bienvenue sur Maroc Train". Maroc Train. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  7. Noble, Laura. "All Aboard Morocco's Oriental Desert Express". Unmissable. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
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