The National Office of Railways invests 2 billion dirhams and achieves record results in 2024
The National Office of Railways held its board meeting dedicated to approving its achievements for the year 2024.
A statement from the office mentioned that Abdel Samad Khayyouh, the Minister of Transport and Logistics, who chaired this meeting, highlighted the significant progress made by the National Office of Railways over the past two decades, thanks to the foresighted vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
Through major infrastructural projects, the National Office of Railways continues to solidify its position as a vital player in transforming the national transport landscape, placing railways at the heart of a sustainable, low-carbon mobility model with a strong social and economic impact.
For his part, Mohammed Rabie Khlie, the Director General of the National Office of Railways, stated that 2024 was marked by a qualitative leap in strategic cooperation, through partnerships established under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aimed at supporting the extension project of the high-speed train line between Kenitra and Marrakech, modernizing the railway sector, and enhancing the development of the national railway industry.
In this context, Khlie emphasized the positive dynamics and noticeable efficiency that the office experienced during 2024, which was manifested in a significant recovery of its main activities. He noted that these achievements reflect the resilience of the office’s model and the effectiveness of its strategic orientations to keep pace with the transformations taking place in Morocco’s transport sector.
Passenger transport activity showed an upward dynamic due to an expanded mobility offering, more innovative services, and an enhanced experience both within stations and on trains. More than 55 million passengers chose the train as their mode of transport, marking a 4% increase compared to 2023. These results also had a positive financial impact, with a turnover of 2.763 billion dirhams, an 8% increase from the previous year.
The high-speed train “Al Boraq” symbolizes performance and sustainable commitment, reaffirming its appeal by surpassing the threshold of 5.5 million passengers, a 6% increase compared to 2023, allowing it to achieve a turnover of 780 million dirhams (+11%).
As for the freight and logistics sector, the National Office of Railways continues to record steady progress in key performance indicators, reflecting its ability to endure and adapt to the overall growth dynamics of the office.
The turnover from freight transport reached 703 million dirhams, marking a 10% increase compared to 2023. This performance is primarily attributed to the robust activity seen in the container and logistics segments, where a total of 8.5 million tons were transported, representing a 2% increase from the previous year.
Also, the phosphate transport sector witnessed a notable revival, with over 12.8 million tons of phosphate transported, a 46% increase compared to the same period last year, resulting in a turnover of 1.136 billion dirhams (+27%).
Thus, the turnover for 2024 surpassed 4.8 billion dirhams, driven by the ongoing momentum of passenger transport activity and the revival of phosphate transport. Passenger transport alone contributed nearly 62% of the overall transport turnover for 2024.
Despite the inflationary context that characterized 2024, the office managed to maintain effective management of its operating expenses, positively reflecting on the results, with EBITDA reaching 1.95 billion dirhams in 2024, compared to 1.57 billion dirhams in 2023 and 900 million dirhams in 2019, which marks the first year of operation of the previous development projects; a development that aligns perfectly with the path set in the office’s action plan and demonstrates the efficiency and strength of its management plan.
Regarding the operational result, the breakeven point was reached, thanks particularly to the good performance of passenger transport. Excluding infrastructure consumption, the operational result recorded a surplus of 1.2 billion dirhams, reflecting the excellent performance of the National Office of Railways and its effectiveness, with the net result, excluding the office’s infrastructure costs, registering a profit of 898 million dirhams.
In terms of investment, the office allocated a budget of approximately 2 billion dirhams for 2024, reflecting its desire to solidify the efficiency of its production system and prepare for the new development cycle through the planned structural projects aimed at 2030, which include the extension of the high-speed line towards Marrakech, new local “RER” services in the country’s major regions, the acquisition of a new fleet of trains, and maintaining the efficiency of the current network.
The office intends to intensify its efforts towards infrastructural projects that have a strong impact on improving sustainable mobility, contributing to balanced territorial development, stimulating the national railway industry’s supply chain, enhancing logistical competitiveness, as well as generating job opportunities and adding value.
In line with its social responsibility, the office continues its pioneering policy in this area, having achieved the operation of 90% of its trains using clean environmental energy by the beginning of 2024.
At the conclusion of this session, the minister and board members praised the exceptional efforts made by all office employees, commending their effective contributions to achieving the outlined goals and anticipating the challenges of sustainable mobility.
The statement concluded that at the end of the meeting, board members conveyed a message of loyalty and fidelity to His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
