His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco began the launch of construction work for the new Rabat-Agdal railway station which will become the jewel of the modern national rail network.
Following the examples of the railway terminals of Marrakesh, Fez, Tangier and Casa-Port, designed to be smart, multi-service social spaces, it is now the turn of Rabat-Agdal to begin its extension and metamorphosis into a special community space for customers and the general public. The implementation of this new station is part of the project for the urban restructuring of railway premises and follows the blueprint for evaluating stations and optimising railway facilities in various towns in the country.
This ambitious project, which will accompany the urban development of the Moroccan capital, has the following aims:
- To support the implementation of the first high speed line in Morocco
- To handle increasing passenger volumes by offering services that meet quality standards
- To improve the operation of the station in terms of visibility, accessibility and hierarchisation of spaces
- To generate new urban dynamism around the station and create an architectural landmark in the city
- To support the urban development of the capital, dubbed “Rabat City of Lights”, through urban restructuring of railway premises and the creation of a multi-service centre for a variety of purposes (offices, shops and hotels).
Attracting an investment of 600 million dirhams, the new station of Rabat-Agdal, located in one of the most dynamic parts of the capital, will be constructed as a “bridge station” and will integrate the following two components:
- A new passenger building with a total surface area of 23 000 m2 over three levels.
- Exterior development extending over 70 000 m2 and covering the exterior public space, which will be implemented as part of the project, thus helping the integration of the new station in the urban location.
This station is designed to receive 30 million passengers per year (compared to 7 million at the moment) and will not fail to make an impact on employment, generating 250 000 working days during the construction phase and 500 stable jobs during operation.
In addition, His Majesty King Mohammed VI was informed of the progress of the new station of Rabat-Ville which is strategically located in the heart of the capital’s historic centre.
This project aims to create a new urban icon in the historic centre of the capital, to regenerate and enhance the existing station, a listed building, and to create multi-modal zones integrating different urban modes of transport. It also aims to improve the accessibility of the station, to strengthen traffic flows and to develop commercial services integrated into the new station over around 5 000 m2.
The construction project of the new Rabat-Ville station and the regeneration of the existing station, which mobilises an investment of 450 million dirhams, integrates the following components:
- The regeneration of the historic station, by transforming the ground floor into an art gallery and the mezzanine into a commercial space.
- The covering of the old railways and the construction of the new passenger building with a total surface area of 16 000 m2 over three levels.
- Exterior development extending over 13 500 m2 . Implemented as part of the project, the exterior public space helps the integration of the project in the urban space thanks to three large plazas.
Designed to receive 20 million passengers per year (compared to 8 million at the moment), this new building is expected to generate 200 000 working days during the construction phase and 500 stable jobs during operation.
These two projects illustrate the will of ONCF, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to effectively support the process of urban restructuring and modernisation of the capital, dubbed “Rabat City of Lights”.
On the occasion of this ceremony, Mr Mohamed Rabie Khlie, Managing Director of ONCF, presented His Majesty King Mohammed VI with two works. The first emphasises the concrete achievements in the railway sector over the past 15 years under the leadership of His Majesty the King. The second follows the transformation that the railway stations in Morocco have undergone, and which has turned them from simple transit locations into real multi-functional and multi-service social centres, fully integrated into the urban development of towns and designed in complete harmony with their environment.
3D model of the future Rabat-Agdal railway station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGMgZU6GD3c
3D model of the future Rabat-Ville railway station
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op1Kk0TLEkU
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(Source: ONCF)
