فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
News Analysis – Fes News Media
Date: Friday, September 12, 2025
Beyond the sparkle of the new Taza train station and the noise of official statements, the data and facts from the official website of the National Office of Railways (ONCF) reveal a bitter reality that disappoints the city’s residents. While hopes were pinned on the new station to mark the beginning of breaking isolation, the train schedules confirm that the isolation runs deep within the rail service itself, not within the station walls.
Only Six Trips: An Unsuitable Service for a Provincial Capital
A search for train trips between Fez and Taza for a single day — a vital artery for thousands of students, employees, and traders — shows only six (6) daily trips in this direction. This paltry number is utterly inadequate for a city the size of Taza, making train travel a difficult and time-restricted option. This forces most travelers to resort to other, more flexible means of transport.
Slower than a Car: The Paradox of 21st-Century Trains
The most painful paradox lies in the travel time. The train, which is supposed to be a fast and efficient mode of transportation, covers the distance of about 120 kilometers between Fez and Taza in a time ranging between two hours and 11 minutes to two hours and 21 minutes. By simple comparison, the same distance can be covered by a private car or bus in no more than an hour and a half in the worst case.
This deadly slowness — meaning the train’s average speed barely reaches 60 km per hour — is a direct result of outdated infrastructure: a single-track railway and diesel trains that have long been outdated.
In Summary: Numbers Don’t Lie
They clearly show that investing in a station’s facade without upgrading the tracks and trains is an empty solution. The people of Taza do not want a beautiful station where they wait two hours for a journey that a car accomplishes in an hour and a half. They want a real rail service — fast and regular. Unless this is achieved, the new station will remain a silent witness to continued isolation, cementing the reality of a Morocco with two speeds: the high-speed Al-Boraq in the west and the turtle’s pace in the east.
