Despite a difficult economic climate, the national rail sector recorded an exceptional recovery in all of its activities in 2022. Structuring projects are planned by 2030.
"The year 2022 was a year of all records," said ONCF Director General Rabie Khlie during the meeting of the Office's Board of Directors. The work of this session was devoted to the examination of the foreseeable results for the 2022 financial year and the approval of the 2023 budgets, as well as the presentation of new development projects.
In summary, the ONCF group has reached an annual record of more than 45 million travellers, a daily record of 180,000 travellers/day recorded on August 1, 2022, and a record for the transport of various goods, including cars, cereals and the coal.
Have a good run in 2022
In detail, the "passenger" activity recorded a remarkable recovery compared to 2021, with the number of passengers transported increasing by +30% from 34.5 million in 2021 to 45 million in 2022, generating an increase in turnover of +39%, to 2.15 billion dirhams in 2022. An amount never reached before.
“A remarkable growth in passenger activity also marked by a regularity of trains, all types combined, of 91%”, underlines the Office in a press release.
Regarding Al Boraq, the ONCF points out that 4.1 million passengers were transported in 2022 compared to 3 million passengers transported in 2019, the year which is the reference year before the pandemic. This is what made it possible to achieve a turnover of 554 MDH, up 61% compared to 2021. The ONCF also specifies that the Al Boraq trains switched to green mode in 2022, powered by green wind energy, representing more than 25% of the Office's overall energy consumption.
In the goods transport segment, there is a total of more than 20.7 million tonnes of goods transported during 2022 and a turnover of 1.7 billion dirhams, with record performance in rail freight exceeding the 600 MDH. This amount indicates a growth of 18% compared to the year 2021.
“Thanks to the good recovery of passenger activity and the resilience of goods transport activities, the Office plans to achieve in 2022, a turnover exceeding for the first time the milestone of 4 billion dirhams against 3.6 MMDH in 2021, an increase of 11%”, details the ONCF.
Moreover, despite a context marked by inflation in the prices of materials and energy, the Office should generate an EBITDA level of 1.2 billion dirhams in 2022, exceeding the level recorded in 2019. 2019-2025 performance maintenance investment program, of the 17.6 billion dirhams planned, 57% has been committed and the program was almost 40% completed at the end of 2022.
For ONCF, 2022 was also a year of sustainability. Rabie Khlie assured on this occasion that the office has replaced 25% of its electricity consumption with green energy.
Promising prospects for 2023
Regarding the 2023 budgets, Rabie Khlie clarified that they were designed taking into account the orientations of the public authorities relating to the PLF 2023 and in the spirit of controlling expenditure to deal with fluctuations and uncertainties linked to the prices of raw materials and inflation. The head of the office also adds that the objective is to continue the exceptional performance recorded in 2022 for passenger and freight activities and to catch up with the initial trajectory, before Covid, subject of the memorandum of understanding signed between the State and ONCF in 2019.
Thus, for 2023, the ONCF forecasts passenger traffic of almost 48 million passengers, with an increase of 7% compared to 2022 and a freight tonnage of nearly 23 million tonnes, up 9%. The Office therefore expects a turnover of 4.38 billion dirhams, up +9% compared to 2022.
These indicators were published after the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Office, under the chairmanship of Mr. Mohammed Abdeljalil, Minister of Transport and Logistics. This important moment was an opportunity to focus on railway development projects in the country by 2030.
“Aiming to improve the mobility of people, these structuring projects will contribute to the development of regional traffic, the rapprochement and territorial planning, the strengthening of the industry around the rail trades, the promotion of the national fabric and logistics competitiveness. ...”, specifies Rabie Khlie, adding that the Office is making the extension of high-speed lines the main focus of its development plan for the rail system as a sustainable and low-carbon mobility solution. This mode of transport, adds the boss of the ONCF, allows a release of capacity on the conventional network and promotes the creation of a local service in the main regions of the Kingdom.
By Mounia Kabiri Kettani
Source : https://lobservateur.info
L’Observateur du Maroc et d’Afrique (MAROC)
