North Africa’s first high-speed train, which links the cities of Tangier and Kenitra in Morocco, is now expected to open in the final quarter of 2018.

The rail network’s final operational tests are understood to be ongoing.

In October last year, the National Office of Moroccan Railways (ONCF), the project client, received an additional €80m ($94m) of funding from the French Development Agency (AFD) for the project.

The additional funding has brought AFD’s project contribution to €300m, and French companies’ overall contribution to more than €1bn.

The high-speed line has a budget of approximately €1.8bn ($2.1bn). MEED understands additional funding was required as the project generated more costs than expected during construction.

The service to be launched comprises of a 183 kilometre high-speed line between Tangier and Kenitra as well as a 137km upgraded conventional line from Kenitra to Casablanca.

Trains on the Tangier-Kenitra line are understood to have a top speed of 320km/h, while trains on the upgraded Kenitra-Casablanca line can run up to 220 km/h.

The new service is expected reduce the travel time between the port city of Tangier in northwestern Morocco and Casablanca from five hours to two hours and 10 minutes.