How to get from Meknes to Rabat by train

Meknes to Rabat was to be the second of my 5 train rides in Morocco.  Meknes to Rabat by train is normally two hours and  45 minutes.  The fare from Meknes to Rabat was DH$ 90 Dirhams (about $10.50) for a first class ticket.  This was the third segment of my travels in Morocco having previously been in Tangier, Fes, and Meknes.  The map below show my route from Meknes to Rabat with the area circled in red.

Slide1

Gare Meknes (Meknes train station) is located near the center of the city.  If you do not speak Arabic, you can easily get a taxi to the train station by showing a taxi driver a piece of paper with “Gare de Meknes” written on it.  A map showing the location Gare Meknes and some pictures of the train station are shown below.

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The street arrival area at the Gare de Meknes.
The street arrival area Gare de Meknes.
Front of the Gare de Meknes (Meknes train station) as seen from the street arrival area.  Tickets are purchased inside.
Gare de Meknes (Meknes train station) as seen from the street arrival area. Tickets are purchased inside.

Tickets are purchased inside the station.  After purchasing a ticket, you must go outside to catch the train.  At Gare de Meknes, there are two train tracks.  You have to walk across a train track and wait for your train between the two train tracks.  Not wanting to get on the wrong train, I found an individual that spoke English, and make sure I was waiting in the correct location.  You want to make sure your are in the area to board the correct class of service that you purchased with  your ticket as there are several kinds of passengers cars on each train.  Below is a picture of the area you board trains at Gare de Meknes.

This is the boarding area at Gare de Meknes.  You have to walk across one of the tracks to get to the boarding area.
This is the boarding area at Gare de Meknes. You have to cross one of the tracks to get to the boarding area.

Below is a picture of the passenger car that I rode in from Meknes to Rabat.  This car did not have a cabins to sit in like the train I took from Tangier to Fes.  The seats were very comfortable.  Less than 50% of the seats were occupied on the day I rode..

My first class passenger car between Meknes and Rabat.
My first class passenger car between Meknes and Rabat.

The countryside from Meknes to Rabat is a slow decent from the hills down to sea level.  I rode this train on 1 January 2013.  This was during the rainy season so all the hills were green.  If you took this trip during the summer, late spring, or early fall, the hills would all be brown.

Rabat has two train stations:  Rabat Ville and Rabat Agdal.  I went to Rabat Ville.

During the ride, a Chinese couple from New York sat in the seats across the isle.  They had boarded the train in Fez.  One of the things we discussed during the ride to Rabat was how nice and friendly everyone in Morocco is.

Gare de Rabat Ville (train station) is centrally located in Rabat.  After arriving, you need to proceed up into the station to get to the street level.  Some photos of the arrival area Gare de Rabat Ville can be seen below.

The arrival area at Gare Rabat Ville.
The arrival area at Gare Rabat Ville
At Gare Rabat Ville you have to proceed up into the station to get to the street level.
At Gare Rabat Ville you have to go up the stairs into the station to get to the street level.

This completed my 2013 New Year’s day travels.

In front of the station, I asked for a cab to my hotel.  The gentleman that I asked told me that it was only one block to the hotel.  At that point he grabbed one of my bags, and proceeded to talk me to my hotel.  I tried to give him a tip for helping me, but he refused.

I am still amazed to this day how friendly everyone in Morocco is.  Every where that I went in Morocco people were friendly like this.  I  had not read anything about the friendliness of Moroccans to tourists, but I have since read that it is one of the friendliest countries in the world to outsiders.  I can certainly confirm this, and only have good things to say about everyone I had met so far on my trip through Morocco.

Information about fares and schedules for trains in Morocco can be found at:

http://oncf.ma/Pages/Accueil.aspx