Hyundai Rotem has secured a record 2.2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) contract to supply advanced trains to Morocco, the company said on Feb. 26. The contract is the company’s largest railway supply deal to date.
Hyundai Rotem, the train manufacturing subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, announced that it won the contract to supply ONCF, Morocco’s national railway operator, with double-decker electric trains on Feb. 25. The latest deal is expected to push the company’s rail order backlog to an all-time high.
The company’s previous large-scale contracts include the Australian NIF double-decker train project worth 1.4 trillion won, the Australian Queensland train supply contract valued at 1.3 trillion won, and the Los Angeles Metro train contract worth 900 billion won for the 2028 LA Summer Olympics.
The Moroccan double-decker trains will operate at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour, connecting key regions centered around Casablanca, the country’s largest city. As Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal, the government is investing 16 billion dirhams (6.23 trillion won) in transportation infrastructure, including high-speed rail and electric trains.
Leading railway firms, including France’s Alstom, China’s state-owned China Railway Rolling Stock, and Spain’s CAF and Talgo, participated in the bidding for the Moroccan project. Alstom and CRRC dropped out mid-process, and Hyundai Rotem beat CAF to secure the contract in the final bidding round.
With the latest contract, Hyundai Rotem’s total order backlog is expected to surpass 20 trillion won. The company’s order backlog stood at 18.758 trillion at the end of 2024, up 7% from the previous year. Rail orders accounted for 14.64 trillion won, or 75% of the total.
Hyundai Rotem is eyeing further opportunities in Morocco. The Moroccan government is in the process of selecting suppliers in four categories: high-speed trains (up to 320 kph), semi-high-speed trains (up to 200 kph), and commuter and urban electric trains (up to 160 kph). Hyundai Rotem won the bid for commuter and urban trains, while Alstom secured the high-speed train contract in October last year. The results for the 200 kph semi-high-speed trains have yet to be announced.
