Casablanca to Rabat: Trains, Fares, the Airport Link and Times

If every Moroccan journey were this simple, no one would ever hire a car. Casablanca and Rabat sit only about 90 km apart on the country's busiest rail corridor, connected by shuttle trains that run roughly every half hour and take about an hour end to end. The fare is trivial — around 40 MAD in second class — and both stations are central, so you step off the train more or less where you want to be. For the vast majority of travellers, the train is the answer and the only real question is which one.

There are three train products on the line: the frequent ordinary shuttle (the workhorse), conventional Al Atlas services passing through, and the high-speed Al Boraq, which stops at Casa Voyageurs and Rabat Agdal. For such a short hop the extra speed of Al Boraq barely matters, so most people simply take the next shuttle. Grand taxis and driving are perfectly viable too, but rarely worth the bother when a train leaves every 30 minutes.

This corridor also matters as a hub: Rabat is the gateway north to Tangier and south to Marrakech, and Casablanca is the country's main airport and the change point for almost everything. Getting the short Casa–Rabat leg right makes the rest of a Moroccan rail trip effortless.

The choice is really train versus everything else, and the train wins on nearly every count for this distance — frequency, cost, comfort and central arrival. Grand taxis are quick and cheap but leave only when full and drop you at a taxi stand rather than the centre. Driving makes sense only if you already have a car or are continuing beyond Rabat, given the trivial fare and constant departures of the train.

The table sets out the realistic options. The standout figure is frequency: with a train roughly every half hour, you plan around your day, not around a timetable.

The ordinary shuttle — long known as the TNR, or Train Navette Rapide — is what locals use to commute between the two cities. It runs from early morning to late evening at roughly half-hourly intervals, takes about an hour, and costs around 40 MAD in second class. You rarely need to book; buy a ticket at the counter or machine and walk to the platform. First class exists for a little more if you want a guaranteed seat at peak times.

The high-speed Al Boraq also calls on the corridor, linking Casa Voyageurs with Rabat Agdal in around fifty minutes. It is faster and plusher, but at roughly double the fare for a saving of ten minutes on such a short leg, it makes sense mainly if you are already on an Al Boraq service running further north to Tangier, or if you happen to be at the right stations. For a standalone Casa–Rabat trip, the shuttle is the smart, cheap choice.

Many visitors arrive at Casablanca's Mohammed V airport (CMN), Morocco's main international gateway, and head straight for the calmer capital rather than into Casablanca itself. The airport has its own train station beneath the terminal, and while there is no single direct train all the way to Rabat, the connection is straightforward: take the airport train toward Casablanca and change at Casa Voyageurs (or, on some services, Aïn Sebaâ) onto a Rabat shuttle. Reckon on about ninety minutes total and roughly 70–80 MAD.

This makes Rabat one of the easiest airport-to-city-centre transfers in the country by public transport — no need for a pricey taxi unless you land late or have heavy luggage. Trains from the airport run through most of the day but thin out late at night, so check the last departure if your flight arrives after dark. Our Casablanca Mohammed V airport guide covers the station, facilities and onward connections in full.

Shared grand taxis run the Casa–Rabat route from set stands, filling with six passengers and leaving when full for around 35–40 MAD per seat. They are quick — about an hour — and cheap, but they depart from specific taxi stations rather than the city centre, and the door-to-door time once you have reached the stand and found onward transport often matches the train with more hassle. They come into their own mainly if you are staying near a stand or want to leave outside train hours.

Driving covers the 90 km in about an hour on the A3 motorway for a toll of roughly 25 MAD plus fuel. It is easy motorway driving, but parking in central Casablanca and Rabat is a chore, and with a 40 MAD train leaving every half hour there is little reason to drive this leg unless you already have a car for onward travel. If you are continuing to Fes, Marrakech or the coast, though, driving straight through makes sense — see how the corridor fits the wider network in our distances and times matrix.

Both cities have clean, modern tramways that make getting from the station to your final destination cheap and simple. In Rabat, the tram connects Rabat Ville station with the medina, the Agdal district and across the river to Salé for just a few dirhams. In Casablanca, the tram links Casa Voyageurs and the city centre with the Habous quarter and beyond. Petit taxis in both cities are metered and inexpensive for short hops — insist on the meter.

The table summarises the onward options. For a fuller breakdown of local costs in the capital — taxis, tram tickets, attractions — see our Rabat prices guide, and use the grand-taxi guide if you plan to relay onward to smaller towns beyond the rail network.

Because the hop is so quick and frequent, you do not have to choose between Casablanca and Rabat — pair them. Base yourself in whichever suits your trip and treat the other as an easy half-day or day trip: Rabat for its relaxed medina, Kasbah des Oudaias and gardens; Casablanca for the Hassan II Mosque and Art Deco downtown. Trains run late enough that you can dine in one city and sleep in the other.

The corridor is also the practical launchpad for the rest of Morocco. From Rabat, the same trains carry on north to Tangier or south toward Marrakech — see our Rabat–Marrakech train guide and the long-haul Tangier–Marrakech route. Casablanca is the airport and the great rail crossroads. Master this one-hour leg and the whole northern network falls into place around it.