Bullet trains have been all the rage in recent years. California has a project in the works, Europe is developing another line connecting Germany and France, and now, Morocco is extending its own high-speed railway — the only one in Africa. 

The coastal country has made some major infrastructure upgrades in the past two decades, Business Insider Africa reports, including expanding its airport capacity and improving its road networks. This project is one of its latest investments, and quite a large one at that. 

Part of a wider railway initiative, extending the existing Al Boraq line — which currently runs between Kenitra and Tangier — is projected to cost around $5 billion. An additional 430 kilometers (about 267 miles) will be added to link the line to Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakech, three political, economic, and tourism hubs. In addition, a futuristic fleet of 168 trains will be purchased, and a transit system will be added to each of the newly linked cities. 

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI announced the construction of the extended line April 24, describing it as part of the country’s “strategic vision for sustainable, inclusive, and competitive mobility, driven by a future-oriented continental ambition,” per Conde Nast Traveler. While officials have yet to offer a set completion date, the project plans to address the increase in traffic that’s expected by 2030 — spurred by Morocco’s preparations to co-host that year’s World Cup, according to Reuters. 

The trains will be designed to support speeds up to around 217 mph, meaning it will take just 35 minutes to get from Rabat to Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport. And in addition to significantly reducing travel time throughout the nation, the project should also lead to less congestion on traditional trains and roadways — which theoretically would open up space for regional commuter services and thus reduce air pollution emitted by cars. 

It is also expected to create thousands of jobs and provide technical training, all in service of the country developing a “homegrown industrial ecosystem,” per Business Insider Africa, and Morocco is targeting at least 40% local integration for new train manufacturing.

The original high-speed railway debuted in 2018, and as Africa’s first and only bullet train system, it was much ballyhooed. When it opened, it cut travel time from Casablanca to Tangier from four hours and 45 minutes to just two hours and 10 minutes. With the upcoming upgrades, that duration will be slashed even further, to just one hour and 40 minutes.