Passing train, London, England

View from a train car window, Fes, Morocco

England’s railway system is one of the oldest railway systems in the world, which continues to expand today. The network of trains covers the entirety of the country, with specialty trains such as the Eurostar even connecting other European countries such as France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. This extensive railway system has allowed a member of our group to travel fairly conveniently to various parts of the country and the city in which they are located. 

On the other hand, Morocco’s railway system is fairly new, with it now joining major cities from various parts of the country together. The impact of this infrastructure has improved the lives of many Moroccans, but due to the limited span of the railway, Moroccans in more rural locations are not able to take part in this development. 

Recently, one of our group members took a trip to Khamlia, a village in the southeast part of Morocco, to conduct research.

Sunrise, Khamlia, Morocco

In order to get access to the village and the larger town of Rissani, she had to take a four-hour train, an eight-hour overnight bus, and a thirty-minute car ride. The lack of accessible infrastructure was heavily present during the trip, overlapping itself with increased inequalities in the village.

Children playing near the main road, Khamlia, Morocco

For example, for people in the village to buy food or other goods, they would have to either drive thirty minutes by car, take a donkey, or walk for almost seven hours. Most people within the village did not own cars and there are no trains or buses, so most relied on the few neighbors with vehicles to take them, or merchants who come into the village, who oftentimes charged higher prices for products. Here we see the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals such as #9, industry, innovation, and infrastructure find themselves intertwined with goals such as #3 reduced inequalities, and #2 zero hunger.