ONCF DH 417 / Touabaa – Matmata

After two days of particularly heavy rain at the reservoir, on 14 February we were faced with a difficult decision: cloud-filled skies by the lake or picture-perfect weather in the desert? It should have been a no-brainer, but we’d already taken plenty of photos in the area around Taourirt (تاوريرت) over the past few days. So, in the morning, we drove to Matmata (مطماطة), where we were expecting the first eastbound train of the day. According to the ONCF app, the train was due to run on time, and at the scheduled time there was a large gap in the clouds over the lake. If those weren’t ideal conditions, what were? But the express train was nowhere to be seen. After nearly three-quarters of an hour, we were finally relieved by the unmistakable sound of the diesel locomotive. With the Al Atlas 101 from Casablanca (الدار البيضاء) in tow, we were able to photograph the DH 417 on its journey to Beni Ansar (بْني نصار).

Automatically translated from German. Show the original

Vehicle

DH 417

Operator

ONCF

Line

Al Atlas

Train number

101

Photospot

Zaouia Sidi Abdeljalil, Fez-Meknes

Taken

14. Feb. 2026, 11:39 a.m.

Licence

All Rights Reserved

Camera position

From the ground

Photo type

Railway

Camera

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Focal length

35 mm

Aperture

f/7.1

Shutter speed

1/2000s

ISO

400