Algiers to Oran

Algeria's first passenger railway ran out of Algiers in September 1862, as far as Blida, and nine years later it reached Oran. The line it became is still the spine of the country's network: 420 kilometres west along the populated north, from the capital to the second city, across the Mitidja, over the hills of the Tell and down the long valley of the Chelif. Four trains a day run each way, and the first leaves Agha station in Algiers before six in the morning.

Two kinds of train share the work. The fast ones are Alstom Coradias, six-car units built in France for 160 km/h, which have run the route since March 2018 and take a little over four and a half hours with a handful of stops. The others are SNTF's loco-hauled "trains confort", slower by an hour or more, cheaper, and calling at most of the towns between — El Affroun, Khemis Miliana, El Attaf, Oued Rhiou, Sig. Either way the fare is small: 1,860 dinars for the best seat on the fastest train.

It is not a mountain railway or a scenic special. It is the main line of a large country, used by the people who live along it, and a day on it shows the northern Tell from one end to the other — with the Casbah of Algiers behind you and the fort of Santa Cruz above Oran at the end.

The westbound trains start at Agha, a kilometre and a half along the line from the old terminus at Algiers station, and run out through the eastern suburbs to El Harrach before swinging south-west onto the plain. This first stretch, as far as El Affroun, is double track and electrified — it carries the capital's suburban trains as well — and it is the busiest railway in the country.

The Mitidja is flat, green and intensively farmed, with the wall of the Blidean Atlas to the left. Blida comes at kilometre 50, the town at the foot of the mountains and the end of the very first section of line, opened in 1862. At El Affroun, kilometre 68, the overhead wires stop.

Over the hills and into the Chelif valley

Beyond El Affroun the railway does its only real climbing. For about fifty kilometres it winds up from roughly 100 metres to 500 and back down to 250, by Boumedfaa and Hoceinia, before coming out at Khemis Miliana. This was the last gap to be closed: Khemis Miliana — then called Affreville — was reached from the west in September 1870, and the 29 kilometres to Boumedfaa that joined the two halves opened on 1 May 1871. Miliana itself is the old town on the mountainside above the station.

From here the line follows the Chelif, Algeria's longest river, down a wide farming valley. The 77 kilometres from Khemis Miliana to Chlef are double track. Aïn Defla, El Attaf and Chlef are the main calls; then Oued Rhiou and Relizane, where the line turns west for Oran.

The run into Oran

Relizane to Oran was the first part of the western half to open, in November 1868, and from Yellel onwards the line is double track again. Mohammadia, Sig and Oued Tlelat come in quick succession — Oued Tlelat is where the line to Béchar and the Sahara branches off — and then the train runs in to Oran station, under the Murdjajo, the mountain that stands over the city.

What pulls it

The Coradia is the train most people want. SNTF ordered seventeen of these Alstom units, built at Reichshoffen in Alsace: six cars, 110 metres long, 254 seats, air-conditioned, with a catering area, and bi-mode — able to run on diesel or on 25 kV electric power. They are good for 160 km/h, though average speeds on the line are nearer 80 to 90. The trains confort are conventional coaches behind a diesel locomotive, slower but with more stops — like the set standing behind 060-DH-13 beside the Coradia in the photograph at the top of this page.

Four trains a day run in each direction, two Coradias and two loco-hauled trains confort. Every one starts or ends at Agha in Algiers, not at the old Algiers terminus by the port.

Algiers to Oran

Oran to Algiers

The trains run every day, with two exceptions: AM does not run on Wednesdays and MA does not run on Fridays, so on those days there is one Coradia in that direction instead of two. The Coradias also call at Aïn Defla and Mohammadia; the trains confort stop at many more, including El Harrach, El Affroun, Khemis Miliana, El Attaf, Oued Fodda, Oued Rhiou, Sig and Oued Tlelat.

As of November 2026, from SNTF's own timetable search. SNTF's site is sntf.dz (opens in a new tab); it could not be opened from outside Algeria while this page was written, and these times were read from its search engine through a third-party front end. Check them at the station before travelling — the arrival times in particular have moved more than once since the Coradias came in.

Fares are set by SNTF and quoted in Algerian dinars. Algiers to Oran costs 1,860 in first class and 1,360 in second on a Coradia, and 1,200 and 900 on a train confort. Both classes are on every train.

Buy at the station counter. SNTF does take reservations online for its main-line trains, but payment there is by Algerian CIB bank card, so for a visitor the counter is the practical way to buy — the day before, if you can.

No rail pass covers Algeria. Interrail and Eurail stop at the European shore of the Mediterranean, and no North African railway is in either network; SNTF has no pass of its own for visitors, so every journey is an ordinary ticket.

Nothing is lost by that here. First class on the fastest train from Algiers to Oran is 1,860 dinars for 420 kilometres, among the lowest long-distance fares on this site, and a pass could never pay for itself.

As of November 2026, from Interrail's own list of One Country Passes.

Both ends of the line are cities worth days of their own, and two of the towns between reward a break in the journey. They are listed here from east to west, in the order the train meets them.

The timetable makes this a daytime journey with no night on board, so the question is only which end to sleep at. In Algiers the 05:50 departure means a bed within easy reach of Agha station. In Oran the Coradia arrives at 12:38, in time for a full afternoon in the city.

Start at Agha. The long-distance trains to Oran leave from Agha station, not from Algiers station by the port; SNTF's own timetable search returns nothing for Oran if you search from "Alger".

Pick the train for the day you want. The 08:00 Coradia arrives in Oran at 12:38 with the afternoon free; the 05:50 train confort takes the slow road and calls at the small towns of the Chelif valley. On a Wednesday there is no morning Coradia from Algiers, and on a Friday none from Oran.

Allow for delays. The timetable is a plan rather than a promise, and trains on this line have been known to arrive well over an hour late. Do not build a tight onward connection on an arrival time.

Going further. Oued Tlelat, the last stop before Oran on the trains confort, is where the line to Béchar branches off; the overnight train south to the Sahara leaves from Oran itself.

Planning this trip and stuck on something, or spotted a time, fare or detail that has changed? Send us a message about Algiers to Oran. We read every one, and we update this page when something has changed.