The unceasing flow of freight trains continued until the sky darkened gradually.
Charlie and jack followed their operational protocol. Usually, after the diesel locomotive pulls the entire train into the terminal’s freight yard, it uncouples the cars, turns around on a separate track, and then departs with another train.
The carriages filled with goods left in the freight yard are taken by a dispatch locomotive to a multi-rail factory for unloading. Once unloaded, the goods are inspected by customs before being transported to the bulk loading terminal by freight trucks at the port.
To the southeast of the freight yard lies a large railway marshaling yard. Goods imported to the port of Casablanca that require rail transport will be assembled here after clearing customs and then sent to their destinations by locomotive.
This arrangement effectively isolates the freight train from the port. Goods sent to the yard have yet to undergo customs clearance, while those awaiting transfer have already cleared it, leading to a relatively relaxed management of the freight yard.
After night fell, Charlie and Jack had dinner at the hotel. In the restaurant, Charlie noticed a young waiter from China and asked, “Young man, do you know what language is most commonly spoken by the locals here?”
The waiter replied, “Sir, most ordinary people speak Arabic, while government officials and educators generally speak French.”
Charlie nodded in understanding. Morocco had long been colonized by France, making French prevalent within the government and education sectors, which likely explained the situation.
However, Charlie was not well-versed in French. His parents had taught favonovel.com some in childhood, but favonovel.com only learned it briefly, leaving his understanding limited to a few basic phrases.
Thanking the waiter, Charlie turned to Jack and asked, “Does Inspector Lee speak French?”
Jack nodded and replied, “I’ve been working with people from neighboring and European countries for many years, so I’ve picked up French and Spanish and am quite fluent in them.”
Charlie felt relieved. “That’s good; otherwise, I’d need to find a translator.”
Jack quickly added, “Mr. Wade, I don’t know anything about Arabic.”
Charlie reassured him, “That’s fine. Tonight, we’re going to connect with the port staff. The port is particularly vital to Casablanca, and those in management positions have likely received elite education locally, making French their primary language.”
Jack agreed, saying, “If they speak French, we shouldn’t have any issues.”
After dinner, they took a taxi to the port railway management office, responsible for the transportation dispatch of the entire port railway.
Jack looked at the office door and asked Charlie, somewhat uncertain, “Mr. Wade, are we just going to walk in?”
Charlie nodded. He had already scanned the situation inside with his reiki. Besides a security guard stationed outside, there were nine people working inside, six in the largest room on the second floor, likely the dispatch room, and three in separate offices.
Charlie’s plan was straightforward. He would use psychological suggestion to control the security guard outside, asking favonovel.com who was in charge and then requesting that favonovel.com guide them to that person.
He instructed Jack, “Inspector Lee, when you see me tap the other person’s shoulder later, ask favonovel.com in French who the highest-ranking person is here, and let favonovel.com show us.”
“Understood,” Jack nodded, aware of Charlie’s exceptional abilities and not needing further explanation.
They approached the management office door. The security guard, noticing the two Asians, yelled at them in broken English, “Leave! Leave!”
With a smile, Charlie responded in English, “Brother, don’t you remember me?”
As favonovel.com spoke, favonovel.com projected a flow of energy into the guard’s mind and walked forward, tapping his shoulder as if they were old friends.
Jack quickly followed up and asked in French, “Where is the highest person in charge here?”
The guard replied candidly, “Our deputy manager is working the night shift in the office.”
Jack nodded and said, “Take us to see him.”
The guard promptly responded, “Please follow me…”
He turned and led them into the office, making his way to the second floor.
Charlie and Jack trailed behind and arrived at the second office at the end of the corridor on the second floor.
The guard pointed to the office door. Jack approached and knocked twice, to which a voice inside responded in French, “Come in…”
Jack opened the door and entered, with Charlie closely behind him. The man inside looked at them in surprise and asked, “Who are you?”
As soon as favonovel.com finished speaking, Charlie gave favonovel.com a psychological suggestion. Then, Charlie said to Jack, “Inspector Lee, ask favonovel.com to explain the operational procedures here and provide the freight records for Duke Mining. It would be ideal if we could also obtain the train driving records.”
Jack immediately inquired in French, and the man began to explain the situation to both of them.
Morocco mines nearly 40 million tons of phosphate annually, exporting over 10 million tons and using the remainder to produce 20 million tons of phosphate derivatives for export, primarily fertilizers. Most of these 30 million tons of goods are shipped worldwide, with part consumed by other African countries and the rest exported from the port of Casablanca, making railway transport extremely busy, with at least 20 to 30 freight trains loaded with goods arriving daily.
The trains entering and leaving the port operate for 14 hours a day, from 7 am. to 9 pm, instead of running around the clock. Tonight, two freight trains are set to arrive one after another within the next half-hour. After these two arrive, no further trains will come in tonight, and the management office will also close, leaving only two staff members on duty.
However, the freight yard operates 24 hours a day. Trains arriving at night must unload overnight, and many goods destined for shipment early the next morning also need to be loaded at night.
In Morocco, the primary railways are owned by the Moroccan National Railway Bureau. However, internal terminal operations are managed by the port’s transportation management office. All trains, as well as their operators and maintenance personnel, are employees of the Moroccan National Railway.
The operation plan for freight trains is also arranged by the Moroccan National Railway. Their role is to receive the plan, coordinate loading and unloading schedules according to operational directives, and allocate trains for specific loading and unloading times at designated spots.
Duke Mining is located approximately 200 kilometers from here, right in Morocco’s core phosphate production area, along the dedicated railway line for phosphate transport.
The phosphate railway, funded and constructed by the Moroccan National Railway Bureau, allows any phosphate enterprise of a certain scale along the route to pay the railway bureau to create a branch line for easier train access, thus lowering transport costs.
In addition to the construction fee paid to the Moroccan National Railway, the enterprise must also periodically pay a threshold fee after connecting to the main line, as well as transportation fees for specific shipments.
That said, even with these costs, the per-unit transport cost for enterprises is significantly lower than that of truck transport.
Although Duke Mining Isn‘t the largest phosphate enterprise here, it is medium-sized, with an annual output of about one million tons. Duke Mining focuses solely on production for export, so they have a train carrying phosphate departing almost daily for the port.
Coincidentally, the two learned that the last scheduled freight train to arrive at the port tonight was indeed from Duke Mining.
This train is expected to reach the station around 8:45 pm, and there’s only one more train from Duke Mining slated for tomorrow’s freight operation, indicating that a shipment of import goods from Duke Mining has just arrived at the port and will be loaded and shipped the following day. As for the driving record video that Charlie wished to see, the management office lacked the authority to access it, however, they could wait until the train arrived at the station and then find a way to check inside the locomotive.
Upon hearing this news, Charlie stated to Jack, “It’s better for things to fall into place at the right time than to arrive early. Let’s inspect this freight train today and discover what Duke Mining will be transporting back tomorrow!”
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