Marrakech – The National Railways Office (ONCF) has launched a tender to design its national master plan for video surveillance, artificial intelligence, and hypervision by 2030. The plan would raise the office’s camera fleet to roughly 6,000 units across the country.
The consultation seeks a provider to prepare the plan, define the shape of the future surveillance system, set out the required investments, and lay down a roadmap through 2030. The study carries an estimated cost of MAD 1.08 million ($108,000), taxes included, with an execution period of four months.
The project falls under ONCF’s “CAP 2030” strategic plan. Its aim is a unified security model that ties together fixed sites – stations, technical centers, and engineering structures – with rolling stock such as high-speed trains, RER trains, and locomotives.
Close to 30% of the planned cameras, or about 1,800 units, would carry automated AI analysis. The rest would run as standard surveillance equipment feeding into the same network.
The office also mapped out an estimated distribution for the 6,000 cameras. Stations would take the largest share at 35%, or 2,100 cameras. The high-speed line would receive 25%, or 1,500. The classic network, the RER regional network, the technical and maintenance centers, and the rolling stock would each hold 10%, or 600 cameras apiece.
The AI functions would back operators across several tasks. Inside stations, they would monitor crowd density, congestion, and crowd movements. On the security side, they would detect assaults, suspicious packages, and infiltration attempts. Along the high-speed lines, they would flag obstacles, animals, and objects left on the track.
Beyond that, the wider system would manage automatic intrusion detection on tracks and rail rights-of-way through CADI systems, the detection of abandoned objects and operational incidents, fire monitoring, and the analysis of passenger flows in high-traffic stations. Onboard cameras would record from moving trains and upload data from rakes in circulation.
All of these systems would connect to a National Hypervision Platform, run from the National Security Center (CNS). The platform would centralize alerts and coordinate with regional centers.
The initiative arrives alongside major works reshaping the rail sector. These include the extension of the high-speed line between Kenitra and Marrakech, the development of RER regional networks, the modernization and construction of stations, and preparations for large international events, chief among them the 2030 World Cup.
The Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed line anchors much of this expansion. King Mohammed VI launched its construction on April 24, 2025, and the 430-kilometer section extends the existing Tangier-Kenitra route. It forms part of a national railway program valued at MAD 96 billion ($9.6 billion). Once in service, the line would cut the Tangier-Marrakech journey to about 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Read also: One Year After Launch, What Has ONCF Delivered on Its High-Speed Rail Program?
