Morocco is preparing to put new German monitoring technology on some of its trains to check railway tracks while the trains are running. The technology will help ONCF spot track problems earlier and plan maintenance before faults become more serious. DB Systemtechnik, the railway engineering and testing subsidiary of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Railway Office (ONCF) at the InnoTrans transport technology fair in Berlin.
DB Systemtechnik clarified the purpose of the agreement on 26 September. The deal aims to “equip railway vehicles in Morocco with cutting-edge measurement systems for predictive maintenance and continuous infrastructure monitoring.”
The agreement covers railway engineering, maintenance and innovation. It creates “a framework for exchange and expertise sharing around several areas of common interest.”
The technology will use sensors fitted to trains to collect information about railway infrastructure while the trains are operating normally. The data can then be analysed to find early signs of wear or damage and help decide when maintenance is needed.
The system is known as Continuous Infrastructure Monitoring, or CIM. DB Systemtechnik describes it as a way to “continuously monitor your railway infrastructure to detect and correct defects at an early stage.”
The company also uses Continuous Track Monitoring, or CTM 2.0. The system can measure track conditions such as longitudinal level and track twist.
DB Systemtechnik says its monitoring systems “can be installed in or on virtually any railway vehicle”. This means passenger and other trains can collect measurements during their normal journeys instead of relying only on special inspection trains.
The company says CTM systems were installed on Munich and Berlin S-Bahn networks in 2025. Three systems were installed on ICE 4 high-speed trains in 2024, while another has been used on a Siemens Velaro-T train in Turkey since 2019.
DB Systemtechnik demonstrated the CTM system at InnoTrans 2026 using a sensor box attached to an axle bearing. The company described the setup as a way in which “regular trains can be transformed into mobile measurement platforms.”
The company also displayed its WGW system, which measures the position and wear of overhead contact wires while trains are moving. An instrumented pantograph was also displayed at the Vossloh stand.
DB Systemtechnik has not confirmed whether any of these specific systems will be used on Moroccan trains.
The main idea is to collect more data during normal train journeys. Repeated measurements by the same trains can show how track conditions change over time.
DB Systemtechnik says around 12,000km of track in Germany was regularly travelled and measured by CTM as of January 2026. The company’s first CTM system was built in 2004 and has covered more than 10m km without a failure of the measurement chain.
The company estimates that early detection of defects can cut defect frequency by half within two years and reduce maintenance costs by up to 30%. These are general commercial estimates and are not forecasts or commitments for ONCF.
The agreement does not yet include a confirmed equipment order.
No financial value has been announced. There is also no confirmed number of trains, installation timetable, supply contract or final technical configuration.
DB Systemtechnik says CIM is modular and can include some or all of its CTM, COLM, CFM, CGM and COM components.
The cooperation comes as ONCF is carrying out a major fleet renewal programme.
ONCF has previously announced that it had “finalized the award of contracts for its new train acquisition program, for an overall envelope of 29 billion dirhams.”
The programme covers 168 new-generation trainsets for fleet renewal, high-speed rail and local railway services.
No official source has linked the new DB Systemtechnik equipment to all or any specific number of those 168 trains.
The agreement is part of a wider move in the railway industry towards continuous infrastructure monitoring. The approach uses trains already operating on the network to collect information about tracks and other railway infrastructure, rather than depending only on occasional inspections by dedicated measurement vehicles.
InnoTrans 2026, held in Berlin, brought together railway and transport companies from around the world and provided the setting for the ONCF-DB Systemtechnik agreement.
