SECURITY & PASSENGER SAFETY
Mark Marriage, chief technology officer, Secure Networks, at Digital Barriers, looks at the valuable concept of proactive surveillance in rail security and passenger safety and asks why the UK rail industry isn’t already deploying the proven, robust and sophisticated video analytics, transmission and redistribution technologies available.
T
he last ten years has seen a proliferation of surveillance cameras across our rail-
ways – inside trains, at stations, depots and alongside tracks. But the rail industry is not yet making the most of this extensive security in- vestment. Its focus now needs to shift from ex- tending the quantity of surveillance, to extract- ing much more value from the existing security investment and giving access to this asset to staff outside the traditional control centre.
Supporting front-line staff
The core priority must be to give authorised front-line rail staff rapid access to relevant sur- veillance images when they need them, to keep passengers safe and rail infrastructure secure. Too often, surveillance monitoring is highly centralised and reactive. Central control room staff collect, analyse and distribute security incident reports and images after the actual events have taken place, rather than real-time.
We need to start using surveillance much more proactively to analyse and alert managers to a range of predictable threats. Specialist video analytics software can be deployed today to automatically search for early warning signs of these threats. This software can help spot an object being dropped off a bridge; someone running across a rail track; or a vehicle going over a level crossing on an amber traffic light signal. The resulting alerts can be sent to staff right on the frontline, so they can take action to avert disaster. The delivery of these alerts can be automated to save time and reduce opera- tional costs.
Rail workers can also use new video distribu- tion technology to view real-time, high-quality surveillance images via smartphones, tablets or laptops, regardless of their location. Video dis- tribution software from Digital Barriers is ca- pable of delivering excellent image quality from any chosen camera, on any viewing device, in real-time regardless of video transmission me- dium. By giving authorised staff on the ground greater access to high quality surveillance im- ages, they will be able to react more effectively to incidents, using the resulting insight to take action to improve passengers’ experience and safety.
100% secure video transmission Surveillance technology today is not only so-
74 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 12
board scene to the next station. The emergency reception team can then use these images to assess likely problems and use this insight to manage the emergency more efficiently when the train reaches their station.
Extending life of existing infrastructure
It is now time for the UK rail industry to be- gin deploying the sophisticated, robust and inexpensive surveillance technology, which has been developed over the last decade.
phisticated but also highly robust and therefore capable of being used for critical operations throughout the rail network. For example, Dig- ital Barriers’ video transmission equipment is already approved by the Rail Safety and Stand- ards Board (RSSB) for use by Network Rail to transmit vital video images quickly, reliably and without loss of image quality. This same video transmission equipment has since been deployed at hundreds of level crossings across the UK.
The fact that the transmission technology can now be relied upon to deliver surveillance im- ages in real time, regardless of the grade of cabling carrying those images, creates new opportunities to use existing cameras to man- age rail assets more effectively. One example of this is on the 16-station NorthEast Line in Singapore, where video surveillance images are transmitted from cameras in each train car to the station via radio and then onwards via fibre to the central control room. It is certainly now possible to cost-effectively transmit real-time video on-board back to control centres and out to remotely deployed personnel.
On-board surveillance
Most UK trains now have surveillance cameras installed. However, these systems are mainly used to record images for playback and analy- sis post-incident. Digital Barriers has already worked with railway operators in Australia and Singapore to introduce surveillance systems which, in cases of on-board emergencies, can transmit high-quality live surveillance images from a moving train, via 3G mobile networks, to the next railway station. This emergency se- curity system is used to relay images of the on-
The rewards for doing so will more than justify the investment in terms of operational savings, passenger experience and safety, quite apart from the fact that this new technology extends the life of existing security infrastructure in- vestments.
The future
The combination of intelligent and proven video analytics, secure video transmission and fixed surveillance networking already offers a future-proof backbone for mission critical applications in the rail industry. These tech- nologies are now supported by powerful video distribution and mobile communications tech- nologies which can route high quality video im- ages quickly from trains to nearby and onboard emergency services crews, station manage- ment teams and control room staff.
All these developments combined make it pos- sible to move from taking a reactive, central- ised approach to surveillance to one that is much more proactive. This evolution provides opportunities for timely interventions. It pre- vents security incidents, saves lives and pro- tects assets.
But perhaps most enticing of all in these tough- er economic times, these capabilities can be built into existing rail se- curity systems. There are upgrade opportunities for ageing security systems that avoid the otherwise inevitably high cost of wholesale replacement.
Mark Marriage FOR MORE INFORMATION
E:
info@digitalbarriers.com W:
www.digitalbarriers.com
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