SECURITY AND SAFETY
Improving passenger safety through technological innovation
Writing exclusively for Rail Technology Magazine, Adrian Tighe, managing director of Transport and Borders at G4S, outlines the benefits of innovating with technology to improve the overall passenger experience.
T
he security and rail industries share a common bond; namely that they are both
instinctively innovative. They both understand that without innovation, they will not survive. Risks change as do passenger behaviours and
incidents, providing critical evidential support.
At G4S Transport & Borders we have trialled this technology. In November last year, we operated cameras at Southampton Port on
to the industry. With ATOC estimating that ticketless travel costs the industry £200m each year – the equivalent of 15% of the £1.25bn spent every five years on renewing and maintaining stations – the industry cannot afford to not innovate in tackling fare dodging.
Some train operating companies still use manual counting methods to assess passenger numbers, providing an inefficient and inaccurate picture.
In contrast, airports have shown the benefits of infra-red people counting technologies, sweeping away out-of-date manual methods. Knowing how many people you are dealing with is essential data for security and effective management.
Similarly, rail can learn from aviation in its screening procedures and to this end the Home Office has invited potential suppliers to bid to provide airport-style high ‘throughput’ screening at train and tube stations.
Having
needs, so the service which we both provide needs to keep up with the pace of change. At G4S Secure Solutions, we view technology as playing a vital role in ensuring that we do this.
Britain’s rail network has a highly complex risk profile and the solutions we provide must always aim to improve the passenger experience. Technological innovations are emerging which we believe can add real value. They all illustrate the central role that technology plays in both industries, ranging from body-worn security cameras, to new passenger counting methods and approaches to screening at train stations.
One of the key principles of security can be summed up with the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’. Deterring security risks before they happen is as important as dealing with them when they do. Trains and stations have a considerable CCTV presence with deterrence value, but the limited scope of static cameras is clear. By contrast, body-worn cameras give detailed high quality footage at the source of
40 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 13
the gates and during the x-ray of passengers. Operations managers on the ground have reported on the camera’s significant benefits in risk deterrence and resolution. Consequently, we are examining permanently using the cameras as a part of our security offering.
Like G4S, the police see the benefits of the cameras and late last year the Met Police announced its £4m investment in the technology. In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service report a guilty plea of 90% when cameras are involved in the Grampian Police area. Body cameras increasingly seem the way to go.
The rail industry should also consider looking to its transport sibling in aviation to examine its technologies and potential suitability for the rail industry. A major part of security is effective management of access and egress. In rail the need for effective passenger counting is self-evident for revenue and barrier protection because ticketless travel remains a real threat
been previously trialled
and dropped in the aftermath of the July 7 attacks, mass passenger
screening is now back on the table because technology has moved on.
With the need for fluid passenger movement, screening technologies in stations will have to accommodate this and at G4S we see the potential of handheld devices that are discreet, efficient, highly mobile and bespoke to the rail environment. The review of bids is taking place in March and it will be fascinating to see what technologies have been offered up.
With our shared interest in scanning the horizon for technological innovations, G4S will continue to seek the newest and best ways to provide secure solutions on our railways.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
T: +44 (0)208 564 3402 E:
pradeep.nair@
uk.g4s.com W:
www.g4s.uk.com
Adrian Tighe
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