Vertical Markets

Facial recognition at rail hub

by Mark Rowe

An Automated Border Control (ABC) using facial recognition is in use at St Pancras International rail station in London, at the French border.

The aim of rail operator Eurostar, the French border police (DCPAF) and the French Ministry of Interior; to maximise the speed and efficiency of immigration clearance for passengers travelling from the UK into continental Europe and the Schengen zone. It also represents a new generation of PARAFE, the French automated border crossing system that uses biometric authentication to verify passenger identity at the country’s borders. The product company Vision-Box won the work in an open international tendering process mandated by Eurostar.

The product developers say this facial recognition product is for the thousands of eligible passengers that make this journey daily. With an estimated 20pc expected increase in traffic in the coming years (and over 26,000 passengers/day at borders between the peak late afternoon hours of 4pm to 7pm), these eGates let Eurostar to orchestrate its passenger management process with greater fluidity, while maintaining border security, the makers say. Since June 2016, more than 500,000 passengers have been able to use the self-service eGates.

Mikaël Lemarchand, Director of Stations at Eurostar, said: “Eurostar’s mission is to deliver a memorable experience to our customers. At every single touch point of their journey with Eurostar, whether in business lounges, on board the brand new trains or at border controls in our terminals, the customers are offered delightfully easy solutions. That is why we selected Vision-Box to accompany us on this very innovative journey. Vision-Box share with Eurostar the same vision of what an amazing customer experience shall be. They rely on professional and passionate teams who were able to understand our specific needs and match the highly demanding requirements of our Ministry of Interior. The results of this close collaboration are now visible in London St. Pancras, with the Automated Border Control solution in place enhancing the daily experience of our customers. We are now planning the next chapter to deploy automated border controls throughout the Eurostar network, in Paris and Brussels.”

And Miguel Leitmann, CEO and Founder of Vision-Box, added: “Since the first day of our journey with Eurostar and the French Ministry of Interior, together in close relationship with the Border Police (DCPAF), we have been engaged in a enthusiastic, hard-working and intense multi-stakeholder partnership which materializes its apogee through the successful operation of a truly innovative passenger facilitation process at a landmark rail hub. The first statistics of usage are overwhelming in terms of adhesion and positive feedback of both travellers and Police officers. Once again, it is very much about creating a dynamic collaboration, facilitate multi-cultural understanding, and focus on the balance between two major aspects: the absolute need for higher security at the border, and a passenger-centric experience that serves the public interest to the benefit of our client. We are extremely proud to be part of this adventure, contributing to a safer world whilst improving everyday people’s lives.”

Separately, Vision-Box recently signed a framework agreement with Schiphol Airport.

Visit www.vision-box.com.

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