The train operating company, London Midland, has brought in IP network video surveillance at 14 of its stations.
London Midland has held the West Midlands train franchise since 2007. More than 300 Samsung-branded WiseNetIII IP network, high definition cameras have been installed at the stations by Babcock’s Rail business. Anthony Sykes, pictured, Construction Engineering Manager for Babcock, said: “The knowledge we acquired as a Silver Partner of the Hanwha Techwin Europe STEP partnership programme enabled us to identify and recommend the WiseNetIII cameras that were most suitable to help the client meet its objectives at each of the stations.
“In a competitive environment where the client is understandably looking for maximum value, the price-performance ratio of the cameras was an important issue. However, key to the decision to source the cameras from Hanwha Techwin Europe, was the fact that all of the selected camera models have been PADS approved.”
The issuing of the PADS Certificate of Acceptance for the WiseNetIII cameras follows a process during which the products were evaluated and tested to ensure that they are fit for purpose and comply with Network Rail’s safety standards.
A mix of SNB-5004 box cameras, SNV-5084 domes and SNF-7010VM 360-degree cameras have been installed at the 14 stations. Babcock International have ensured that there are no blind spots, they are collectively assisting security personnel and operations managers to meet compliance with London Midland’s operational procedures, for safety of passengers and staff.
Anthony Sykes said: “The SNF-7010VM 360-degree cameras have provided a cost-effective option for monitoring large areas such as ticket offices and waiting rooms where there might normally be a requirement for a large number of standard cameras. Equally significant, the Full HD capabilities of all the cameras has enabled us to install fewer of them than we might normally expect to, as they allow us to see close up detail of any activity without any pixilation occurring in the images.
“At stations such as Watford, this has been particularly useful in areas where there are overhead electric supply lines as we have been able to be selective in where we place the cameras in order to minimise risk for our maintenance engineers.”
Depending on the number of cameras installed, one or more Samsung SRN-1000 or SRN-1670D network video recorders (NVRs) have also been supplied for each station. Working with SSM (Samsung Security Manager) software, they enable operators to retrieve and manage recorded video of incidents. Where necessary, the images captured by the cameras are being transmitted wirelessly to the recording devices. At Watford station, for example, a wireless system was an alternative to the commission of engineering works and the laying of cables that would have been necessary to transmit images captured by cameras in the station’s car park over a distance of 800m to the recorder.
Anthony Sykes said: “In addition to helping create a safe environment, the new video surveillance systems installed at each of the stations are also assisting security personnel to detect anti-social behaviour and other forms of criminal activity. I am pleased to report that a number of successful prosecutions have taken place as a direct result of the availability of the evidence grade images captured by the WiseNetIII cameras.”
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