London Underground has begun an upgrade of security at its London maintenance depots. These busy sites house general maintenance, train-cleaning and driver rest areas. Employees, suppliers and other visitors pass through depots daily. Working alongside Honeywell Security, Castel has supplied IP intercoms. LU aims to protect the sites from theft of high-value plant and equipment and the ever-increasing problem of metal and cable theft.
A previous intercom system was made up of numerous technologies and obsolete equipment and would have been too expensive to upgrade or repair. As a result, Transport for London decided on a totally new IP intercom, with a new Honeywell surveillance and access control system.
A dedicated site-wide network was installed for 35 of Castel’s CAP IP PoE (Power over Ethernet) video entry stations, which have been used for the gates, vehicle barriers and turnstiles. All calls are networked back to a single central point locally – a gatehouse or security control room. If a call goes unanswered, the next available operator at another depot will be able to receive and deal with it – another advantage of using an IP/SIP network. This feature helped reassure London Underground that no calls would go unanswered, particularly as round-the-clock access to the sites is critical. Operators using Castel’s Xellip IP Master Stations now have the ability for simultaneous video communication with other colleagues across all sites. Castel’s Xellip Server Max was also used on the project, which allows up to 1,000 SIP extensions and provides capacity for expansion. The new intercom will not only prevent unwanted visitors from accessing the sites, some of which cover a very large area and have many entrance and exit points, but it will also safeguard staff working there and give them easier access, the firms add.
Castel’s Sales Director, Stuart Hibberd, said: “This project yet again demonstrates Castel’s ability to provide an IP video intercom solution in a very demanding environment where there is a great deal of traffic and valuable assets. Castel’s range of IP products provides complete interoperability and scalability, which means that future depots can be added to the system – something we knew we could deliver for the client if required at a later date.”
