To enhance security at railway stations, the Indian Railways plan to install internet protocol (IP)-based video surveillance systems (VSS) at stations across the country, according to a press release.
Railway stations, which are major hubs of transportation in the country and therefore have high crime potential, will have the VSS in waiting halls, reservation counters, parking areas, main entrances/exits, platforms, foot-over bridges, and booking offices.
The Railway Board has approved the installation of the VSS in 983 stations. A budget of IN ₹250 crores (about US $35.1 million) was allotted to the Indian Railways to install surveillance systems.
RailTel, a public sector undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways, will provide the IP-based VSS with video analytics and a facial recognition system.
To have better coverage and clearer images, four types of full HD cameras will be used: a dome type (for indoor areas), bullet type (for platforms), pan-tilt-zoom type (for parking areas), and ultra HD- 4k cameras (for crucial locations).
CCTV camera live-feeds are displayed on multiple screens at the Railway Protection Force (RPF) control room for monitoring. Each HD camera at the station consumes approximately 1TB of data and 4k cameras consume 4 TB data per month, the release noted.
Recordings of the video feeds from CCTV cameras will be stored for 30 days for playback, post-event analysis, and investigation purposes. Important videos may be stored for a longer period.
The Chairman and Managing Director of RailTel stated that in the first phase, the VSS will be installed at 200 stations across India; work has been completed at 81 stations.
The VSS will be extended to other stations and coaches soon. A key objective of the project is to improve safety measures for women.
In phase one, which is the target for this year, the South Western Railway (SWR) recently commissioned CCTVs at six major stations:
- Ballari (33 cameras)
- Belagavi (36 cameras)
- Vasco-Da Gama (36 cameras)
- Bengaluru Cantt (21 cameras)
- Bangarpet (36 cameras)
- Hassan (36 cameras)
At three stations in Hassan, Shivamogga Town, and Sathya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam, work is under progress and will be commissioned shortly.
Integrated security systems comprising of CCTVs have already been installed at 11 stations including Bengaluru with 71 cameras, Yesvantpur with 35 cameras, and Mysuru with 34 cameras.
With this, SWR has operational CCTVs at 17 locations and will complete the work in phase-I by deploying functional CCTVs at 20 railway stations by the end of this month, the release said.
Security personnel can monitor these cameras not only from station control rooms but also from central security control rooms located at Divisional Headquarters, that is, Hubballi, Mysuru, and Bengaluru.
The surveillance systems have also been installed at Bhavnagar Terminus, Udhna, Valsad, Veraval, Nagda, Navsari, Vapi, Viragam, Rajkot, and Gandhidham. The systems are expected to improve the security of passengers at railway stations and on railway property.
The Ministry of Railways recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom to enable energy self-sufficiency in India’s railways.
Under the MoU, the two sides agreed on energy planning in the solar and wind sector, to adopt energy efficiency practices, and to enable fuel efficiency.
The agreement also covers electric vehicle charging infrastructure deployment, battery-operated shunting locomotives, and capacity development like training programs and industrial visits or any other form of cooperation approved in writing by the participants.