Safe Cities: How Network video is Revolutionising Transport Safety and Efficiency

Decades ago, the transportation sector was one of the earliest adopters of CCTV surveillance – understandable given security’s crucial role in encouraging people to use public services.

Transport authorities must keep their systems running with as few interruptions as possible, so they must know what’s happening at all times – whether at stations, on board trains, or along the transport network – and this is where network video can make a significant difference.

From forensic to real-time security

Stations and transportation systems are exposed to numerous security incidents every day, ranging from vandalism and graffiti to robbery and violence.

With a traditional analogue surveillance system, camera footage is mainly used forensically to investigate incidents after they’ve occurred. In a network-based solution the video plays a much more crucial role, offering the efficient monitoring of and response to incidents in real-time.

A network-based surveillance system enables efficient prioritisation and response to incidents

One of the major advantages of network video is the option to access and share live footage from security cameras wirelessly over a computer network, enabling transport managers to efficiently monitor all stations, vehicles and infrastructure from one (or a few) designated security locations.

Even if several incidents occur simultaneously, a network video solution provides the real-time video images needed to get a complete view of a situation.

Efficient incident response

To fully understand the value of real-time access to live surveillance video, one has to consider events in a security centre when an incident occurs. Minor or major, each incident must be evaluated and followed up with a decision on the appropriate action, if any, to take.

For many incidents, a decision will be taken on resource allocation to the particular response. Such decisions can be a tough call if based solely on a brief emergency call from a passenger in severe shock, or perhaps an injured security guard.

Transport authorities that implement network-based video surveillance systems benefit from:

• More efficient evaluation and incident prioritisation
• Quicker and more accurate decisions on appropriate response resources
• Fewer unnecessary delays and traffic interruptions

Networked video can also be shared with emergency services via smartphones, laptops or tablets, providing a good understanding of what to expect when they arrive at the scene and to enable them to prepare their response accordingly.

Several transit authorities have installed a surveillance system with central incident handling. Live video visible from all locations means quicker decision-making, prioritisation and response

HDTV video quality

Another significant improvement that network video brings, is high-definition image quality. At home we’ve grown used to sharp, crisp images from high-definition television (HDTV). The very same image quality is now available from many network cameras.

An HDTV camera can be used in one of two ways: to see much more detail in a higher resolution image or to cover a much larger part of a scene than a traditional analogue camera.

Footage from HDTV network cameras is stored in megapixel resolution, which can be a great aid in investigations by helping to identify suspects and providing detailed information of the persons and objects involved.

Used as an overview of larger areas, HDTV cameras are a cost-efficient option as one network video camera can cover a larger area than four analogue cameras.

Intelligent video applications

In recent years there has been much talk about intelligent video capabilities that allow a security camera to automatically alert when it spots something suspicious. It is easy to set expectations too high here by making the market believe that tomorrow’s capabilities are available today.

However, several reliable intelligent applications are available and already in use, giving transport staff motion detection, number plate recognition and tampering alarm functions.

A camera with a built-in tampering alarm, for example, can automatically alert the operator if the camera is covered, redirected or manipulated. Security personnel can thus get all cameras operational as intended.

Motion detection enables cameras to automatically identify and alert when activity is detected where it shouldn’t be. This technology obviously makes it easier to detect, for example, graffiti artists at train depots, trespassers in tunnels or other suspicious activity across the rail network.

Successful implementations

Over 50,000 Axis cameras have been successfully installed in buses, trains, stations, terminals and depots across the globe, from Madrid to Moscow and Stockholm to Sydney. As these systems are rolled out and the benefits discussed, there is growing interest among transport authorities and operators to learn more about the new possibilities network video solutions offer.

Given the reaction from the industry so far it’s still early days, but network video is certainly set to revolutionise safety and efficiency for transport networks across the globe.

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