In a bid to improve the security system at railway stations, the Western Railway (WR) has installed 2,600 improved versions of closed circuit televisions (CCTVs) along the 60-km Churchgate-Virar route. These will not only have a face scanning system, but also a heat sensing technology to identify locations where there is a large gathering.
A senior official from the WR said that they are working toward upgrading the surveillance and video analytics of the entire suburban section. Right from platforms to entry/exit points at stations, foot overbridges, concourse areas and inside trains, CCTVs consisting of high-end video analytics will be created.
“This state-of-the-art system will be fully available by June. We have set up a unified command control at a cost of Rs 5 crore at Mumbai Central. From here, all the CCTVs will be monitored,” said GVL Satya Kumar, divisional railway manager (Mumbai), WR.
The authorities claim that this will help the railways to get a headcount of people travelling in each train, coach and those waiting on the FOBs. Also, they will be able to monitor passengers getting in and out of trains and those standing on platforms. In case there is a large gathering or chaos, the authorities will be indicated through the sensors.
The existing CCTVs, too, have similar features, but the new ones sport an upgraded version. Meanwhile, the cameras will also sport colour-coded indicators that will help in maintaining cleanliness at stations. Data on cleanliness will be pre-fed into the system. In case a platform is not clean, a certain colour will be emitted at the spot to alert the officials. The data generated by these CCTVs will be processed, which would be helpful.
