In recent years, the location has also gained worldwide notoriety for being the fictional home of platform 9.75, which takes Harry Potter to Hogwarts.
King’s Cross Station is run, maintained and owned by Network Rail, its 12 platforms used by four separate train operators and it’s the London terminal for the East Coast Mainline which runs from the capital to the north of England and Scotland.
In addition, six London Underground lines all converge below ground at King’s Cross St Pancras.
The station first opened in 1852. Now, each year there are no less than 47 million pedestrian movements through the entire interchange.
Following a major refurbishment of the main train sheds and the addition of an iconic new concourse, which was opened in March this year, the station is home to the largest single span structure in Europe which houses many famous High Street retail brands and restaurants.
Improving the quality and performance of security
Based on site, the security team members at King’s Cross are responsible for ensuring the safety and security of everyone that either visits or works in and around the station. Therefore, an important consideration during the re-development project was how to improve the quality and performance of existing security systems.
The station already had a robust security infrastructure in place with hundreds of analogue CCTV cameras on site, as well as other security systems and a further eight sub-systems.
Project manager at Network Rail, Brendan O’Keeffe, explained: “We recognised that by integrating these disparate technologies in to one centralised station management system we could become far more proactive in our security awareness and response efficiency, without the need to replace our legacy infrastructure.”
The answer for Network Rail was a Physical Security Information Management System (PSIM), and NICE Systems was duly appointed to deploy its NICE Situator solution.
Working closely with the Network Rail project team, NICE and specialist systems integrator Fourway Communication devised an implementation plan to integrate the station’s current systems and deliver the Control Room team a clear, single view of the station’s safety and security operations around the clock.
The hard work between Network Rail and NICE in advance of deployment meant the roll-out was straightforward and smooth. O’Keeffe added: “It was vital that we completed on schedule, as the system needed to be operational for the grand opening of the new concourse.”
Huge logistical challenge undertaken
“To implement and integrate a management system of this nature with so many interfaces in a live operational environment is nothing if not a huge logistical challenge,” explained Richard Osborne, senior design manager at Fourway.
“Our own work and that of NICE Systems, along with the versatility of Situator, ensured the successful delivery of the project.”
NICE Situator now provides the Control Room operators at King’s Cross Station with a single, standardised interface from which to monitor activity across its CCTV, access control, fire, NCF III, ACS, Help Points, customer information and Public Address ddress systems.
Security alerts from each system are immediately flagged to operators by way of clear on-screen displays. This enables the operator concerned to take the appropriate course of action in adherence to predetermined processes, whether that’s to continue monitoring, make an announcement, co-ordinate ground-staff or engage with third party organisations.
Breandan O’Keeffe continued: “As operators only need to use one interface, the initial training required to get them accustomed to the new system was minimal, which means we can get new operators up-to-speed far quicker. It also means that they can focus more on using their surveillance skills.”
Having a central system in place has also improved the speed and efficiency with which the Control Room operators can share vital information with on-site and external stakeholders, such as train operators, the British Transport Police and other emergency services and co-ordinate a response to an incident, as well as improve services to members of the public.
“We have far more insight in to what is going on throughout the station complex,” concluded O’Keeffe. “We can now investigate areas where people have fallen, or places where people are asking for directions which may indicate a need for better signage. This is an important consideration as our success is measured on public perception.”
