The new IP system is said to allow train drivers on the 16-line network to monitor passenger movements and ensure doorways are clear before departure using a CCTV display in the cab.
In a six-month pilot, 24 IdigoVision cameras were installed across six of the German capital’s metro stations. Following its success, a further 88 cameras are due to be installed at 22 more stations. In time the Berlin S-Bahn hopes to deploy the system across its entire network of 165 stations and stopping points.
Even though the pilot was small, IndigoVision say the system was fully scalable to meet future expansion plans, which could mean over 2,000 cameras monitoring 330 platforms across the entire rail network.
In a typical station four fixed CCTV cameras are placed on each side of the track to monitor the platform and train doors. These four cameras are then connected to a quad-split unit to produce a single 4-way video image which is connected to an IndigoVision 8000 transmitter unit.
The 8000 converts the analogue signal into a high-quality digital video stream, 4SIF at 25fps, for transmission over the IP network.
IndigoVision’s video and alarm management software ‘Control Center’ is used by operators in control rooms to monitor images from the platforms. The video streams are transmitted using multicast technology that should allow any ‘Control Center’ workstation to view live and recorded video from cameras at any station on the rail network.
Built-in motion analytics in the IndigoVision 8000 transmitters is used to trigger an alarm when a train arrives at the station by detecting motion in three quarters of the quad-split image. The alarm is used to update an interactive rail network status map displayed on ‘Control Center’ workstations and to provide real time control of video recording.
Video recording is achieved using IndigoVision’s PC-based Windows Network Video Recorders (WinNVRs). Three WinNVRs were installed with the original pilot and a further 4 are planned for the next phase of the project.
The NVRs, which IndigoVision say can be installed at any point on the IP network, continuously record video from all of the platform cameras. Most recordings are said to be deleted quickly but recordings of train movements are archived for later analysis.
