Controlware Communications has provided a leading edge IP CCTV solution for St Pancras International as part of the station’s refurbishment for the High Speed 1 (HS1), the UK’s biggest ever construction project, formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
The refurbishment and extension is part of Britain’s first major rail project for more than a century.
The extension of the HS1 to St Pancras will make it possible to run twice the number of Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Lille at peak times. When the line opens on November 4, high-speed connections from London to Paris will take two hours and 15 minutes and from London to Brussels in well under two hours.
450-camera solution
The increase in traffic will make St Pancras International and King’s Cross next door one of Europe’s busiest passenger interchanges with over 50 million passengers passing through the station each year
Working with the Costain, O’Rourke, Bachy and Emcor Rail (CORBER) consortium and Rail Link Engineering (RLE), Controlware provided technical design, product supply, integration, commissioning and operator training for a new 450 camera surveillance solution.
The lead organisation behind HS1 is London & Continental Railways. Following the completion of the 79km first section of track in 2003 the second section of HS1 extends the track a further 39km to St Pancras International at a cost of GB pound 3.3bn.
It has always been London & Continental Railways’ aim to make every station along HS1 among the safest. To provide staff, customers and visitors to St Pancras with reassurance, CORBER required a CCTV solution to meet the highest levels of operational functionality and resilience.
Integration with the central Station Control System (SCS) and other security sub-systems for alarm verification, incident handling, and management information was also important. The solution had to support 24-hour surveillance of internal and external station areas from 450 cameras in background and real time recording modes over 31 days.
As specialist suppliers of IP CCTV services with more than 25 years experience, Controlware realised at the tender stage that an advanced solution was required to deliver the features and the level of integration CORBER required.
With no existing network to work with, Controlware proposed a new digital system and won the contract on the basis of the technical solution, integration expertise, and ability to deliver large projects successfully.
The technical solution includes a mixture of static and dome cameras, IP codecs, networked storage and an advanced management platform. As the leading IP Bosch Security Specialist Dealer for the UK, and having worked with the products for nine years, Controlware developed a solution around Bosch products.
Used were Videojet 8008 and VIP-X transmission codec’s, networked video recording RAID storage, and VIDOS management. These form the basis of an integrated IP CCTV solution that delivers high-quality video transmission, management, and storage.
This solution is constantly evolving. The planning, staging and preparation took about one month but the physical installation has been timed to coincide with the opening of the station over its two phases.
The first phase involved the opening of the Midland Main Line to enable fast, domestic rail connections to the Midlands. Work began on the CCTV system in April 2006 and was completed in time for the reopening of the MML platforms in June 2006.
The second and final phase involves the opening of the station for the Eurostar lines. Ongoing Installation and integration of the remainder of the CCTV is scheduled for completion by June/July 2007.
Throughout the lifetime of the project, Controlware continues to work closely with CORBER at all levels to ensure that the CCTV surveillance is fully integrated with other management systems including; intruder systems, electronic access control, station management and help points.
All aspects of the project to date including product supply and services such as operator training have been delivered on time and within budget.
Video can be monitored from multiple locations. CCTV images are transmitted across a dedicated VLAN that runs over the Station Data Network.
Any user or group with the appropriate privileges can access live and recorded images. Control and monitoring can be managed from other locations on the network in the event of an emergency or network failure.
Granting new users or whole departments access to images is easy and it is also possible to allow video access to users outside the station.
Controlware always works closely with customers to understand and develop their exact requirements, says the company.
“Each project presents its own challenges,” said Matt Caine, general manager, Controlware UK. “The main thing is how you respond and work with the client to meet and in some cases exceed their expectations.
“Integration of CCTV systems with third parties is a challenge of a different nature that involves several companies working together and a large amount of testing to ensure everything is operating correctly especially since in many cases no integration of this type has been done before.”
The new system delivers operational and financial benefits as well as helping to maintain station security. User access to management of multiple systems such as access control, CCTV, fire, and building control is simplified through a single common interface.
This saves time and reduces training costs since each user only needs to be trained on a single system.
Each system has been interconnected independently: The CCTV network knows when an alarm has been generated on another system, for example when and where someone has triggered an emergency button at a help point.
Operators alerted immediately
Once alerted the IP CCTV solution is automatically aware of the alarm and can react to it by initiating cameras to capture video and audio. This intelligent automation ensures that the IP CCTV network brings situations to operators’ attention immediately.
Video from multiple points on the network can also help improve the role of individual departments.
Station announcers can have access to the cameras at the platforms allowing them to make announcements based on what they see. If, for instance, they see that the crowds are too large, or someone is too close to the track, they are able to react quickly.
Because they can see the platform, it also enables them to accurately announce when the trains arrive or depart.
