East Coast introduces CCTV to its train fleet

‘Watching out for you’ – that’s East Coast’s message to customers as we roll out new CCTV cameras across our fleet. The installation of the cameras, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2010, will see a total of 1,621 CCTV cameras fitted across East Coast’s 43 trains. The project represents a £3.8 million investment in our rolling stock.

When fully complete, East Coast’s camera system will cover the complete East Coast train fleet, including our Class 91 electric power cars and Driving Van Trailers (DVTs), Class 43 High Speed Train (HST) diesel power cars, and Mk III and Mark IV coaching stock.

The CCTV cameras on East Coast’s 12 managed stations, which already form an important part of our security and safety systems, are also being improved. This parallel work involves both the installation of additional cameras and improvements to the existing systems to enhance coverage across the network, making the railway look and feel a safer place for customers and staff alike.

East Coast and Petards – working together for a safer railway

East Coast has been working on the CCTV project since it joined forces with camera systems supplier, Petards, in a contract signed in April 2009.

With a history dating back over 50 years, Petards is a world leader in the transport, emergency services and defence sectors. Its eyeTrain camera system is a tried and tested solution, having been installed on 5,000 rail vehicles across the globe – so we can be sure we’re getting the most effective system available on the market.

As well as supplying and installing the cameras, Petards also provide live status monitoring and data management of the East Coast system, together with wireless transmission of operational incidents.

Its eyeTrain system offers digital technology matched to the comparatively harsh operating environment of a high-speed, long distance railway. The system consists of four high resolution cameras per carriage, transmitting video on a high-speed network of 36 cameras covering the entire train.

Images are captured direct from individual sensors and encoded digitally within the camera. These high quality images are then transmitted directly to the digital video recorder via an Ethernet link.

The system also offers high volume storage, with 168 hours of recording from all cameras. Stored media within the recorder and live images from the cameras can be accessed remotely via a secure wireless link, avoiding the need to recover footage directly from individual trains in service.

Meanwhile off-train playback and download of recorded video can also be performed by removing the storage modules and transferring them to a playback station equipped with eyeTrain CryptoVision, a replay and archiving suite developed with train operators to rapidly search, select and inspect the desired footage.

The system also offers high volume storage, with up to 8000GB of space available, a figure which is likely to rise further in line with future developments in storage technology.

East Coast managed stations also benefit from security improvements

East Coast traditionally has a good record of safety on its managed stations, at Peterborough, Grantham, Newark Northgate, Retford, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick upon Tweed and Dunbar.

All 12 of these stations were awarded ‘secure stations’ status from the British Transport Police (BTP) and the Department for Transport (DfT) in March 2009. The Secure Stations scheme is a Government-supported initiative aimed at improving personal security at railway stations, in a national scheme covering all rail and underground networks policed by the BTP.

The scheme sets out good practice standards and recognises stations which work with the transport police and other local partners to implement measures to enhance passenger and staff security.

Improved station lighting and signage, plus the introduction and subsequent expansion of CCTV camera systems, have all generated a positive reaction from passengers.

A team of 14 Railway Enforcement Officers (REOs) employed by East Coast also work alongside BTP officers to patrol stations and trains, while also helping our own staff to carry out revenue protection duties. The REOs form a highly visible uniformed presence which, alongside the CCTV cameras and other security measures, does much to reassure passengers that our railway is a safe and secure place to be.

Driving ahead with forward-facing CCTV cameras

In the driving cabs of our trains, high definition cameras have already been fitted and are now operational near to cab windscreens in the power cars and DVTs to assist drivers with a range of potential situations, including safety and monitoring crime, increasing awareness of infrastructure condition, and resolving signalling irregularities.

Scheduling the CCTV installation work around routine maintenance work in our depots has been a key challenge in respect of delivery on time and to budget for East coast and its suppliers.

Images recorded from the leading and trailer cabs can assist us in the investigation of operational incidents, including:  Signals passed at Danger (SPADs) – by confirming the signal position as observed by the driver

• Suicides and other fatalities – provides the evidence needed for the railway to resume operations quickly
• Near misses involving railway workforce
• Incidents of trespass, graffiti and stone throwing
• Trackside vegetation and litter surveying
• Recovery of equipment or materials from the trackside
• Confirmation of track works.

As with the CCTV systems in the passenger vehicles, content from the cab-mounted cameras can be easily managed and reviewed as part of a fully integrated camera network operating throughout each East Coast train. Review software allows for secure and simple playback, and image quality is impressively high.

The cameras in both driving and trailing cabs also give us a high definition recording facility at the rear of the train, which is already proving a versatile addition to route monitoring on more than 900 miles of railway from Inverness in the north to London in the South.

As an example, in the early stages of the CCTV rollout, one of our drivers spotted a trespasser on the line using the forward facing CCTV camera in his cab. When he had passed the individual, the rear facing camera also picked up a further six trespassers emerging from bushes at the lineside.

Camera footage from the cab fitment is also proving invaluable to infrastructure provider Network Rail, helping its engineers to speed up fault diagnosis and repair. Very recently, high quality images from an East Coast power car camera helped Network Rail to quickly identify a problem with the overhead power line. The information ensured that engineers were able to get the repairs in place quickly and with minimal disruption to train services. In addition, the system also helps to provide a resolution for performance related disputes, such as trains being delayed by signal aspects.

The system’s capabilities don’t stop there. The CCTV cameras also feature an ‘event’ button, which, when selected, creates up to four still photographs. These images help us to resolve safety related incidents quickly, in situations where speed of response is of paramount importance.

CCTV in the passenger environment

Turning back to the CCTV system within the passenger areas of the train, we see the installation of cameras here as a clear demonstration of our commitment to customer safety.

Each passenger carriage has four CCTV cameras, covering seating areas within the saloon and also the vestibule at each end of the carriage.

Steady progress is being made towards a complete rollout across all 393 carriages in the East Coast fleet. By 8 October 2010, 178 out of 271 of our Mark IV carriages which form our electric train fleet had been fitted with the new CCTV systems, while by the same date, 100 of the 122 Mark III vehicles which make up our diesel trains had also received the new cameras.

The remaining 22 Mk III carriages will be fully fitted with the new CCTV system at the Wabtec works in Doncaster by 5 November 2010. We expect work on the outstanding 93 Mk IV carriages, which will complete the rollout of CCTV to all East Coast trains, to be completed by early January 2011 at our Bounds Green depot in north London.

The CCTV cameras within the passenger vehicles will then fully go live in the New Year, following a commissioning and testing programme to ensure the new system is fully fit for purpose. As part of the development of the system East Coast has also ensured that any requests for information fully comply with all requirements of the data protection legislation.

On the comparatively rare occasions when a minority of individuals cause problems on our trains, these on-train CCTV systems will help us to protect both our passengers and our staff against anti-social behaviour, to assist authorities in gaining convictions against offenders, and hopefully, to act as a deterrent to would-be offenders.

Positive reactions to East Coast’s new cameras

Early feedback from passengers who have seen posters on trains announcing the imminent arrival of the cameras has been very positive. Travelling by train is rightly seen as a comparatively safe form of travel, but we cannot afford to be at all complacent. The perception of our railway as a safe and secure environment for all customers is vital to the continued expansion of our business and the provision of a safe and enjoyable journey experience.

The introduction of our CCTV cameras to East Coast’s passenger vehicles has also been welcomed by the transport watchdog, Passenger Focus.

The quality of image generated by the cameras is high, reflecting the progress achieved by the system’s designers and manufacturers at the development stage.

Earlier camera systems produced some distortion when images were viewed close up, but, with our new cameras the image remains sharp – assisting in identifying close-up detail of infrastructure incidents outside the train, as well as in crime detection and prevention both at the lineside and on the train itself. This has been praised by our industry partners British Transport Police.

In all, the new East Coast CCTV system represents a positive step change in security and safety on the train, on the track and on the station. Our integrated camera network will provide us with a wealth of live coverage across one of Britain’s busiest rail routes – and it will give our passengers that all-important peace of mind when travelling on our trains.

About the Author

Ian Duncan

Ian is the Engineering Director of East Coast. He was previously Head of Fleet for First Capital Connect, where he was responsible for introducing 321 fleets and, through good performance of staff at Hornsey, improved reliability of 313, 317 and 365 fleets on the GN Route. Ian also bought back in house the 365 maintenance back into Hornsey staff responsibilities rather than the previous contract with Bombardier. Prior to this, Ian was Head of Production at First Great Western, Business Manager with Thames Trains and the Contract Delivery Manager at ALSTOM and was involved in delivering the new London Underground Northern Line Metro trains. Ian has 36 years rail experience where he started his Railway Apprenticeship at Shields Electric Traction.