RPF to test software for safer stations

To combat the increasing number of security threats at important railway stations, the Railway Police Force (RPF) is currently carrying out trials of a piece of software, tentatively named ‘Video analysis system’, wherein CCTV cameras will make 10-second-long recordings whenever any suspicious activity is seen, for instance when a person carrying a big bag walks in front of a CCTV camera more than four to five times.

The trial is being conducted on 65 cameras out of the 300 that have been placed at CST, one of the busiest stations in the city that was attacked by Ajmal Kasab and his gang on November 11, 2008. Officials said that the reason behind the video footage being only 10 seconds long is that it wouldn’t take up too much space and physical evidence will also be easily available for prosecution.

“The 10-second video will be of those people who are continuously moving in front of the camera with, say, a huge bag or with suspicious body language,” said a senior RPF official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Bags that have been abandoned in one place for too long will also be recorded. “At first — both in the case of a suspicious person or an abandoned piece of luggage — a light inside the control room will begin to blink from the camera concerned, located in the station. The personnel inside the control room will also be made aware that something unusual is happening and will be able to view the footage even as the camera records the incident live,” the official added.

If the trials are successful, the technology would be used throughout the railway stations in Mumbai and will eventually be fused into the railway’s integrated security system that operates on both Central Railway and Western Railway.

The 65 CCTV cameras that have been chosen for the trials are located at important entry/exit points, waiting areas and ticket counters.