RailTel, a Mini Ratna Central Government PSU under Ministry of Railways, entrusted with the implementation of Video Surveillance System (VSS) project (CCTV cameras network) under Nirbhaya Fund at Railway Stations has taken a major step by finalizing the agencies for executing the job. First phase of the project will cover major stations of category A1, A, B, C numbering 756 and is likely to be completed by January 2023. Ministry of Railways has approved works for provision of Video Surveillance System over Indian Railways major stations under Nirbhaya funds.
08 Railway stations within the jurisdiction of N.F. Railway will also be covered under this project in first phase. Purnea Jn, Raiganj & Samsi stations under Katihar Division; Agartala station under Lumding Division; Barpeta Road & Bongaigaon stations under Rangiya Division; Jorhat Town & Tinsukia stations under Tinsukia Divisons are to be covered with Video Surveillance System.
The remaining stations will be covered in phase-2 of implementation. Safety and security of passengers is one of the key focus areas of Ministry of Railways. In order to enhance security at Railway stations which are major hubs of transportation, Indian Railways is in the process of installing Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) at stations, that is, waiting halls, reservation counters, parking areas, main entrance/ exit, platforms, foot over bridges, booking offices etc.
The system implemented shall act as tool to respond to situations/incidents effectively, aiding faster decision making. It will also act as a great learning for better preparedness to meet any incident and eventualities with some software based application like Video Analytic and Face Recognition, as per Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO). Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled analytics software has advanced technical features with a certain alarm and PoP UP view at the Operator end.
The integrated command and control centre and IP based Video Surveillance System will help in providing better security to passengers, especially the women passengers. It will enable quick and coordinated action from RPF and also assist them in crowd management and crowd control.
