Neither kind of software is in use on the newly-upgraded 2,500- strong CCTV system covering 10 mainline stations in London, which also takes input from a further 500 cameras owned by train operating companies. Last month, Siemens Electronic Security (SES) comple-ted a GBP17m upgrade of the system, installing new cameras and overhauling the technical infrastructure.
Camera output is stored at each station, where it can be viewed live or after an event with no interruption to recording, and is also sent to a BTP-operated facility with about one petabyte of storage (1,00GB), using one gigabit fibre-optic links, and is retained for 31 days in both locations.
Jim Kennedy, project manager for SES, says facial recognition and predictive movement technology are still fairly new. "When emerging technologies first appear, they tend to be unreliable and expensive."
Relevant railway authorities and SES are considering the use of automatic number-plate recognition technology for cameras monitoring taxi ranks and access roads to stations.
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