: The Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab Express became the first train to have CCTV cameras installed in all of its coaches.
Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the installation of CCTV cameras in Shan-e-Punjab Express at the New Delhi railway station through video conferencing.
The train has 122 cameras, with four to six cameras in each coach with digital video recorders. The cameras are capable of facial recognition in low light conditions, particularly in the aisle areas.
“The surveillance systems, while monitoring security, shall not compromise the privacy of rail passengers,” a Railway spokesperson said.
“Stepping up security measures is a priority area for the Indian Railways. From round-the-clock helplines, fine tuning response to emergencies and installation of technology-enabled modes of multi-screening, surveillance and security systems, the Railway is increasingly adopting all measures to contain and mitigate crimes on its premises,” the spokesperson said.
The installation of the cameras has been done at a cost of Rs. 36.71 lakh, with cameras installed in two sleeper coaches, three AC Chair Car and 16 non-AC Chair Car coaches of the Shan-e-Punjab Express. “The cameras have been placed strategically, without compromising the privacy of travellers, so that entire area of coaches can be covered. The other features include Digital Video Recorder for recording and with HDD and SD car, software, display monitor for observations, interconnecting cables, 12 V power supply and accessories,” he said.
“The system has been made suitable for mobile application for use on railway coaches and should be able to withstand shocks and vibrations that are encountered. The storage capacity is for one month on a removable media for retrieving data on intermediate stations by authorised personnel,” he said.
He said that thanks to the surveillance systems, apart from crime against women, miscreant activities and theft will also be significantly curbed.
