Residents, who alight at Beach railway station and cross the tracks instead of using the foot overbridge, may now have to pay the penalty.
A total of 16 cameras were installed at the station at a cost of Rs. 45.57 lakh on Tuesday as part of the Integrated Security System (ISS) in Southern Railway.
This is the seventh and last station in Chennai that is being covered under the ISS. The facility was inaugurated earlier this year in stations such as Chennai Central, Egmore, Tambaram, Mambalam, Tiruvallur amd Basin Bridge.
“There is heavy passenger traffic in this station and such an enhanced security system is very essential,” said a senior railway official.
The cameras will be monitored in a control room on the first floor above the Railway Protection Force (RPF) inspector’s office in the station. “From the control room we can monitor the entire station and tracks as the cameras will rotate. We can also zoom till the end of the station and get good visuals,” said an RPF officer in the control room.
The data can be stored for 30 days. Most of the cameras will be able to pan, tilt and zoom. “Now data from the under-vehicle scanning system, baggage x-ray and other scanning systems will be directed to the control room. This will ensure better surveillance,” said the officer.
Senior police officers said they had been able to crack many cases using the advanced CCTV cameras installed as part of the ISS. “In June this year we were able to nab a person who stole the suitcase of a motorman in Tambaram station. This month, we nabbed a chain-snatching offender in the central suburban station,” said the officer.
The facility was inaugurated at Beach railway station by S. Manohar, chief signal and telecommunication engineer, Southern Railway.
