Mumbai: The West Railway (WR) is investigating the possibility of introducing artificial intelligence (AI) into security systems at railway stations and local trains. We are also considering upgrading our closed circuit TV camera (CCTV) network. These measures are taken into consideration after the incident in which a 54-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a 24-year-old man on an empty mail train parked in Bandra Terminus earlier this month.
According to senior WR officials, the Railroad Protection Force (RPF) and police, a meeting made up of high-ranking railway officials, was held to discuss measures to increase security. “We focus mainly on two things: First, we will enhance the CCTV network where new CCTV cameras are sourced, and second, we will be able to tighten surveillance at the stations to enable artificial intelligence. Introducing an advanced version of the
Officials were unable to say exactly how AI could help improve the security of railway networks, but said they would study European railway systems, namely German and Switzerland technology. “We’ll see what we can adopt to meet our requirements,” said another senior WR official.
AI could also help railways reduce the number of people they need to humanize their security systems. Instead of having humans monitor 24/7 in the control room, CCTV systems with AI can, for example, send alerts when needed.
Another development was very useful for facial recognition software (FRS) and video surveillance, which were installed in CCTV systems at many railway stations in the suburban network two years ago. FRS helps identify and track individuals suspected of committing a crime. After a photograph of such an individual has been supplied to the system, it sounds like an alert every time an individual enters the railway site.
Over the past two years, the railway has used FRS to resolve over 900 cases. They installed 470 CCTVs linked to FRS and provided over 12,000 images of criminals fed into the FRS system.
WR is also rebooting its approach to patrol local and long-haul trains in the suburbs. Instead of boarding the legs according to a pre-determined schedule, railway police staff will continue to switch trains, thus creating a rotation schedule that covers more ground.
