METRO Trains Melbourne has gone to tender for an intelligent video analytics solution which will be installed as part of the Melbourne Underground Loop TIAS project and will support new and existing video surveillance cameras in designated areas of the Melbourne Metro.
The MTM IVA project has been under consideration for a number of years. After this tender process, MTM will shortlist multiple proponents of video analytics software management systems and request suppliers demonstrate their products on an isolated section of the CCTV network for a week each to prove the validity of their solution.
Upon further evaluation, MTM will invite selected proponents to participate in a separate tender process to implement their solution to a key piece of MTMs franchise area. The tenderer will be asked to implement its solution and offer maintenance options for an as yet undecided period – potentially 5 years. MTM expects that the proponents will perform their trial installation and subsequent presentations to demonstrate the capabilities of their software at no cost to provide them the opportunity to tender for the main works.
In a tender that closed late May last year, MTM has previously sought responses from prospective suppliers who could demonstrate that their solution’s functionality met Metro requirements and was compatible with existing 600-camera conventional CCTV surveillance cameras (both analogue and digital).
CCTV is used in and around Melbourne’s metropolitan and regional train stations for a number of purposes, including monitoring train movements, passenger safety, and deterring and investigating crime. Camera numbers vary across the network with bigger stations like Flinders Street Station having approximately 150 cameras and Southern Cross Station having 180, all operating 24 hours a day. Most cameras show only a fixed view and only a few have zoom, pan and tilt functions – fixed cameras are ideal for IVA.
At larger stations, CCTV footage is monitored from an onsite control room, while on suburban lines footage from several stations is monitored from a central suburban station. Control room operators and Department of Transport personnel can view footage live, but do not have access to recorded footage, while recorded footage from cameras at train stations and inside trains is accessible only to management centre staff.
Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 407 three-car train sets on 837 kilometres of track in Melbourne. There are 16 regular service train lines and one special events train line. The train fleet travels more than 30 million kilometres and provides more than 228 million customer boardings each year, more than 14,000 services each week and carries over 415,000 passengers each weekday. Metro Trains Melbourne is also responsible for 215 railway stations and employs a workforce of 3500. ♦
