Passenger safety goes underground

The new system will improve passenger safety on the Tube

Tube maintenance firm Metronet Rail has signed an eight-year, multimillion-pound deal to provide a new passenger safety surveillance system on the London Underground.

Metronet, which is owned by Transport for London, has contracted supplier Telent to design, implement and commission a microwave-based system that can provide train drivers with a better view of their carriage doors.

The system can take images from up to eight high-quality CCTV cameras on each platform, and using video processors will transmit a combined view of the train’s exterior to the driver via a microwave radio link. Telent has already provided a similar system in Hong Kong, and said it could offer a clear view of trains regardless of whether they were travelling in a straight line or through a curved platform.

Telent said the project will be the first of its kind based on microwave technology to be introduced in the UK.