Axis cameras selected for IP video upgrade at Canary Wharf Station

1 Jan 2018

“The Axis cameras have proved exactly the right fit for London Underground here at Canary Wharf station. As we move to 24-hour operation on London Underground stations in a few months’ time, reliability and ease of maintenance are all key operational requirements. Axis cameras have met all these needs and I anticipate they will be deployed in other Jubilee Line extension stations as they are upgraded over the next few years.” Dave Perry, Delivery Manager, Station Capital Expenditure, London Underground.

Mission

Canary Wharf Station needed a new CCTV system to replace the ageing analogue-based system that was approaching obsolescence after 17 years of use. Axis partner Telent Technology Services was tasked with upgrading the station’s CCTV system as part of its longterm upgrade and maintenance contract with London Underground’s 100 Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly Line stations.

Solution

Both Telent and London Underground conducted camera performance tests with a number of the major camera providers’ best IP cameras, before selecting AXIS P1354 Network Camera for its ability to integrate with both legacy and new station management platforms, strong performance in low light conditions and its existing pedigree in the rail environment.

160 AXIS P1354 were deployed inside existing London Underground-approved housings, while a further four AXIS Q6035 PTZ Dome Network Cameras were installed to provide additional coverage.

Result

Telent was able to complete the upgrade to IP video in just eight weeks without any outage whatsoever. Telent’s Station Management System, called MICA, was simultaneously integrated into Canary Wharf’s existing Station Information Management System (SIMS) to enable a seamless migration. London Underground has been very happy with the resulting improvements in image quality and their positive implications for passenger safety and security. It now has a highly reliable IP video system that is easier to maintain, enhance and integrate with other management systems as operational requirements demand.

Axis cameras enhance passenger safety and security right through the night Canary Wharf Station, completed in 1998, is the largest and arguably most magnificent of the Jubilee Line extension stations which extended the Jubilee Line from Green Park in central London out as far as Stratford in East London.

Telent has already implemented its MICA SMS to support an IP video upgrade of one of the UK’s major Network Rail stations during 2012-3. As part of this project, Axis Network Cameras had been successfully deployed after Network Rail approved them for use in its stations, the first IP camera manufacturer to achieve this status.

A total of 164 new Axis cameras were installed as part of the IP video upgrade at Canary Wharf Station. The slim-line shape of the AXIS P1354 Network Camera proved ideal for existing London Underground-approved housings, which are considered an architectural feature in this Norman Foster-designed station Their shape also provided enough space within each housing to fit the ruggedized, London Underground-approved, Veracity HIGHWIRE LongStar Ethernet over Coax adapter so they could transmit high quality video images over up to one kilometre lengths of existing coaxial cabling infrastructure through to Telent’s Station Management System (SMS). A total of 160 AXIS P1354 Network Cameras were deployed covering all platforms and concourses. These were supplemented with four AXIS Q6035 PTZ Dome Network Cameras to provide total coverage in all underground public areas.

As part of the upgrade, Telent’s Station Management System MICA was integrated with London Underground’s existing Station Information Management System (SIMS).

The intention was to minimise changes to the control room operative’s on-screen experience while offering the added IP CCTV control which MICA provided. MICA was first developed by Telent over ten years ago and is now deployed in more than 100 rail and underground stations throughout the UK. At these stations, a MICA system manages all communications associated with Help Points, Customer Information Systems, SCADA management systems, CCTV, Public Address and lifts and escalators for station staff.

Dave Perry, Delivery Manager, Station Capital Expenditure of London Underground, said: “The Axis cameras give us a platform for cost-effective remote troubleshooting and maintenance of all cameras. They were easily integrated into existing station systems ensuring that our operatives can easily find specific cameras on the system and pull up the high quality video on-screen in case of safety incidents. This fits with our ambition to maintain a world-class rail system for a world-class city.”

Paul Dobbins, Chief Technology Officer of Telent Technology Services, added: “The AXIS P1354 camera proved ideal for this installation both in terms of its size; proven reliability for use in the highly regulated and standards-focused world of rail. Crucially, this camera also delivers high quality colour images in low light conditions underground. Axis’ Network Rail approval gave us the reassurance that we have the right camera partner for this and future Jubilee Line extension IP video upgrade projects. We are already installing new Axis cameras in West Ham, North Greenwich and Southwark, with London Bridge and other stations to follow in the years ahead.

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