Hi-tech cameras for Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel in security overhaul

Melbourne’s underground rail network will get the latest technology to spot suspicious packages and intruders. But the terror-proofing plan has an unexpected perk for commuters.

Melbourne’s underground train network will have enhanced terror safeguards in a security overhaul allowing new hi-tech cameras to autonomously spot suspicious passengers, packages and intruders.

Extra security cameras will also be installed and the new technology will also use the existing CCTV network.

The video analytics system has capabilities to autonomously detect people and objects, including bags and bikes, standing out in the background.

Passenger numbers on platforms will also be monitored as well as trespassers in restricted areas.

The Herald Sun has learnt the state government is searching for companies which can provide the technology and those short-listed will trial it in the City Loop over a month.

The technology is also aimed at getting passengers to work and home quicker as it will be able to detect daredevils walking through the City Loop quicker, climbing on the back of trains which forces them to stop until the trespassers are caught.

The hi-tech cameras will be used in the new Melbourne Metro Tunnel project.

The video analytics technology monitors CCTV and uses the data to send off alerts in real time, allowing a quick response and giving staff and passengers vital information quickly to keep them safe.

The technology is the latest in safeguarding the city from terror attacks.

Dozens of extra CCTV cameras have been placed across the city over the last year, as have terror-alert speakers to alert people of an emergency.

Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said the state-of-the-art video technology would be a key safety feature of the new Metro Tunnel and its five underground stations.

“This video analytics contract demonstrates our commitment to making travel on the Metro Tunnel as safe and smooth as possible,” Ms Allan said.

“Technology is changing the way we provide and maintain public transport. By using video analytics, we are embracing the latest developments to safeguard Victorians who take the train.”

The Metro Tunnel project will feature a nine-kilometre tunnel running under the city between South Kensington and South Yarra and includes new underground stations at North Melbourne, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac.

Final Metro station design for the Town Hall stop’s Federation Square entrance.

Facial recognition, now used at some airports, will not form part of the video analytics technology for the Metro Tunnel Project as it is not yet suitable in train stations.

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In order for the facial recognition to work, cameras must be installed at a set height with controlled lighting, which is impractical for rail stations with higher passenger levels and more variable lighting.

Train stations across the world have become targets for radicalised groups and individuals.

In 2016 Brussels bombings a suicide bomber struck in the Maalbeek metro station while in 2017, 14 people were killed and 64 were injured after a briefcase bomb packed with shrapnel exploded on a Saint Petersburg Metro train. Al-Qaeda was also linked to a failed suicide bomb mission on the New York City Subway system.

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