IP based Video Surveillance System (VSS) on Indian Railways

Dilip Kumar Singh (Executive Director/Telecom-I, RDSO, LKO)

Ankur Srivastava (Sr. Section Engineer/Design (Telecom), RDSO, LKO)
November 19, 2019

Abstract It differs from broadcast television in that the sig-

nal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ
IP Based Video Surveillance System are to be pro- point to point (P2P), point to multipoint (P2MP), or
vided at Main entrance/exit, Platforms, Waiting hall, mesh wired or wireless links. Though almost all video
Reservation counter, Parking area, Railway yards, cameras fit this definition, the term is most often ap-
Foot over bridges etc. of Railway stations and oth- plied to those used for surveillance in areas that may
ers Railway establishments. The Video Surveillance need monitoring such as railway stations and other
System is based on non-proprietary open architec- railway establishments where security is needed.
ture where the Video Management Software, Video CCTV relies on strategic placement of cameras,
Recording Software, Video Analytics Software and and observation of the camera’s input on monitors
Face Recognition Software can work and integrate somewhere. Because the cameras communicate with
with any make of IT hardware like Server, Storage, monitors and/or video recorders across private cable
Workstation, Network Video Recorder and Switches, runs or wireless communication links, they gain the
etc. This article is an attempt to present the schemes designation ”closed-circuit” to indicate that access to
that can be used on Indian Railways adopting IP their content is limited by design only to those able
based Video Surveillance System that are simple and to see it.
can be scaled in future. The earliest video surveillance systems involved
constant monitoring because there was no way to
record and store information. The development of
1 Introduction reel-to-reel media enabled the recording of surveil-
lance footage. These systems required magnetic tapes
IP based Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), also to be changed manually, which was a time consuming,
known as Video Surveillance System (VSS), is the expensive and unreliable process, with the operator
use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific having to manually thread the tape from the tape
place, on a limited set of monitors. A CCTV sys- reel through the recorder onto an empty take-up reel.
tem links a camera to a video monitor using a direct Due to these shortcomings, video surveillance was not
transmission system. widespread. VCR technology became available in the
CCTV is finding increasing use in law-enforcement, 1970s, making it easier to record and erase informa-
for everything from traffic observation, railway sta- tion, and the use of video surveillance became more
tions to observation of high-crime areas or neigh- common.
borhoods. In railway stations and platforms surveil- During the 1990s, digital multiplexing was devel-
lance of the public using CCTV is common in many oped, allowing several cameras to record at once, as
areas around the world. A closed-circuit TV has well as time lapse and motion-only recording. This
4 parts: CCTV camera, lens, monitor, and cables. saved time and money which then led to an increase
Signals from CCTV cameras are sent to monitors in the use of CCTV. Recently CCTV technology has
via wired network cables or wireless communication been enhanced with a shift toward IP and cloud-
links, which makes them closed circuit. CCTV sys- based products and systems, and other technological
tems even allow you to zoom in and track movement. developments.
A Closed-circuit television (CCTV) has now be- Older CCTV systems used small, low-resolution
come a mainstream in surveillance and security pur- black and white monitors with no interactive capa-
poses around the world. VSS is a system in which sig- bilities. Modern CCTV displays can be color, high-
nals are not publicly distributed but are monitored. resolution displays and can include the ability to

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 Figure 1: Network camera-based video surveillance architecture

zoom in on an image or track something (or someone) HD IP Cameras, Digital Keyboard, Large Format
among their features. Talk CCTV allows an overseer Display Monitor, PC Workstation, Servers, Network
to speak to people within range of the camera’s asso- Video Recorders, External Storage Device, Ethernet
ciated speakers. Switches, Wireless Transmitter/Receiver Unit, Cop-
per to Fiber Media Convertor, Video Management
Software, Video Recording Software, Graphical User
2 Application Interface Client Software, Video Analytics Software
and Face Recognition Software (FRS) etc. for surveil-
CCTV cameras are installed on railway stations
lance of different locations at Stations and other es-
across the country specifically targeting public ar-
tablishments of Railways from Centralized location.
eas. CCTV has become common in railway estab-
In IP based Video Surveillance System, the Cam-
lishments, banks and stores to discourage theft, by
eras are be provided at different locations in a man-
recording evidence of criminal activity.
ner that the output is available as Ethernet and con-
Many cities and motorway networks have extensive
nected to the Servers/NVRs and to integrate the
traffic-monitoring systems, using closed-circuit televi-
surveillance system using the existing LAN/WAN in-
sion to detect congestion and notice accidents.
frastructure on Optical Fibre network of Railways.
The system is able to work on both wired as well as
2.1 CCTV is commonly used for a va- wireless network. The wireless network is envisaged
riety of purposes, including: for extreme areas like, yards, foot over bridges and
other areas at the station where cable is difficult to
• Maintaining perimeter security in medium- to
lay and maintain.
high-secure areas and installations.
• Railway Platforms
2.3 Networking CCTV cameras
• Traffic monitoring
A growing branch in CCTV is internet protocol cam-
• Traffic monitoring eras (IP cameras). IP cameras use the Internet Proto-
• Traffic monitoring col (IP) used by most Local Area Networks (LANs) to
transmit video across data networks in digital form.
• Building and grounds security IP can optionally be transmitted across the public in-
ternet, allowing users to view their cameras through
• Obtaining a visual record of activities in situa-
any internet connection available through a computer
tions where it is necessary to maintain proper se-
or a phone, this is considered remote access.
curity or access controls (for example: in banks,
in railway platforms or airports, etc.).
2.4 Wireless security cameras
2.2 IP based Video Surveillance Sys-
Wireless security cameras are closed - circuit televi-
tem components:
sion (CCTV) cameras that transmit a video and au-
IP based Video Surveillance System for Stations and dio signal to a wireless receiver through a radio band.
Cluster of Stations consisting of Full HD and Ultra Many wireless security cameras require at least one

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cable or wire for power; ”wireless” refers to the trans- cover that area. If a storage unit is unavail-
mission of video/audio. able, the back-up storage or edge storage on cam-
Wireless cameras can be mounted / installed in lo- eras can automatically take over and no recorded
cations previously unavailable to standard wired cam- data is lost.
eras. In addition to the ease of use and convenience of
access, wireless security camera allows users to lever- • Power over Ethernet (PoE), a feature unavailable
age broadband wireless internet to provide seamless in analog video systems, simplifies installation of
video streaming over-internet. network cameras / video encoders, reduces in-
stallation and maintenance costs, and improves
reliability in IP video surveillance systems. PoE
2.5 Retention, storage and preserva- enables IP network devices to receive power from
tion a PoE-enabled switch or mid-span through the
There is a cost in the retention of the images pro- same standard cable that transmits IP data.
duced by CCTV systems. The amount and quality • In industrial plants, CCTV equipment may be
of data stored on storage media is subject to compres- used to observe parts of a process from a central
sion ratios, images stored per second, image size and control room, for example when the environment
it is affected by the retention period of the videos or is not suitable for humans. CCTV systems may
images. Video recorders store images in a variety of operate continuously or only as required to mon-
proprietary file formats. Recordings may be retained itor a particular event, etc.
for a preset amount of time and then automatically
archived, overwritten or deleted, the period being de- • Utilizing digital video recorders (DVRs) / net-
termined by the organization that generated them. work video recorders (NVRs), provides recording
for possibly many years, with a variety of qual-
ity and performance options and extra features
3 Advantages (such as motion detection and email alerts).
More recently, decentralized IP cameras, per-
• Flexible video access options, from restricted to haps equipped with megapixel sensors, support
authorized to public. recording directly to network-attached storage
• Supports either local or remote access. devices, or internal flash for completely stand-
alone operation.
• Cameras installation is easily.
• Eliminates the need for expensive coaxial cabling 4 Tentative Implementation
of analog cameras.
Schemes of IP based Video
• Viewing footage requires only a computer and a
web browser or dedicated software.
Surveillance System
• Shares a unified communications network with 4.1 Station only / Standalone archi-
data, voice, and wireless traffic, reducing opera- tecture:
tions and maintenance costs.
The proposed implementation scheme of Video
• One key advantage of using IP networks for Surveillance System is meant for such Stations where
surveillance is their ability to protect the in- Video Management, Video Recording, Video Analyt-
tegrity and availability of recorded surveillance ics and Face Recognition Software for the Cameras of
video and images. IP networks integrate many a Station are provided in the Station.
features that prevent data loss, back up mission- The Cameras of Station Platforms are connected
critical data, and recover quickly from outages. to Field Ethernet Switch. The Field Ethernet Switch
A network management system can monitor all stream Video data to a suitable location at Station
networked devices including cameras, switches, such as CCTV Control Room through Aggregation
access points, and storage devices and automat- Switch.
ically generate alerts or notifications if issues are CCTV Control Room may be connected to MPLS/
detected. For example, if an IP camera goes of- IP network through the Core Switch. Video Man-
fline, a network management system can imme- agement and Video Recording are deployed on
diately alert administrators, who can then, from Servers/Network Video Recorders. For Viewing and
wherever they are, reassign another camera to Monitoring of Cameras, requisite numbers of PC

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 Figure 2:

Workstations and Large format display monitors pro- gation Switch. RPF/GRP Thana/Posts are con-
vided at Station CCTV Control Room. Required nected to MPLS/ IP network through the Core
Storage is provided on External Storage Switch. Video Management and Video Recording
Devices/Servers/Network Video Recorders. Video are deployed on Servers/Network Video Recorders at
Analytics and Face Recognition Software are de- RPF/GRP Thana/Posts, where the Video streams
ployed on Servers at the Station CCTV Control are aggregated. For Viewing and Monitoring of
Room or any other location. Theres a provision for Cameras, requisite numbers of PC Workstations and
Viewing and Monitoring of Camera streams at Di- Large format display monitors be provided at RPF
visional HQ/ any other centralized location or other / GRP Thana/Posts. Required Storage is to be pro-
Clients connected to MPLS/ IP network as per re- vided at RPF / GRP Thana / Posts on External
quirement. Storage Devices/Servers/Network Video Recorders.
Video Analytics and Face Recognition Software de-
ployed on Servers. Theres a provision for Viewing and
4.2 RPF/GRP Thana/Post Clustered Monitoring of Camera streams at Divisional HQ/ any
based architecture: other centralized location or other Clients connected
to MPLS/ IP network.
The proposed implementation scheme of Video
Surveillance System is meant for Cluster of Sta- For centralized management of such multiple Clus-
tions where Video Streams of Cameras of Sta- ters, Video Management Server and Server for Face
tions are aggregated to a nearest suitable location Image database may be deployed with N:1 redun-
such as RPF/GRP Thana/Posts for Video Manage- dancy at Datacenters i.e. Divisional/Zonal HQ or
ment (Viewing and Monitoring) and Video Record- any other centralized location. Face Image Database
ing. Video Analytics and Face Recognition Soft- Server at Datacenter shall be in sync with each in-
ware are deployed at Divisional HQ or RPF/GRP dividual RPF/GRP Thana/Posts local FRS Servers
Thana/Posts or any other location. The Cameras as and when any subject or alarm is generated /
of Station Platforms are connected to Field Ether- updated. Synchronization done at least once daily.
net Switch. Field Ethernet Switch streams Video The System have a storage solution at Datacenters
data to RPF/GRP Thana/Posts through Aggre- for keeping flagged/marked video data by RPF/GRP

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 Figure 3:

personnel for longer retention, FRS and Video Ana- itoring of Cameras, requisite numbers of PC Work-
lytic alerts across all stations for 30 days, Audit trail stations and Large format display monitors are to be
logs, application data etc. as per solution require- provided at RPF/GRP Thana/Post.
ment. In case Video Management and Video Recording
Software is required for operation of Video Analyt-
ics and Face Recognition Software at Cloud, same
4.3 Cloud based architecture: is to be provided at Cloud. There will be a provi-
The proposed implementation scheme of Video sion for Viewing and Monitoring of Camera streams
Surveillance System is meant for Cluster of Sta- at Divisional HQ/ any other centralized location or
tions where Video Streams of Cameras of Sta- other Clients connected to MPLS/ IP network. All
tions are aggregated to a nearest suitable location Video data and alarms generated by Video Analyt-
such as RPF/GRP Thana/Posts for Video Manage- ics and Face Recognition Software at the Cloud is
ment (Viewing and Monitoring) and Video Record- to be available at RPF/GRP Thana/Posts and Di-
ing. Video Analytics and Face Recognition Soft- visional HQ/ any other centralized location or any
ware is deployed at the Cloud. Video Data is other clients through Cloud. In case of any failure or
to be stored at RPF/GRP Thana/Posts on Ex- interruption of MPLS/IP network, the Camera au-
ternal Storage Devices/ Servers/ Network Video tomatically start recording on Edge Storage Memory
Recorders and at Cloud. The Cameras of Sta- Card at resolution and frames per second as required
tion Platforms are connected to Field Ethernet and when the network recovers, the Video data auto-
Switch. Field Ethernet Switch streams Video data matically be transferred to the External Storage De-
to RPF/GRP Thana/Posts through Aggregation vice/Server/NVR installed at respective Stations or
Switch. The RPF/GRP Thana/Posts are connected RPF/GRP Thana/Post without any impact on the
to the MPLS/ IP network and the Cloud through system operations.
the Core Switch. The Video Management and Video Continuous Video Monitoring/ Live Viewing for
Recording are deployed on Servers/Network Video all the Cameras through PC Workstations and Large
Recorders at RPF/GRP Thana/Posts, where the Format Display Monitors with Full HD and 4K UHD
Video streams are aggregated. For Viewing and Mon- resolution display support. One such Monitor dis-

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 Figure 4:

plays 16 Cameras on a single unit. For simultaneous at Lucknow. He has 28 years of experience in Indian
viewing of more cameras, more monitors can be pro- Railways. He has worked in various fields of Signal
vided. One 32/64/128 Channel Server/NVR support and Telecommunication over Indian Railways.
Playback of recorded video for minimum 16 Channels
simultaneously at Full HD or higher.

5 Conclusion
The above will be the complete solution for monitor-
ing and safety the passengers and establishment of
Indian Railway. However, the system is also depen-
dent on the alertness of our RPF personnel monitor-
ing the feeds in the control room and the ones taking Ankur Srivastava is a
action on the ground. Its performance also depends B.Tech. (Electronics &
on the upkeep and maintenance of the system. Communication) - 2005,
from MMEC (under Kuruk-
shetra University). He has
11+ years of experience in
Indian Railways. He has
The information / views expressed in this pa- 3+ years of experience in
per is of the authors and are based on their open line at UMB Division.
experience. Comments / observations may be Currently he is working as
sent to the author at [email protected]. Sr. Section Engineer/Design (Telecom), RDSO,
Lucknow. He has worked for 7+ years in Research
Dilip Kumar Singh is a BE (Electronics & Commu- Designs & Standards Organisation at Lucknow
nication) - 1990, from IIT Roorkee. He is currently (worked in the areas of Datacom Equipments,
working as Executive Director/Telecom-I in RDSO Integrated Security System and IP based Video

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Surveillance System).