Rail industry professionals from across the UK attended a recent Samsung Techwin seminar held at Pickering Station which is part of the North Yorkshire Moors heritage railway, to learn about the latest open platform video surveillance technology available to the rail sector.

All guests are involved in the railway sector supply chain and were therefore the perfect audience for the formal announcement that Samsung Techwin cameras, domes, recorders and Ethernet switches within its IP network video surveillance range, have been approved for use within Network Rail infrastructure.

The issuing of the PADS Certificate of Acceptance follows a process during which the Samsung Techwin video surveillance products were evaluated and comprehensively tested to ensure that they are reliable, fit for purpose and comply with Network Rail's demanding standards in respect of safety. 

Simon Shawley, Director, Northern Europe for the Security Solutions division of Samsung Techwin Europe Ltd, proudly told the audience that obtaining PADS approval represents a significant landmark for Samsung Techwin. Simon explained: "It means that consultants, system designers and specifiers can include our products in their proposals and be confident that they will be acceptable to Network Rail's project managers. The rail sector offers significant new business opportunities for installers and systems integrators and we are therefore understandably very pleased that we can now offer high performance video surveillance solutions which, as well as being robust and reliable, will meet the safety requirements of security projects within the Network Rail infrastructure."

Simon's view was supported by James Smith, Sales & Marketing Director at Quadrant Security Group said: "Many of the projects we are involved in have specific compliance demands to ensure high quality operation of systems in often complex and mission-critical environments.  However, the nature of these environments can make it hard for our vendor partners to innovate as the barriers can be high with 'tried and tested' and the 'status-quo' the easy options to continue with. It is therefore great to see the investment that Samsung Techwin has made in getting the PADS approval for IP cameras to meet Network Rails demanding requirements. This will undoubtedly lead to innovation on the rail network as the industry looks to benefit from the deployment of network technology and opens up a host of possibilities for enhanced interoperability and efficiency."

Among the products approved are Samsung Techwin's 'open platform' WiseNetIII high definition megapixel cameras. These offer users the option of running multiple Applications such as video analytics, facial recognition, people counting and ANPR which can be downloaded to cameras in a similar way to adding Apps to a Smartphone. The PADS Certificate of Acceptance issued by Network Rail also provides approval for a number of Samsung Techwin analogue cameras and DVRs.

The seminar was conducted at the Learning Centre at Pickering Station which is the flagship station and headquarters of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which last year celebrated its 40th Anniversary as a fully operational heritage railway. It was formed in 1967 when the founder members met with the aim of reopening the Grosmont to Pickering line both as a tourist steam railway and to preserve the rail link to Goathland, the roads to which were prone to being blocked by snow in winter. Today the North Yorkshire Moors Railway carries around a third of a million passengers a year, operates on 270 days a year, running between 8 and 20 trains a day and relies on over 400 volunteers and more than 100 paid staff.

Time to Relax

After a brief presentation on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway by Philip Benham who explained the history of the railway and their plans for the future, attendees had the opportunity to network with colleagues over a glass of bubbly and canapés before preparing to board the "Samsung Techwin Express" which departed from Pickering for a return journey to Grosmont through the Yorkshire countryside.  Being hauled by the A4 class locomotive, Sir Nigel Gresley is a rare opportunity - it is one of only a small number of working models in the world and is the sister to the Mallard which in 1938 achieved a speed of 126MPH and in doing so, set a world speed record which still stands today!

Donation to NYMR

Keeping steam locomotives on the rails comes at a hefty price, not to mention the other areas of maintenance and restoration on the NYMR that relies so heavily on public donations. With this is mind, attendees were invited to provide a donation as a thank you to NYMR for helping organise such a brilliant day and they collectively raised over £700.

Ideal Venue

Pickering Station proved to be the perfect venue for the seminar and for Samsung Techwin to be able to demonstrate how the latest generation of HD cameras can cope with the demanding conditions at railway stations and on board trains. 

Samsung Techwin WiseNetIII cameras and domes had previously been installed on the platforms of Pickering Station as part of an overall programme of improving security at North Yorkshire Moors Railway's facilities following a major theft last year which saw the loss of valuable steam engine parts. "The burglary was a major blow to us as it delayed bringing back into service one of our highly prized locomotives as the stolen parts were difficult and expensive to replace," said Philip Benham, General Manager of North Yorkshire Moors Railway. "We immediately took advice on how we could improve our security and in particular, how best to use CCTV to deter and detect crime, as well as ensure that all our customers are safe and secure whilst visiting our stations and riding on our trains."

Philip Benham and his colleagues considered proposals from a number of manufacturers, but following an onsite demonstration, they decided to single source all of the required security cameras and video recording equipment from Samsung Techwin. "We were simply blown away by the quality of the images that the Samsung Techwin cameras were able to capture and having an onsite demonstration meant we could see exactly what we could expect if we permanently installed the cameras," explained Phillip Benham. "Our station is not that large and so the good news from a cost perspective was that we only needed a total of six cameras to cover all areas and this was helped by the fact that one of the cameras recommended by Samsung Techwin's pre-sales support team was their SNF-7010 360 degree high definition camera. This is able to cover a whole area where a much larger number of standard cameras might normally be required, to avoid any blind spots."

A Perfect Day

"Apart from the fact that they work within the rail sector, many of our guests are train enthusiasts and so we are delighted that they were able to enjoy their ride on the Samsung Techwin Express," said Diane Cooper, Head of Business Development Management, UK, Ireland, Benelux and Nordics for Samsung Techwin Europe Ltd. "The feedback from the guests was very positive. They very much enjoyed the day and in this respect we are grateful to Philip Benham and his colleagues for their efforts to help us make our event so successful. We are also of course very pleased that our cameras and video recording equipment installed at Pickering station is helping them achieve their objective of deterring and detecting anti-social and criminal activity."

Commenting on the event's success, Paul Wood, Fleet Manager for First Hull Trains said: "Samsung Techwin should be congratulated on organising a first class event which was both educational and enjoyable. Achieving PADS approval for their cameras is a big step forward, and this, together with the fact that I was able to see firsthand the excellent quality images that the cameras can produce, has given me the incentive to want to evaluate their potential deployment by First Hull Trains."

Paul Wood's satisfaction at a day well spent was echoed by Ruth Venn Business Development Manager for the Rail division of Optilan UK Ltd who said: "Samsung hosted an excellent day, which not only introduced to the market their IP Network Rail PADS approved cameras, it provided great networking opportunities and allowed Optilan to promote its position as a Samsung Smart Partner".

Following on from the seminar, Samsung Techwin is offering all rail industry professionals the opportunity to see a demonstration of its PADS approved video surveillance solutions at its European Headquarters in Weybridge. Click here to register your interest in a demonstration.