ARINC Deploying Second Phase Of Maryland’s Rail Surveillance, Security Project

  • Mar 31, 2009

ARINC Inc. is deploying video cameras and advanced surveillance software at an additional 14 Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) passenger rail stations under the second phase of a video surveillance contract partially funded by the Department of Homeland Security.

ARINC completed work on 11 station sites and a monitoring facility in October, under a Phase 1 contract. The surveillance project enhances MTA security and public safety on the Baltimore Metro Subway, Baltimore Light Rail system and the MARC train service.

“We have been pleased with ARINC’s performance on the first phase of this project, and we now look forward to the completion of work on Phase 2 later this year,” said Tammi Bolden, manager of systems and equipment engineering for the Maryland Transit Administration.

ARINC is responsible for the overall design, integration, and installation of the new surveillance system, which includes remotely controlled cameras that can focus on rail station platforms, surrounding areas and valuable equipment. The video streams from platform cameras are sent to a central monitoring facility where video analytics technology processes incoming images to detect unusual movements or suspicious activity. The video analytics capability can recognize unusual events, such as intrusions or a suspicious package left behind. The system saves captured images for a period of time to allow future analysis as needed.

“ARINC is extremely pleased to undertake this work on Phase 2 of the Maryland Transit Administration’s rail security contract,” said Tim Ciocco, ARINC director of security systems. “We greatly value our continued relationship with the MTA, not only because MTA is a good customer, but because this work represents the leading edge of public safety and security technology today.”

The ARINC-designed monitoring system includes multi-screen workstations that provide situational awareness to operators via a graphical view of the MTA system. From the graphical view, operators can choose camera views for monitoring specific platforms or areas of interest.

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