RailTel to set up CCTV network for passenger safety

State-owned RailTel Corporation of India plans to set up a closed circuit TV or a CCTV network throughout the country with the use of artificial intelligence, in line with government’s larger idea to ensure passenger safety as well as prevent crimes.

“It will be world’s biggest CCTV network with more than 6,000 odd stations connected,” RailTel’s Chairman and Managing Director Puneet Chawla said on Wednesday.

The company plans to invite tender for the same next month, Chawla told Mint at the sidelines of an event.

RailTel is a state-owned company that comes under the administrative control of railway ministry and provides services pertaining to telecom to government departments, including the railways.

The CCTV network will be set up on the railway stations as well as inside the trains, which will ensure passenger safety as well as prompt and better services, he said. To begin with, such a network will be set up in 700 coaches of premium trains and extend it to other stations by 2021.

Chawla also said that RailTel has created a fast wi-fi network for Indian railways at 1,615 stations. In the next two months, the company plans to cover another 4,000 stations with high-speed wi-fi network.

According to a parliamentary response, railway ministry plans to provide CCTV-based surveillance system at stations and in passenger carrying trains to augment their safety and security.

“The project of installing CCTV cameras at 8,244 railway stations (including halt stations) and in 58,276 passenger coaches of trains has been sanctioned at the cost of ₹3,771 crore. These include provision of CCTV cameras at 983 stations costing approximately ₹500 crore being funded through Nirbhaya Fund,” former minister of state of railways Rajen Gohain had said in December.