Skip to main content

Video surveillance upgrade for M6 toll motorway

Nine years after its opening, the 27-mile M6 toll motorway in the UK has had its video surveillance system upgraded in order to increase recording capacity and comply with changing data security requirements. The motorway bypasses the M6, one of the most congested pieces of road in Europe, which travels through Birmingham. Systems maintenance manager for operators Midland Expressway Limited (MEL), Paul Perry, explained why they decided to upgrade their system: “The existing Wavestore recording system has d
December 11, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
Nine years after its opening, the 27-mile M6 toll motorway in the UK has had its video surveillance system upgraded in order to increase recording capacity and comply with changing data security requirements.

The motorway bypasses the M6, one of the most congested pieces of road in Europe, which travels through Birmingham.

Systems maintenance manager for operators 7003 Midland Expressway Limited (MEL), Paul Perry, explained why they decided to upgrade their system:  “The existing Wavestore recording system has done everything we had expected of it but our requirements changed and the hardware was occasionally developing faults, although this was not a surprise as it had been in continuous use 24/7 for almost nine years.

“In particular we needed to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and this meant having the capability to simultaneously record and store video evidence of secure areas for 90 days. As a result we needed to invest in a substantial increase in the video surveillance system’s video storage capacity.”

MEL considered other options to replace the Wavestore system. “At the time we originally installed Wavestore, we were particularly impressed with the Wavestore GUI, which is simple to use and intuitive requiring little or no staff training” said Paul Parry. “Nine years is however a long time and particularly so when technology had been advancing at such a rapid rate. We therefore felt we should at least take a look at what other solutions were available.”

After considerable research, MEL decided to continue with a Wavestore solution, ordering larger capacity video servers, and the installation of an updated version of the Wavestore video management software. “Our research did not lead us to believe that any other manufacturer could do a better job and it was certainly a major advantage to stay with a system which our operators were happy working with and we were fully trained on. “At the time we originally installed Wavestore, we were particularly impressed with the Wavestore GUI, which is simple to use and intuitive requiring little or no staff training.

Images from over 100 cameras installed at six toll stations are stored on Wavestore servers and accessible at any time by operators in the MEL control room.
Wavestore digital video recording systems operate on the Linux system and can simultaneously record and display high quality images from analogue, network, HD, HD CCTV and infra-red cameras.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Need for simpler urban tolling solutions
    January 10, 2013
    A common assumption, even amongst informed observers, is that there’s but a handful of urban charging schemes in operation around the world and scant prospect of that changing any time soon. Larger city-sized schemes such as Singapore, London and Stockholm come readily to mind but if we take a wider view and also consider urban access control and Low Emission Zones (LEZs) then the picture changes rather radically. There is a notable concentration of such schemes in Europe but worldwide the number is comfort
  • Outsourcing security weakness for Sweden’s driver and vehicle data
    October 24, 2017
    The security of driver and vehicle data hit the headlines this summer in Sweden and its authorities are still dealing with the fallout. David Crawford reports. epercussions from Sweden’s vehicle data outsourcing scandal continue to reverberate. Transportstyrelsen, the government’s transport agency, came under fire this summer for risking the personal security of over five million motorists by failing to implement full security checks on personnel in other countries to whom individual work packages could
  • Machine vision makes red light enforcement easier
    December 1, 2015
    Teledyne Dalsa’s Manny Romero looks at how the combination of camera manufacturer and software provider can make enforcement easier. Californian video analytics solution provider Eutecus develops real-time images capture and high speeds processing technology for applications including intelligent lighting and advanced driver assistance systems.
  • Smarter mapping makes for more informed decisions
    December 2, 2016
    Following his keynote presentation at the 2016 ITS World Congress in Melbourne, ITS International caught up with Esri founder Jack Dangermond. It is getting close to half a century ago that Jack Dangermond and his wife Laura founded the Environmental Research Systems Institute – known today as Esri - of which he remains president.