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

  • Southampton City Council deploys bus lane enforcement solution
    June 7, 2016
    Southampton City Council in the UK is introducing CCTV enforcement of bus lanes in key areas of the city using Videalert’s DfT Manufacturer Certified hosted solution. The new fixed bus lane cameras will go live on 20 June 2016. The Videalert solution has been procured through Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) which has a ten-year contract to manage all highway infrastructure assets on behalf of Southampton City Council. Videalert’s hosted platform does not require any hardware or software to be i
  • State of the art ITS technology for Doha tunnel management system
    January 31, 2012
    Husam Musharbash, Traffic Tech Group, talks about tunnel management system implementation on the new route between Doha and the soon-to-open New Doha International Airport. The new Ras Abu Aboud Tunnel in Qatar, which opened to traffic in January of this year, will serve the New Doha International Airport once the latter opens in 2011.
  • European tunnel safety steps up a gear
    September 19, 2017
    David Crawford reviews the latest safety systems installed in European tunnels. Blueprints for the safer road tunnels of the future are emerging fast as European operators invest in technologies to enhance travellers’ prospects of surviving an accident. Central to modern emergency planning is the principle that, following an incident, drivers should be enabled to rescue themselves and their passengers with the aid of prompt and correct identification and communication of the hazard. Roles for cooperativ
  • Data holds the key to combating VRU casualties
    May 8, 2015
    Accident analysis software can help authorities identify common causes and make best use of their budgets, as Will Baron explains. More than 1.2 million people die on the world’s roads each year and according to the World Health Organisation, half of these are pedestrians and vulnerable road users (those whose vehicle does not have a protective shell, such as motorcyclists and cyclists). While much has been done to improve road safety and cut the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads, a great d