Integrated command and control solution for UK tunnel

UK company Sicura Systems is supplying a fully fault-tolerant, integrated command and control solution to the US$416 million New Tyne Crossing project on the A19 near Newcastle in England.
January 27, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
UK company 733 Sicura Systems is supplying a fully fault-tolerant, integrated command and control solution to the US$416 million New Tyne Crossing project on the A19 near Newcastle in England. Video surveillance at the River Tyne tunnel complex is managed by software developed by the company which includes DigiSCADA to provide resilient monitoring and control of all connected devices and systems, and DigiLive workstations which provide the interface between SCADA and DigiWall, a fully-redundant video wall operating between mirrored servers. When fully operational at the site, DigiWall will display footage from fixed and PTZ cameras as well as data from client devices including access control, fire/smoke detection and ventilation.

The project is claimed to feature one of the most comprehensive interactions of camera surveillance and SCADA sub-systems to date. It exploits the full capabilities of DigiWall, an IP-based display solution for control rooms at mission-critical infrastructure locations. DigiWall users are able to view a comprehensive range of data sources including video footage, site schematics, public information displays and building management status.

IP streams from analogue cameras, which are located mainly within the tunnels under the Tyne and at toll plazas, are being generated using blade encoders. Transmission of the 25 fps footage is via a fully fault-tolerant fibre network designed and installed by Vital Technology.

“If problems occur in a road tunnel they tend not to be isolated incidents but rather a sequence of events,” said Vincenzo Roberti , managing director at Sicura Systems. “It was a requirement at tender stage that CCTV for this project should be integrated with SCADA . The sheer range of data on which the Sicura software can report is important for our clients.

“The tunnel operator will be using Sicura’s DigiWall display solution and DigiLive management software to process disparate information types, even benefiting from video analytics functionality via Vehicle Automatic Detection System (VAID),” Roberti said.

To date the New Tyne Crossing Project has included construction of a second vehicle tunnel featuring four 90-metre immersed tube sections under the River Tyne, redesign of the southern interchange at the entrance to the original tunnel and development of a toll plaza on the new northern approach to the vehicle tunnel. The original vehicle tunnel (which dates from 1967) is currently closed for major refurbishment. The Tyne Tunnels site (which includes dedicated tunnels for pedestrians and cyclists) is located 11 km to the east of Newcastle upon Tyne and forms part of the A19 road.

Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision

Related Content

  • June 12, 2015
    Temporary CCTV poses more challenges than permanent installations
    Long-term roadworks pose particular problems for temporary surveillance installations. Converting the hard shoulder to a running lane, either full- or part-time, is the UK Highways Agency’s solution to ease motorway congestion. This is leading to a number of long-term projects where large stretches of the hard shoulder are closed off by temporary concrete barriers and during these roadwork programmes, temporary CCTV cameras are deployed to monitor and record vehicle traffic and workers.
    Read More
  • July 22, 2021
    Control room tech ends data overload
    There have never been so many data sources available to traffic control centre operators – but too much data can be as bad as too little when making decisions. Adam Hill asks how control room technology companies can help operators screen out the white noise
    Read More
  • February 3, 2012
    Computer technology increasingly aids traffic management
    Alan Perrott, Tyco Fire & Integrated Solutions (UK) Ltd, looks at trends in CCTV technology for traffic surveillance applications
    Read More
  • January 23, 2012
    UK's Hindhead tunnel pushes the boundaries of traffic management
    The new Hindhead Tunnel is the first in the UK to use radar-based incident detection. Paul Arnold, project manager with the Highways Agency, talks about the project. The comparatively remote location of the A3 Hindhead Tunnel has resulted in it becoming one of the most sophisticated in the UK in terms of monitoring and control systems, according to Paul Arnold, project manager for the Highways Agency (HA), which manages strategic roads in England and Wales. It is the first tunnel in the UK to use radar for
    Read More

Highlighted Content