Skip to main content

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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hikvision’s wind/solar solution offers ‘off grid’ vision
    August 20, 2019
    Getting vision tech to ‘off-grid’ areas is a challenge - but Hikvision has come up with an answer in China, while also handling some rather more conventional smart cities work in Germany
  • Toll and parking barriers integrate with ALPR technology
    October 6, 2014
    According to Belgian entrance control company Automatic Systems, the market for automatic licence plate recognition (ALPR) systems is set to reach over US$800 million in 2018. Automatic Systems says its ParkPlus and TollPlus barriers for toll and parking applications are fully compatible with the ALPR technology and its mechanical and electronic components can be seamlessly integrated within the robust barrier housing. Designed for highway toll booths, the TollPlus series of barriers offer a wide rang
  • Onssi and Vaxtor partner on licence plate recognition integration
    June 26, 2018
    Vaxtor Corporation’s (Vaxtor) advanced LPR analytics platform can now be deployed across Onssi’s Ocularis VMS platform to recognise, capture and archive data on licence plates, railway vehicles, US Department of Transport (USDOT) numbers and more, as part of an integration partnership between both companies. The agreement, according to Onssi’s Ken LaMarca, VP of sales & marketing, allows the solution to deliver a range of security and operations data to meet the specific challenges of the transportation and
  • The case for integrating urban traffic control and parking
    February 3, 2012
    Although urban traffic control and parking management are inextricably linked in so many ways, there remain fundamental differences which undermine closer integration. Car parking guidance systems can have a significant, positive impact on congestion in town and city centres, however conflicting business models still stand in the way of the more profound integration of car parking management and Urban Traffic Control (UTC) systems.