AI-powered cameras at Pune station have ability to recognise blacklisted individuals: Data

The Pune railway division announced last August their partnership with JioThings Limited, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms Limited, to enhance surveillance at the station.

Four AI cameras were installed, one at the entrance, one at the exit, and two in the Public Reservation System (PRS). (Representational photo)

The weekly surveillance data from the AI-powered surveillance system—a recently launched pilot project by the Indian Railways and Jio—has demonstrated its ability to recognize the faces of blacklisted individuals and touts.

The Pune railway division announced last August their partnership with JioThings Limited, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms Limited, to enhance surveillance at the station. Since the pilot project is still in progress, railway officials have revealed one week of data on the cameras’ monitoring capabilities.

Four AI cameras were installed, one at the entrance, one at the exit, and two in the Public Reservation System (PRS). According to official information from the commercial department of the Pune railway, these cameras have the ability to transform video into data.

Data shows that around 9,625 people visited the PRS premises from February 26 to March 3, of which 7,311 were repeat visitors and 2,314 were new visitors. The data also reveals that around 1.1 percent of the total visitors wore masks.

A railway official from the Divisional Commercial Department said that the Railway Police Force (RPF) uploads data on regular offenders and blacklisted touts into the system, and these cameras recognize faces and capture pictures from front and side views.

In addition to face matching, cameras can also determine the average dwell time of a person. More than 1,500 people were observed near the PRS window for around five minutes, while around 700 to 900 visitors remained in the region for around one hour, according to the data.

The official mentioned that since the testing is ongoing, cameras are also instructed to recognize railway staff visitors. Besides this, cameras can also detect queue management in the PRS and can also detect when queues are being mismanaged.

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The then Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM) official stated in last year’s interview that the private company presented seven proposals, and approval was given only for surveillance solutions. He mentioned at that time that after assessing feasibility and performance modalities, the project would be finalised.

However, officials have now stated that they have been informed that AI cameras are claimed to have 70 percent accuracy. The installation and operational work was done by the Jio, and after collecting data, they have to hand over data periodically to the railways for evaluation.

Additonally, according to Divisional Signal and Telecom Engineer Piyush Kumbhar, Pune station will have a total of 130 regular CCTV cameras within a few days after phasing out faulty cameras.

Shubham Tigga

Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India. Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More

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