|
Metra adding security cameras to Electric District Line stations
Feb 16, 2013 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Metra Electric District Line customers may feel more at ease this summer with the installation of high-definition video surveillance cameras at nine stations.
The installation is the first step in boosting overall security, Metra officials said Friday.
The equipment will be placed at the McCormick Place and Museum Campus/11th Street stations -- the site of heavy security during last year's NATO gathering -- as well as at the Harvey and 147th Street stations.
"We have a number of stations where we want to look more closely at what's happening there and developing appropriate police response strategies," said Alex Wiggins, Metra's director of administration.
A grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will cover the cost of the cameras. Elk Grove Village-based Broadway Electric Inc. was awarded the $3.5 million contract Friday.
The camera system will use "smart" technology to enable authorities to better identify images, officials said.
The Electric District Line was chosen for the cameras because it is the only one of Metra's 11 lines with a fiber-optic cable network, which provides enough bandwidth to transmit video.
Metra officials on Friday also previewed a new advertising campaign intended to increase ridership. The $388,000 campaign will use radio spots and billboards.
"We're just affirming the benefits that our customers tell us they receive by riding the train," said Robert Carlton, Metra's marketing chief.
Officials said Metra's systemwide on-time performance in January was 96.8 percent, more than two percentage points higher than the same month in 2012.
Nevertheless, the Friday morning commute for some passengers on the BNSF Line was marred by a broken cable on a coach car, which caused almost all the doors on one train to malfunction.
Some commuters in Naperville were delayed as long as 85 minutes, officials said, because a new train had to be dispatched from downtown to pick up stranded customers.
rwronski@tribune.com
Twitter @richwronski
___ (c)2013 the Chicago Tribune Visit the Chicago Tribune at
www.chicagotribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
[ Back To Technology News's Homepage ]
|
Internet Telephony Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
CUSTOMER 
Cloud Computing Magazine
Click here to read latest issue
M2M Evolution Magazine
Call Center/CRM
Info Tech 
IP Communications 
Mobile 
Green 
Satellite 
Robotics 
