2016 Top Innovation Project Award: Securing Every Train to the Plane

Heightened security threats, extreme weather conditions, and tough macro-economy conditions all contribute to the complexities and challenges regional transportation organizations face when working to create a safe and secure environment

Serving 2.87 million people over a 2,340-square-mile (6,100 km²) area, the Denver Regional Transportation District (Denver RTD) is no stranger to the above challenge. Organized in 1969, the Denver RTD operates public transit services in eight of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in Colorado. They are responsible for keeping hundreds of buses and bus stops, dozens of light-rail stations, park and ride facilities, train depots and more running smoothly, safely and securely.

Committed to continually improve their service and performance, it was in 2001 that the Denver RTD had the clear realization that: ‘If the transit system isn’t perceived as safe by passengers, it will be underutilized and unable to fulfill its remit or revenue requirements’. And thus, passenger perception of safety and security became Denver RTD’s focal point.

With this concept at the core of their planning, the Denver RTD and its partners devised one of the most advanced and comprehensive security programs. Taking a phased approach that always kept passenger safety and satisfaction at the heart of their planning; the Denver RTD has been methodically and continually improving their transit system for more than a decade. Safety, security and smooth-running operations have ensured Denver RTD’s commercial viability and expansion, as it assists in serving the population and the area’s economic growth.

PHASE I: Cracking Down on Crime, Security High-Crime Areas

The Denver RTD manages a massive transportation system – as mentioned above, it covers over 2,340 square miles. With dozens of facilities and thousands of vehicles, they had been relying on the ubiquitous nature of video surveillance to maintain safety for passengers and workers by thwarting crime and its ability to support criminal prosecution.

In 2002, the Denver RTD’s security team had over 1,000 fixed cameras across its transportation network to monitor 24/7. The video surveillance system at the time was distributed and non-networked. Among other things, this meant that when a malfunction occurred, security personnel had to physically go the location of the equipment and manually repair it. It was highly inefficient and a waste of time, money and valuable resources that could have been allocated to more proactive security roles.

A Centralized, Networked Solution

When the RTD deployed the Qognify (formerly NICE Security) video management solution in select locations, they quickly realized the utility and value of having a unified, networked system that could be monitored, controlled and managed from a centralized location. Soon after, Denver RTD began installing the video solution across its entire transportation system.

By leveraging its IP network, Denver RTD now had a fully networked and integrated video management system with quick and easy retrieval of high-quality video. The system together with a sophisticated recording solution enabled Denver RTD to catch and effectively prosecute perpetrators who were involved in carjackings, armed robberies, thefts, assaults and more.

The bottom line: In its first year alone, the fully integrated surveillance system significantly reduced crime across the Denver RTD system, allowing them to keep good on their promise to keep the rails safe for passengers.

Finding the Perfect Systems Integration Partner for the Project

Rail Services Corporation was involved as a unique partner, serving in both systems integrator and consultant capacities.  Axis Communications also served as a technology design partner for the project.

For many security integrators, specialization is one of the primary keys to success – if they become the go-to source for a particular market or widespread customer, it should translate into business success for years to come. For others, specialization is a byproduct of a business that was entrenched in a niche sector and then later expanded into security.

Such is the case for New Orleans-based Rail Services Corp. (RSC), which launched in the 1980s as a provider of train control products but soon expanded into security integration services. “We added typical security systems, such as video surveillance and intrusion detection, as our customers demanded it,” says Mike Tiffin, RSC’s VP of Operations. “We are true systems integrators in that we don’t carry just one product, but we offer engineering and services that will meet the unique customer’s needs. All of our systems fall under the umbrella of 'communications' within the transit business.”

“I used to think of myself as a software person, but after 34 years building transit systems, I have to admit that I might be a transit communications person,” says RSC President and founder Kevin Hassett, who is well known in the train control side of the business.

Today, RSC is almost solely focused on communication systems for the transit industry – which includes rail and bus. These systems interface with other unique systems elements of transit, including signal, traction power, and security. This specialization proved to be an extremely valuable asset for RSC in its success as integrator and consultant for a major project with the Denver RTD project.

PHASE II — Securing Bus Transportation

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) pegs annual bus ridership in the U.S. and Canada at around 5.4 billion. To keep those billions of riders safe and secure, transportation systems rely on onboard video surveillance. In addition to acting as a deterrent, video is invaluable for investigating crimes and complaints, as well as significantly reducing RTD’s liability exposure.

While Denver RTD was utilizing a mobile analog system to record video, the system was aging and becoming unreliable. On a daily basis, Denver RTD employees were tasked with the time-consuming job of physically removing the hard drives from the buses containing requested video. This not only consumed valuable resources, it slowed the investigation process. Moreover, the hard drives would often be empty, having not captured video because of an unknown failure.

“We had to pull hard drives off of buses for 20-40 cases per day,” said Bob Grado, Transit Police Commander and Manager of Integrated Security Operations for Denver RTD, of the antiquated and inefficient system. Given that Denver RTD conducts over 9,000 investigations annually, video camera failures and inaccessible recordings were a significant problem.

The Move to Digital Video and Wireless Download 
Working with partners Qognify and Panasonic, Denver RTD designed and deployed a high-quality digital video system that enabled the organization to download video wirelessly off a bus so investigators could access it without leaving their desks. The first-of-its-kind mobile video surveillance solution uses enterprise VMS software, running on hardware from Panasonic, and includes specialty cameras and a mobile recording platform designed to withstand the vibration and extreme weather experienced by the buses.

Denver RTD has already installed the system in over 450 new buses. Over the course of the next three years, it plans to have the mobile video solution deployed in all of its 1100+ buses. What makes the solution unique is that it automatically downloads the requested video, via Wi-Fi, whenever a bus pulls into a depot, passenger concourse, or the Denver RTD facility.

Improved Video Quality, More Effective Investigations 
The new system also gives Denver RTD transit police investigators high definition video, which was not available before. Denver RTD redesigned the camera layouts to include nine interior cameras so more of the bus area is covered than ever before, and the high definition images make it easier to interpret what is occurring in the video.

But by far the system’s biggest benefit is its ability to access the video remotely through an advanced investigation solution. Instead of going to the depot to manually remove hard drives from the buses, investigators can just type in the bus number, date, and time range into the investigation solution. When the bus pulls into the depot and connects with Wi-Fi, the system automatically receives the request and begins to download the video. Additionally, mobile video recordings can be combined with radio recordings and fixed surveillance video to create a complete incident timeline. Denver RTD can also email case file links to other law enforcement agencies involved in an investigation.

Denver RTD's new mobile video system greatly improves the organization's surveillance and investigation capabilities in order to best protect its passengers.

PHASE III: Situation Management

By 2015 the video management system had grown to over 12,000 fixed and mobile video cameras that are spread across Denver RTD stations, facilities and assets. A massive and growing amount of information was being funneled into Denver RTD’s Security Command Center from the various systems and sensors deployed throughout the field – access control, CCTV, smoke detectors and others. This, coupled with the need to share information in real time with the field personnel, created the demand for Situator, a PSIM/Situation Management platform, which has since been implemented. Situator has provided the Denver RTD with Situation Management capabilities that include understanding what is happening, visualization of where it’s happening, and knowing what to do to effectively and proactively respond to the unfolding event. 

Understanding what is happening

While previously, all of the systems mentioned above functioned separately, they are now integrated into a common operating picture, along with automated response plans. Situator’s unified management of all systems and sensors provides Denver RTD operators with a clear, unified view, without having to navigate multiple sub-systems.

 The Denver RTD Security Command Centers are manned by certified 911 law enforcement dispatchers whose first priority is to ensure the safety and security of passengers and personnel.  To this end, the Security Command Center monitors potential threats and trouble spots across hundreds of locations and are ready to tackle everything criminal or otherwise. They now have the tools and support via automated, pre-defined workflows to proactively coordinate a real-time response that includes federal, state, local agencies, and armed onboard officers.

Visualization of where it is happening

In addition to knowing what is happening, it’s critical to know exactly where it’s happening. Through GIS integration, sensors, doors, video cameras and other data are all overlaid on Denver RTD maps. This enables personnel to have immediate clarity on the location of an incident.  They are able to drill down to view alerts on live or recorded video, and other important details such as tenant information, that are now part of the GIS picture.

Knowing What to Do

Armed with the ‘what’ and ‘where’, operators need to know ‘what to do’. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) which are specific to the event automatically pop up on the operator’s screen. These SOPs are captured in the form of adaptive workflows that guide operators and field personnel to act according to the Denver RTD’s established best practices.  This enables the Denver RTD to transform its past experience into actionable intelligence, enabling them to make immediate, informed decisions when incidents occur, and quickly return to a normal state of operation.

Harnessing Social Media for a Vigilant Response

Transit Watch is Denver RTD’s mobile application for passengers. It helps Denver RTD’s buses, trains, and transit hubs stay safe by leveraging social media. The app encourages passengers to report unusual and suspicious activities directly to RTD’s transit police command center. Passengers can also opt in to receive updates, alerts, and safety information.

Tapping into the notion of “crowd wisdom” enables Denver RTD to proactively response to events reported by the public, such as:

Suspicious appearance:

• A person or persons wearing clothes unsuitable for the time of year
• Anything protruding in an unusual manner underneath a person's clothing
• A person trying to blend in with surroundings, even though he or she appears out of place

Suspicious behavior:

• Nervousness, tension or excessive sweating
• Individuals abandoning a package and hastily departing the area
• Walking slowly while surveying the area or running in a suspicious manner
• Taking unauthorized photos of transit operations and equipment

Suspicious items and packages

• Electrical wires, switches or electronic devices sticking out of a bag or clothing
• Unattended bags, packages, boxes or backpacks
• Unexplained smoke, mist, gas, vapor, odor or leaking fluid
• Spray bottles or aerosol canisters

 Continuous Process Improvement

In addition to streamlining work processes, the integrated solution also stores data for reporting and analysis. This is an immense improvement over prior years when reports for incidents had to be constructed manually by merging data from various sources. Extracting information and insights in this manner also made it difficult to conduct a ”Hot Wash”/lessons learned and trunk top exercises; not to mention developing any kind of meaningful trend analysis.

By integrating and storing data, Denver RTD’s solution can automatically generate a comprehensive report of an incident, including a time-stamped record of actions taken and comments exchanged. This gives RTD the ability to fully reconstruct an event and use any lessons learned to improve response to future events.

The level of detail captured, along with geospatial references, help RTD identify whether there’s a high density of repeatable issues occurring in specific areas of the system, or related to specific assets, service providers, infrastructure weaknesses, etc. These patterns can be used to drive changes in procedures or improvements to other facets of operations.

The Journey Continues

Denver RTD’s vision for securing their passengers does not end here.  Their vision includes connecting the new Commuter Rail (train from downtown Denver to Denver International Airport) Security Command Center to the existing Light Rail and Bus Security Command Center for true enterprise-wide control of security and operations from either security command centers in the near future.

In April 2016, Denver RTD’s comprehensive security vision and its diligent execution were acknowledged by the TSA.  The TSA has commended Denver RTD for their dedication to building a strong security program and earning TSA’s highest rating of “Gold Standard” for their continued dedication to ensuring the safety and security of travelers in and around Denver.

“We are always upgrading and expanding the RTD systems,” Tiffin says. “RTD is known for its innovative culture – when a new product or service hits the market, we research how it might help protect assets or create efficiencies in operations. If it is determined that a benefit can be achieved, we will continue with pilot programs and eventually implement the solution into the production environment.”