The Tyne Tunnel in northeast England is experiencing improved levels of operational efficiency and situational awareness in the areas of traffic management and public safety following the deployment of new Verint video surveillance software.
Managed by the TT2 Limited agency, the twin Tyne Tunnels form part of the A19 strategic route, between North Yorkshire and Northumberland. The facility comprises two dual-lane tolled vehicle tunnels connecting Jarrow in South Tyneside and Wallsend in North Tyneside.
Selected in 2016 as part of the tunnels’ recent refurbishment project, the latest version of Verint’s Enterprise Video Management Software (VMS) has been deployed as a key technology in the state-of-the-art command center that provides 24×7 traffic monitoring and emergency management for the more than 65,000 cars that pass through the tunnels each day.
The New York-based company’s VMS system now serves as the TT2’s centralized management platform for its mission-critical tunnel surveillance infrastructure.
Since implementing Verint’s VMS platform, Tyne Tunnels and TT2 report that they are experiencing new levels of situational awareness and efficiency, and benefitting from heightened intelligence and awareness within the structures. With the additional insights it gains using the new video management platform, the tunnel operators are now able to: more effectively identify and respond to traffic issues; minimize operational disruptions, such as stopped vehicles; and make faster and more informed decisions in emergency response situations, such as those involving accidents and injuries.
“There is a wide variety of incidents that need to be immediately identified to help ensure smooth travel and tunnel operations,” said James McKenna, equipment engineer at TT2. “With Verint solutions in place, we are able to streamline our video monitoring efforts to be more effective and efficient with emergency management and response. This supports our focus on providing safe, convenient and reliable roadways to travelers.”
Verint’s vice president and general manager, Alan Stoddard, commented, “We are pleased to be working with Tyne Tunnels and TT2, and delighted at their success using our solutions to help ensure the safety of those that count on its tunnels for transit each day. Our solutions are designed to help build strong security positions in mission-critical public transit environments. Our VMS solution demonstrates the multiple ways situational awareness can benefit today’s modern organizations, and the customers and citizens they serve.”
