In an attempt to check the spread of coronavirus, the South Central Railway (SCR) has introduced contactless thermal screening of passengers at Guntur station, apart from creating a database of those boarding and alighting trains.
The Gutur division of SCR has procured a customised bluetooth IR thermal sensor boxes equipped with webcams, which are fitted to portable stands. The equipment are screening all passengers real time at the entry and exit points of the railway station.
How it works
All passengers need to place their palms in front of the device within a range of 10 cm. The images of passengers are also taken real time by the webcams attached to the equipment.
The feeds with the details of body temperature and images of each passenger are stored in an isolated cubicle. The customised software makes a file of each passenger with the photo of their ticket and the necessary temperature threshold alerts. A CCTV camera network ensures recording the movement of passengers.
The Guntur Railway Division began working on putting in place all safety measures days before the decision of resuming passenger train services was taken.
Divisional Railway Manager Mohan Raja formed a team comprising staff of commercial, technical wings and Hyderabad-based M/S Timing Technologies for setting up customised contactless thermal screening equipment at the railway station.
“During the concept building for the project, we kept in mind the safety of passengers and the railways staff while boarding and disembarking trains,” said a senior railways official.
Speedy clearance
The equipment has coloured LED lights for its instant visibility and speedy clearance of passengers at the checkpoints. Dual display big screens have been set up in the cubicles.
Provision has been made for sanitising passengers standing in queues with the help of automatic contactless mist-based dispenser units.
Arrangements has been made for steel chain barricading of the queuelines and foot marks to ensure social distancing of passengers.