The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) is strengthening its railway surveillance system with Nokia’s fibre Optical LAN and IP/MPLS solutions, delivered in partnership with Hitachi Rail. The project aims to modernise the video transport network across more than 50 train stations, ensuring enhanced safety and operational efficiency for millions of passengers who use the city-state’s rail services daily.
CCTV surveillance is a critical component of LTA’s railway operations, enabling real-time monitoring, detection of illegal activities, and traffic management. With growing passenger volumes and increasing demand for high-resolution video feeds, LTA required a scalable network that could handle greater bandwidth while remaining reliable and secure. The deployment of Nokia’s advanced solutions is designed to address these needs, enabling a significant upgrade to the existing infrastructure.
Fibre-powered network with improved efficiency and capacity
To support the expansion of its CCTV capabilities, LTA is rolling out Nokia’s fibre Optical LAN technology, which includes hardened Optical Network Units (ONUs) and Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) capable of supporting speeds up to 25Gb/s. This solution not only provides future-ready capacity but also offers substantial efficiency benefits, requiring up to 70% less cabling and 40% less power than traditional copper-based LAN networks.
In addition, Nokia’s IP/MPLS technology will enhance how video data is backhauled to LTA’s Operations Control Centre. Here, live video streams from across the network are monitored and stored, providing essential situational awareness and rapid response capabilities. The improved data transmission capabilities ensure that surveillance feeds remain secure, resilient, and responsive to operational demands.
Joaquim Santos, Vice President, Integrated Communication and Supervision Solutions (ICS) at Hitachi Rail, said: “We are pleased to have selected Nokia to collaborate with Hitachi Rail in enhancing passenger safety and security across Singapore’s railway network, which is a continuation of Hitachi’s long-term relationship with LTA. This project will play a key role in upgrading the transport infrastructure.”
Strengthening long-term safety and operational resilience
The collaboration underscores a broader trend in the transport sector, where fibre connectivity is increasingly used to support mission-critical surveillance and operational systems. As public transport networks evolve and expand, the need for reliable, high-capacity infrastructure becomes more pressing, particularly for safety-critical applications like CCTV monitoring.
“Fibre is being used to connect everything including video systems that are critical to monitoring transportation hubs around the world. Ensuring you have a real time surveillance system that is highly available, reliable and secure is vital to ensuring the safety of those travelling Singapore’s transit lines every day. Partnering with Hitachi Rail, we were able to deliver a complete solution for LTA that would ensure they had the video capacity needed to serve their expansive CCTV surveillance and broader network operations for years to come,” said Stuart Hendry, Vice President, Enterprise Sales, Network Infrastructure, Asia Pacific, Nokia.
The partnership builds on Hitachi Rail’s longstanding collaboration with LTA and leverages Nokia’s expertise in secure, high-performance network infrastructure. Together, they aim to future-proof Singapore’s railway surveillance network, ensuring it can support the growing demands of modern transport operations while setting new benchmarks for safety and reliability.
