London Underground (LU) has improved emergency response times by upgrading the communications infrastructure at its main power control centre.

The organisation realised it needed a new communications system after a major power outage struck 60 per cent of the network in 2003.

The control centre manages the power for all trains and stations, and operators have been relying on an ageing communication system that could receive only one incoming call at a time and used paper directories.

‘During a complete power outage we were blind to how many people were ringing us and we could not prioritise calls,’ said LU power control room engineer Perry Roper.

Integration specialist Damovo has installed an Ericsson communications system, Northgate PC-based call touch system and voice recording functions.

It runs on HP servers and PCs and allows the control centre to handle more calls, prioritise them during an emergency and deliver information through a single interface.

Roper says the system alerts controllers to emergency calls and allows staff to shut down power to the track immediately, as well as switching it off at night much more quickly.

‘We have had a much better response time and reduction in maintenance and support costs,’ he said. ‘Another cost saving comes from being able to let engineers onto the track faster during the night to begin work.’

The system is centralised, has its own exchange and handles 500,000 events a year. LU is also planning to use mobile digital phones on the system to allow managers to communicate with the control centre while they are on the move in an emergency.

IT departments are placing increasing emphasis on more advanced and resilient communications, says Sharifah Amirah, research manager at analyst Frost and Sullivan.

‘Following the security scares of the past couple of years, there has been a rise in the number of transport companies in particular improving communications,’ she said. ‘Ensuring business continuity is vital – this is part of an increasing trend to deliver a better emergency response.’