At 50 km long with 37.8 km running underneath the English Channel, the Channel Tunnel is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. It is hailed by international civil engineering experts in the US and Europe as "the greatest infrastructure success of the 20th century." Eurotunnel owns the concession to operate it until 2086. 212 million passengers and 196 million tonnes of merchandise have passed through the Tunnel since the commercial opening in spring 1994.
So it was not without a certain flush of pride that Extreme CCTV learned from Eurotunnel officials that their EX82 Integrated Day Night™ (IDN™) cameras had delivered over 5 years uninterrupted video surveillance in the Eurotunnel.
By any standards, the tunnel is an extreme environment due to high pressure air flows, humidity and ambient salinity, but Extreme CCTV's EX82 camera took all that in its stride.
"Extreme CCTV cameras have provided Eurotunnel with uninterrupted underground images for over five years now. Due to the location of the cameras, it is important to us that this equipment is relatively low maintenance and is both 'rugged and reliable'," says Richard Howkins, Team Leader, Maintenance & Signalling Department, Eurotunnel.
Extreme CCTV's Ian Crosby says, "The camera has done a fantastic job to last 5 years without incident in such a difficult environment and is a testament to our build quality and design."
The EX82 combines camera, lens and infrared into a single all-weather housing for a true Plug & Play installation friendly solution. The camera was recently upgraded to incorporate Black Diamond™ infrared technology, now known as an EX82 Infrared Imager™ it delivers High-Fidelity™ illumination for even crisper, high resolution night-time images.
The cameras which are field proven in high-profile security applications worldwide are playing a critical role in a system that has safely delivered more than 212 million people and 196 million tonnes of goods through the Eurotunnel since its opening in May 1994. That's an average of more than 26,000 customers and 50,000 tonnes of goods transported by 300 trains every day.
