Corporate report

Euston Station trial of new technology to improve public safety and security: privacy information notice

Updated 5 January 2023

As part of our trial of new public safety and security technology, we will be collecting data from Euston Station between 30 November 2021 and 31 March 2022.

The trial will be carried out by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Createc Ltd, working in partnership as joint controllers. Createc, for its part, will have complete control over the operation and security of the Lidar technology (both hardware and software) and the processing of the data and development of algorithms. It will also ensure that appropriate privacy notices are installed at Euston Station and on its own website.

The trial is being conducted by the DfT in connection with our public task to improve public safety at transport hubs. The data will be used for scientific research purposes only to develop the technology. It will not be used to identify individuals.

How the data is displayed

The software will use light detection and ranging (Lidar) technology to collect data on the movement of individuals and crowds within Euston Station from the specified dates.

The lidar system deploys non-visible light to scan areas of the station concourse. The lidar images are significantly less detailed than CCTV images. As shown in the image, each individual in a crowd is represented by a dot and it will not be possible for individuals to be identified from the thousands of other dots collected from a particular location at a particular time.

As a precaution and to ensure transparency, we will protect and treat the data as though it were personal data.

This data will be used to train a machine-learning algorithm for the detection of abnormal, suspicious, criminal, dangerous or safety-critical behaviour. This algorithm will be used to support station safety and security staff to help ensure public safety and security.

Privacy protected

The data will not be disclosed to a third party unless DfT or Createc are permitted or required to do so by law.

For further information about how DfT handles personal data, what your rights are and how to contact us, see the Personal information charter. Queries about the processing of data should be addressed to DataProtectionOfficer@dft.gov.uk.

More information is available at the Createc website.