Eurostar pilots biometric border control solution at French rail station

In an effort to maximize the speed and efficiency of the immigration clearance process for passengers travelling from the UK into continental Europe and the Schengen zone, Eurostar selected Vision-Box to deploy a facial recognition-based automated border control solution at St Pancras International rail station, located at the French border.

The Vision-Box’s vb i-match ABC eGates solution has been deployed for use by all passengers from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland over 18 years old and holding a valid electronic passport. The automated gate solution is designed for passenger convenience, including cameras that automatically adjust to the passenger’s height and innovative patented document feeder technology that promotes a high reading success rate.

The solution integrates passenger identification (biometric verification, passport checks, passenger assessment and profiling) with real-time monitoring of operations. Using the integrated border management platform, border force officers have greater control of the entire end-to-end security infrastructure and quickly respond to any crucial situation or threat.

According to a company statement, this private/public initiative between Eurostar, the French border police and the French Ministry of Interior initiative marks the first time such self-service technological solutions have been deployed by a private transportation service provider for optimizing passenger flow at a border within an international rail hub. This initiative also represents the beginning of the next-generation of PARAFE, the French automated border crossing system that uses biometric authentication technology to verify passengers identity at the country’s borders. Vision-Box is planning additional deployments this year on other Eurostar sites in France and Belgium.

Vision-Box facial recognition software is currently being tested at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

Article Topics

ABC gates  |  biometrics  |  border security  |  epassport  |  Eurostar  |  facial recognition  |  France  |  Vision-Box