Passengers step off the SkyTrain at the Stadium station in Vancouver. (Mike Laanela/CBC)

A Surrey, B.C., man is calling for stepped-up security at SkyTrain stations after he says he was attacked in plain view of a transit security camera but still had to phone for help.

Ravinder Sidhu said he was beaten and robbed late on the night of July 15 in a well-lit area at Surrey Central Station. Sidhu said the attacker left him bruised after stealing his watch and gifts for his six-year-old son.

“I had to get up, call the security people from the red phone which is in the secured area, and then somebody came to my aid,” said Sidhu.

“What if I had been knocked unconscious or I got stabbed? I wouldn't be able to pick up the red phone,” he said.

Sidhu said he’s speaking out now, two weeks after the robbery, to ensure the incident isn’t forgotten.

TransLink officials said a full-time security guard is present at Surrey Central station during SkyTrain hours, between 5 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. on weekdays. The officials said the guard may have been busy attending to another call.

Sidhu called for around-the-clock monitoring of all 900 security cameras in the SkyTrain system. TransLink says there are an average 23 cameras at each of its 33 stations.

Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains said he agrees with Sidhu.

"Security cameras must be monitored without interruption while the line is in operation," Bains said.

But TransLink communications director Ken Hardie said that could cost millions of dollars, and the added expense is beyond the transit system’s budget.

"Simply put, we do not have the resources available to us to monitor the complete video network all the time," Hardie said.