AN AUTOMATED RAILWAY STATION TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

*Corresponding author tel: +234-703-186-7444.

AN AUTOMATED RAILWAY STATION TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

J. A. Enokela1,* and K. L. Oladejo2 1,2 DEPT. OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGR. FED. UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, MAKURDI, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

E-mail addresses: [email protected]; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Majority of accidents experienced with railway transportation involve collision with automobiles or other vehicles and

collision with other trains. These collisions can be averted by putting safety measures in place. Part of the measures can

be achieved by using computerized railway station traffic control systems that use microcontrollers and

electromechanical devices to shift traffic from one rail lane to another and also to operate the level crossing gate. The two

major stages of the system being described here are thus the track switching stage and the level crossing gate stage. The

system makes use of microcontrollers for decision making. The microcontrollers are programmed to detect signals from

sensors and to output the processed signals to control electromagnetic devices through motor drivers. The codes for the

microcontrollers were written in PIC Basic programming language and were debugged and compiled using Micro Code

Studio Integrated Development Environment. The resultant Hex files were programmed into the memory of the

microcontrollers with the aid of a universal programmer. Software simulation was carried out using the Proteus virtual

system modeling software. A scaled down prototype of the system was built and tested. The prototype was able to

execute all the decisions required to control the given railway station. A practical real life system would require the

scaling up of the power required to drive the various motors; the logic of the system would however remain unchanged.

The inclusion of the automated traffic control lighting system at the level crossing gate in the system eliminates the

fatigue and tedium associated with a manually controlled traffic system. The computerized railway station traffic control

system which helps in track switching and level crossing gate traffic control is capable of improving reliability, speed,

operational safety and efficiency of the railway transportation system.

Keywords: Rail Track Switching, Microcontroller, Rail Level Crossing Gate, Traffic Control

1. INTRODUCTION

The railway transportation system provides services to

millions of passengers worldwide and is also responsible

for the haulage of tones of goods daily. It is a high

capacity system and it is economical. The necessity to

keep train journeys safe and reliable cannot be

overemphasized. A number of recent train accidents

especially train-train collisions on the tracks, and train-

vehicle collisions at the level crossings, have been

attributed to the old methods of signaling and operations

[1].The introduction of computerized railway traffic

control systems that have automatic safety features will

improve the reliability, efficiency, and safety of the

railway system both in the station and at the level

crossing.

Many attempts have been made to design such systems

that will provide a reliable safety measure to the railway.

The works discussed in [2] and [3] considered the safety

of the rail but they do not extend to safety at the level

crossing gate in terms of automatic operation of the gate.

A system that provides efficient rail safety is discussed in

[4]. The main shortcoming of this system is that it does

not extend its scope to track switching; thus it does not

give complete safety as required. The development of a

rail safety system explained in [1] shows that automatic

track switching can be performed both automatically and

manually and also can be controlled by the software from

the main control room which gives the system more

flexibility of operation. The main drawback of this work

is that it does not include the level crossing gate. In the

work done discussed in [5] the track switching and level

crossing were put into consideration to provide complete

rail safety. This work does not extend to the safety within

the train parking yard. An elaborate system that uses

onboard computer that compares the train’s location and

speed with authorized speed limits, automatically

applying the train’s brakes when necessary, is provided

by Signalling Solutions [6]. Some applications of the

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to rail traffic

are discussed in [7] and [8].

Nigerian Journal of Technology (NIJOTECH)

Vol. 36, No. 1, January 2017, pp. 138 – 147

Copyright© Faculty of Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka,

Print ISSN: 0331-8443, Electronic ISSN: 2467-8821

www.nijotech.com

http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.18

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nijotech.com/

http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.1

AN AUTOMATED RAILWAY STATION TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM J. A. Enokela & K. L. Oladejo

Nigerian Journal of Technology Vol. 36, No. 1, January, 2017 139

In this work, our designed system considered a multi-

track railway station; the process of arrival and

departure of trains to and from the station was

programmed into the memory of a microcontroller and

this program handles all traffic related matters within

the railway station. Another microcontroller was

programmed to handle traffic flow across the two level

crossings that are associated with the railway station

under study. The microcontrollers take inputs from

sensors and, after processing these signals, control

motors through relays and drivers to switch tracks and

also to operate level crossing gates. Some advantages of

our system include:

(i) The design and construction of a computerized

railway station traffic control system will ease

operation of a point or switch in the event that a

train wants to be shunted out of a lane.

(ii) It will assist in sequential parking of train and also

notify the operators when the tracks are full.

(iii) It will help in the control of level crossing gates

which will reduce, if not totally eliminate, train-

vehicle collision.

(iv) The system will help with easy shutting down of

lane(s) that require maintenance.

(v) It will assist in prevention of fatal accidents that

may be caused by train-train collision.

(vi) The system will reduce, if not eliminate, the fatigue

of railway staff at the level crossing junction to

control motorists and pedestrians in order to give

the train priority to pass at the level crossing

junction.

2. MATERIALS AND METHOD

2.1 Architecture of the System

The proposed railway station traffic control system is

made up of two stages: the track switching stage and the

level crossing stage. The block diagrams of the system

are shown in figure 1. The block diagrams show that the

system is made up of three principal units. The detector

unit consists of sensors. Signalling Solutions senses the

passage of train with the aid of a specialized sensor

known as Eurobalise that is installed in the tracks [6].

Various types of sensors including infrared, strain gauge,

and laser may be used [9]. The signal processing unit is

the microcontroller itself. This unit takes inputs from the

sensors in the detector unit and sends output signals to

the control unit that consists of the motor drivers, the

motors, visual display units and the alarm system.

The track switching stage depicted in the circuit diagram

in figure 2 helps to prevent collision of two trains coming

in opposite directions by giving one of the trains the

opportunity to follow one track and the other train to

follow a different track. It also helps in parking trains in

an orderly manner on the parking tracks. Consider the

passing and track switching operation for a lane as

shown in figure 3 where the sensors are depicted by

switches. As the train intercepts the passing sensor SW1

the corresponding LED is turned on to show that the

train is passing along the lane. If the train is to be parked

along the lane the parking sensor, depicted as SW2, is

intercepted and a signal is sent to the microcontroller

which operates the track switching arrangement that

then enables the train to be parked.

Figure 1: Block Diagrams of Railway Station Traffic Control

System

The circuit diagram of the level crossing stage is shown

in figure 4 where sensors, represented by switches, are

used as inputs to the microcontroller whose outputs

control traffic lights for regulating pedestrian and

vehicular traffic across the level crossing. The opening

and closing of the gates at the level crossing are also

controlled by the microcontroller through motors that

are driven through H bridges. The system described here

has been designed for Makurdi railway station located in

Benue State, Nigeria. The layout of tracks within this

station is shown in figure 5. The software and signaling

system may be modified to suit the peculiarities of any

other railway station.

2.2 Software Design

The software was designed with the aid of flow charts

which were translated into codes for the

microcontrollers using the Micro Code Studio Integrated

Development Environment [10]. The flowchart for the

microcontroller that controls the passing and parking of

trains is given in figure 6.As shown in figure 5 the three

lanes that a passing train can occupy in transit are lane 1,

lane 2, and lane 3. The program starts by checking which

of these lanes is free for a train to pass through. The

appropriate track connecting links are switched into

place after the correct decision has been taken. The

program ensures that a train is directed to occupy a lane

only if the lane is free.



Figure 2: Circuit Diagram of the Track Switching Stage of Railway Station Traffic Control System

Figure 3: Detector Circuit of Track Switching Stage of Railway

Station Traffic Control System

If all the transit lanes are occupied, or if the train is to be

parked for a long period for some maintenance action,

the train is directed to occupy one of the parking lanes

P1, P2, P3, P4, or P5. The sensor corresponding to the

parking lane (these sensors are shown in figure 2 as

SW13 –SW17) is activated and the appropriate parking

light is turned on. An alarm is turned on if all the transit

and parking lanes are occupied; the incoming train is

then kept waiting before the level crossing

Figure 7 gives the flowchart for the microcontroller that

controls the level crossing gate. Four sensors, labeled LA,

LB, LC, and LD in figure 4, are used to monitor the arrival

and departure of trains and to control the operation of

the level crossing gate. Sensors LA and LD are mounted

at the far ends of the entry rail to the station, before the

level crossing, one at each end. Sensors LB and LC are

mounted at the inside of the station before the level

crossing, also one at each end. As the train arrives in the

station, it triggers sensor LA or LD; a yellow light and an

audible alarm are turned on at the level crossing to warn

the pedestrians and vehicle drivers of the approach of

the train. After the elapse of a preset time interval the

light at the level crossing changes to red, the alarm is still

turned on, and the level crossing gate closes to

pedestrian and vehicular traffic. As the train enters the

station and triggers sensor LB, the light at the level

crossing turns yellow, the alarm turns off, and after the

elapse of a preset time interval, the light turns green and

the level crossing gate opens to pedestrian and vehicular

traffic. The same sequence of events occurs if the train

approaches the station from the other level crossing. In

this case, however, sensor LD plays the same role as

sensor LA while the role of sensor LC is the same as that

of sensor LB.

MCLR/VPP1

RA0/AN02

RA1/AN13

RA2/AN2/VREF-4

RA3/AN3/VREF+5

RA4/T0CKI6

RA5/AN4/SS/LVDIN7

RE0/RD/AN58

RE1/WR/AN69

RE2/CS/AN710

OSC1/CLKI13

RA6/OSC2/CLKO14

RC0/T1OSO/T1CKI15

RC2/CCP117

RC3/SCK/SCL18

RD0/PSP019

RD1/PSP120

RD2/PSP221

RD3/PSP322

RD4/PSP427

RD5/PSP528

RD6/PSP629

RD7/PSP730

RC4/SDI/SDA23

RC5/SDO24

RC6/TX/CK25

RC7/RX/DT26

RB0/INT033

RB1/INT134

RB2/INT235

RB3/CCP2B36

RB437

RB5/PGM38

RB6/PGC39

RB7/PGD40

RC1/T1OSI/CCP2A16

PIC18F452

+VCC

R1 R2

a

SW1 SW2

+VCC

R3 R4

b

SW3 SW4

+VCC

R5 R6

c

SW5 SW6

+VCC

R7 R8

d

SW7 SW8

+VCC

R9 R10

e

SW9 SW10

+VCC

R11 R12

f

SW11 SW12

+VCC

Pa

ssi

ng

Pa

rkin

g

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6

R13 R14 R15 R16 R17

+VCC

g h l k m

SW14 SW15SW16 SW17

SW13

R18 R19 R20 R21 R22

D7D8 D9 D10 D11

n o p q r

Parking Lots Indicator Lights

R23

Reset

R24

D12 Parking Lots Full Indicator

g

h

l

k

a

b

c

d

e

f

n

o

p

q

r

Lane Switching Network

Motor Drivers and Motors

L1

L2

L3

L4

L5

L6

L7

L8

L9

L10

L11

L12

L13

L14

L1

L2

L3

L4

L5

L6

L7

L8

L9

L10

L11

L12

L13

L14

+VM

A B C D E F

Passing and Track Switching Circuits

Parking Lane Selection and Sensor Circuits

Microcontroller

Lanes Full Alarm

R1 R2

a

SW1 SW2

+VCC

R3

Pas

sing

Par

king

D1

A



If a train is leaving the station instead of arriving it, the

roles of the pair of sensors LA, LB or LC, LD are reversed

but the sequence of events, however, remains the same.

The question of determining whether a train is arriving

or leaving a station is resolved by finding out if sensors

LA and LD are triggered before sensors LB and LC

respectively or vice versa.

The programs for the microcontrollers were written in

PIC basic language. The programs were compiled and

debugged in the MicroCode Studio Integrated

Development Environment. The simulation of the

firmware and hardware was carried out using the

Proteus Virtual System Modeling (VSM) environment

version 8 [11]. The resultant hex file was burnt into the

program memory of the microcontroller with the aid of a

TOP2007 universal programmer [12].

Figure 4: Circuit Diagram of the Level Crossing Stage of Railway Station Traffic Control System

OSC1/CLKIN16

RB0/INT6

RB17

RB28

RB39

RB410

RB511

RB612

RB713

RA017

RA118

RA21

RA32

RA4/T0CKI3

OSC2/CLKOUT15

MCLR4

U1

PIC16F84A

R1

Q1

+VMC

D1

R2

D2

+VCC

R3

Q2

D3

R4

D4

+VCC

R5

Q3

D5

R6

D6

+VCC

R8 R9 R10

R11 R12 R13 R14

+VCC

e f g h

mk n

a

c

b

d

e

f

g

h

k

n

m

dcba

X1

C1

C2

R7

+VCC

Motor Driver

Green Yellow Red

Reset

Arrival and Departure Sensors

Level Crossing Lights

LA LB LC LD

Level Alarm 1

Level Alarm 2



Figure 5: Railway Crossing and Station Yard in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

3. RESULTS

Typical screenshots taken during program development

are shown in figure 8 and figure 9. The circuits of the

track switching stage and level crossing stage were built

on vero boards as shown in figures 10 and 11

respectively. Figure 12 shows the prototype of the

constructed computerized railway traffic control system.

Small model toy trains were run over the tracks shown.

Track changes and signaling at the gates were observed

to correspond to the desired logic of the design.



Figure 6: Flowchart for the Track Switching Stage

Start

Train Passing

through Lane 2?

Connect E to D Yes

Train must be parking; Search for Free Parking

Track

Is there free

Track?

Alarm No

Connect Lane 1 to Lane 2 through Link L1

Park Train; Turn On Corresponding Parking Light

Connect Lane 2 to Lane 3 through Link L2

No

No

Yes

Train Passing

through Lane 1? Allow Train to Continue on Lane 1

Yes

Train Passing

through Lane 3?

Connect F to D Yes

No



Figure 7: Flowchart for the Level Crossing Gate

Start

No

Turn On Yellow Light; Turn

On Audible Alarm

Sensor LA or

LD Active?

Yes, Arriving Train

Turn On Red Light; Turn On

Audible Alarm; Close Level

Crossing Gate

Cause Preset Time Delay

Sensor LB or

LC Active?


Off Audible Alarm


Turn On Green Light

Open Level Crossing

Gate

Sensor LB

or LC

No, Departing Train

No


On Audible Alarm

Turn On Red Light; Turn On

Audible Alarm; Close Level

Crossing Gate


Sensor LA or

LD Active?


Off Audible Alarm


Turn On Green Light

Open Level Crossing Gate

Yes

Yes

No

Yes



Figure8:A Typical Screenshot during Track Switching Program Development

Figure9: Screenshot showing the Level Crossing Program Development



Figure 10: Circuit Board of Track Switching Stage

Figure 11: Circuit Board of Level Crossing Stage

Figure 12: Picture of Prototype of the Computerized Railway Station Traffic Control System



4. DISCUSSION

Two different microcontrollers have been used in this

project because of the large number of Input/Output

(I/O) pins required to drive all the peripheral devices

connected to the microcontrollers. This also inhibits the

implementation of the anticlockwise rotation of motors

at the track switching stage for returning the shifted

track to the original position after its operation. This

project can be carried out with a single microcontroller

that has the required number of I/O pins. H-bridge

drivers can also be implemented with the motors at the

track switching stage to control the return of any shifted

track. The system described in this project has been

constructed to operate a small gate at the level crossing

stage and a low weight track at the track switching stage

in order to demonstrate the workability of the design.

The actual materials can still be used with the control

system described but the driver circuitry must use

components that can handle more power required for

expected result to be realized.

5. CONCLUSION

The computerized railway station traffic control system

that has been successfully designed and built in this work

is meant to provide a reliable safety measure against

railway accident, to help in sequential parking of trains

in station yard and also to give the train priority over

road vehicle at the level crossing junction. The system

achieves a good measure of security with the aids of

microcontrollers, electric motors and micro switches

which serve as sensors. It can be modified to industrial

standard using components that can handle more power

required for expected result to be realized.

6. REFERENCES

[1] Azim, R. S., Mahmud, K., and Das, C. K., “Automatic Track Switching System with Computerized Control from the Central Monitoring Unit”, International Journal of u- and e- Service and Technology, 2014, 20(9),p.201-212. http://www.sersc.org/journals/IJUNESST/vol7_no1/18.pdf (accessed on 27/09/2014)

[2] Antoni, M., “Formal Validation Method and Tools for French Computerized Railway Interlocking System”, IJR

International Journal of Railway, 2(3),p.99-106. http://ieexplore.ieee.org>...>Computer$ Industrial Engine (accessed on 28/09/2014) 2009.

[3] Hwang, J., and Jo, H, “Hazard Identification of Railway Signaling System Using PHA and HAZOP Method”, International Journal of Automation and Power Engineering (IJAPE), 2013, 2(2),p.32-39. http://www.ijape.org/Download.aspx?ID =3468 (accessed on 27/09/2014).

[4] Banuchandar, J., Kaliraj, V., Balasubramanian, P., Deepa, S., and Thamilarasi, N., “Automated Unmanned Railway Level Crossing System”, International Journal of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER), 2012, 2(1), p.458-463. http://www.ijmer.com/papers/Vol2_issue1/BX021458463.pdf (accessed on 30/09/2014)

[5] Krishna., Yadav, S., and Nidhi., “Automatic Railway Gate Control Using Microcontroller”, Oriental Journal of Computer Science & Technology, 6(4),p.435-440. http://computerscijournal.org/dnload/.Yadav.../ojSCSV06104P435-440.pdf (accessed on 30/09/2014). 2013,

[6] Signalling Solutions Limited, Borehamwood Industrial Park, Rowley Lane, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 5PZ, www.signallingsolutions.com

[7] Bedrich, S., and Gu, X.,“GNSS-Based Sensor Fusion for Safety-Critical Applications in Rail Traffic”, http://www.galileo-services.org/library/2.1-Bedrich.pdf (accessed on 03/04/2015)

[8] Salmi, P., and Torkkeli, M., “Inventions Utilizing Satellite Navigation Systems in the Railway Industry- An Analysis of Patenting Activity”, Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, Vol. 4, Issue 3, pp. 46-58. 2009,.

[9] Dipoppa, G., D’Alessandro, G., Semprini, R., and Tronci, E, “Integrating Automatic Verification of Safety Requirements in Railway Interlocking System Design”, The 6th IEEE International Symposium on High Assurance Systems Engineering (HASE’01), Washington, USA, October 22-24. 2001.

[10] MicroEngineering Labs Incorporation. (online),microcode studio IDE/Debugger/Simulator. Available at:www.pbp3.com/downloads/PBP_Reference manual.pdfb (Accessed on 06/10/2014) 2014.

[11] Labcenter Electronics. (online2014), Proteus Design Suite. Available at: www.labcenter.com/index.cfm (accessed on 06/10/2014).

[12] Universal Programmer. (online2014),Universal Programmer Model: TOP 2005. Available at: http://www.nskelectronics.com/files/top_2007_spec.pdf (accessed on 04/10/2014).

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http://www.labcenter.com/index.cfm

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AN AUTOMATED RAILWAY STATION TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

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