Designing a real time train control and monitoring system architecture: a case study of Rift Valley Railways

Abstract

A train control system is a vital part of a railway transportation system especially for a single line like RVR Railway. In a single line the track is a shared resource but unlike road vehicles the train is does not steer away from the track in the face of another oncoming train and thus there is an omnipresent danger of collision with other trains. Safe movement of trains in a single line is ensured through a combination of a signaling systems and rules governing the use of the shared resource. RVR has been using a mechanical signaling system that is obsolete in technology, been prone to vandalism, labour intensive and highly reliant on human integrity. The system is no longer viable. Modern computerized Train control systems in use in heavily used railway lines are not cost effective for lightly used lines. The purpose of this project was to design a train control system that is cost effective,less prone to vandalism and less reliant on human element using easily available technologies. A train control system based on GPS technology and client -server technology was designed, built, tested and found to meet the objectives. The system was designed with a mix of customized software and off the shelf software. The system comprises a GPS receiver, computer terminal and GSM modem in the locomotive which communicates via GPRS to a server in the control centre. The server runs Apache Web Server and MySQL. The Locomotive driver requests and receives Authority to proceed through the locomotive based terminal. Using GPS systems for location determination and locally developed software a safe and cost effective train control system working with little human intervention can be developed at a fraction of imported