Railway Signalling Using Wireless Sensor Networks

Railway Signalling Using Wireless Sensor Networks

Sandeep Patalay
Sr. IT Engineer, CMC Ltd
sandeep.patalay@gmail.com

Abstract
Railway Signalling is safety critical domain, where still traditional technology
is in use. There are many reasons for using traditional technology; one of the main
reasons being the proven Safety performance of the older systems (Relay Based). As
the rail traffic is increasing and with higher speed of trains there is an acute need for
modernization of Railway Signalling Technology. Even with the advent of
Microprocessor based technology, the problems have not been solved.

This article proposes the use of Wireless sensor networks in Railway

Signaling domain which combines the Ground base signalling and the OnBoard
Signalling, which is suitable for high Speed Railway Traffic. The article gives brief
idea of the architectures of a Sensor Node, Driver node, Gateway Node and Base
Station. It discusses the network Architectures and the Routing algorithms to be used
in the sensor networks. It also discusses the design of Control laws (Interlocking
Logic) for safe movement of trains and also the failsafe techniques to be used in the
design of such Technology. It also describes the challenges in using the Concept of
Wireless Sensor Networks in Railway Signalling Domain.

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Contents
1. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................3
1.1. ABOUT INDIAN RAILWAYS.......................................................................................................3
1.2. SIGNALLING SYSTEMS.............................................................................................................3
1.3. SIGNALLING CONCEPTS...........................................................................................................4
1.3.1. Route Relay Interlocking...................................................................................................4
1.3.2. Solid State Interlocking (SSI) or Computer Interlocking System (CIS)............................5
2. EXISTING INTERLOCKING SYSTEMS AND THEIR LIMITATIONS..............................7
2.1. ROUTE RELAY INTERLOCKING (RRI)......................................................................................7
2.2. COMPUTER BASED INTERLOCKING SYSTEM (SSI)..................................................................8
2.2.1. Challenges faced by Computer based Interlocking Systems.............................................9
3. PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE OF SIGNALLING SYSTEMS IN RAILWAYS.................11
3.1. WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS.............................................................................................11
3.1.1. Sensor Node.....................................................................................................................11
3.1.2. Gateway Node.................................................................................................................12
3.1.3. Base Station.....................................................................................................................12
3.1.4. Driving Node...................................................................................................................14
3.2. NETWORK ARCHITECTURE....................................................................................................14
3.2.1. Routing Algorithms..........................................................................................................16
3.2.1.1 Flat routing algorithm.........................................................................................................16
3.2.1.2 TinyOS beaconing..............................................................................................................17
3.2.1.3 Pulse routing algorithm.......................................................................................................17
4. FAILSAFE TECHNIQUES.........................................................................................................19
4.1. FAIL SAFE TECH USED IN THE DESIGN OF CONTROL LAWS (INTERLOCKING LOGIC)...........20
4.1.1. Geographical Method......................................................................................................20
4.1.2. Boolean Equation Method...............................................................................................20
5. CHALLENGES IN USING WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS IN RAILWAY
SIGNALLING........................................................................................................................................21
6. FUTURE WORK AND CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................23
7. APPENDIX- A..............................................................................................................................24
7.1. GLOSSARY OF TERMS............................................................................................................29

List of Figures
FIGURE 1: TYPICAL RELAY CIRCUIT..........................................................................................................5
FIGURE 2: A TYPICAL SOLID STATE INTERLOCKING SYSTEM IN A STATION YARD...................................6
FIGURE 3: TYPICAL RRI INSTALLATION.....................................................................................................8
FIGURE 4: TYPICAL SSI INSTALLATION......................................................................................................9
FIGURE 5: TYPICAL ARCHITECTURE OF A SENSOR NODE........................................................................12
FIGURE 6: TYPICAL ARCHITECTURE OF A BASE STATION........................................................................13
FIGURE 7: TYPICAL ARCHITECTURE OF A DRIVING NODE.......................................................................14
FIGURE 8: FUTURISTIC MODEL USING SENSOR NETWORKS IN RAILWAY SIGNALLING............................15
FIGURE 9: ROUTING TREES......................................................................................................................16
FIGURE 10: FAILSAFE HARDWARE FOR SENSOR NODE............................................................................19
FIGURE 11: TIME REDUNDANCY..............................................................................................................27
FIGURE 12: HARDWARE REDUNDANCY....................................................................................................27
FIGURE 13: HARDWARE DIVERSITY.........................................................................................................27
FIGURE 14: SOFTWARE DIVERSITY...........................................................................................................28
FIGURE 15: DIVERSE SOFTWARE ON REDUNDANT HARDWARE.................................................................28
FIGURE 16: DIVERSE SOFTWARE ON DIVERSE HARDWARE......................................................................28

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1. Introduction

The railway signalling domain is a safety critical domain, where safety is

given utmost importance. The railway signalling domain is mostly operated using
traditional technology, which is considered safe and time proven. The New advances
in technology have not been able to solve age old problems of safety and reliability.
Here we give brief of the signalling domain and signalling concepts

1.1. About Indian Railways

Railways traverse through the length and breadth of the country covering 63,140
route kms, comprising broad gauge (45,099 kms), meter gauge (14,776 kms) and
narrow gauge (3,265 kms). As the principal constituent of the nation's transport
system, Indian Railways own a fleet of 2, 16,717 wagons (units), 39,236 coaches and
7,739 number of locomotives and manage to run 14,444 trains daily, including about
8,702 passenger trains. They carry more than a million tonne of freight traffic and
about 14 million passengers covering 6,856 number of stations daily.

Harnessing the potential of these vast and widespread assets to meet the growing
traffic needs of developing economy is no easy task and makes Indian Railways a
complex cybernetic system. Over the years, Railways have built up an elaborate and
well established manual information system to help them monitoring their moving
assets. Supported by a dedicated voice communications network, it collects and
transmits information from the remotest corners of the country to control centres, at
the highest level. The size and complexity of their operations, growing traffic and
changing technologies, placed inevitably a heavy burden on this manual information
system. Need for its modernization was therefore felt for sometime.

1.2. Signalling Systems

The most important part of the railways to carry out operations like safe
movement of trains and communications between different entities is Signalling. The
Railway signalling is governed by a concept called Interlocking. A railway
interlocking system controls the traffic in a railway station, and between adjacent
stations. The control includes train routes, shunting moves and the movements of all
other railway vehicles in accordance with railway rules, regulations and technological
processes required for the operation of the railway station.

The are different types of Interlocking Systems available like cabin Interlocking
System (Mechanical Interlocking), Panel Interlocking System (PI), Route Relay
Interlocking System (RRI) and Solid Sate Interlocking System (SSI) also known as
Computer Interlocking System (CIS). The cabin Interlocking system is obsolete and
the Panel interlocking is slowing becoming obsolete. The Route Relay Interlocking
System is the widely used system. In the present age of Information technology, the
relay based technology is slowly being phased out and replaced with SSIs, but there
are operational issues with Computer based interlocking systems.

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1.3. Signalling Concepts

A station yard consists of Signals, Track Circuits and Points. These elements
are the deciding factors in the safe movement of trains. For Safe movement of trains,
some of the factors such as the track on which the train travels is unoccupied until a
safe distance, no Conflicting Movement with any other train(s) Etc. are considered..
The presence of the train on certain portion of the track is detected by a device called
Track Circuit. The object which gives the information to the train driver is the signal.
The Object used to divert the direction or set the direction of the train is a point. All
these objects such as Signals, track Circuits and points etc form input to a Centralized
system, which monitor the state of these devices and based on the Interlocking rules
and Commands given by the station master decide the safe movement of trains inside
a station yard. So all the elements in the yard are interlocked with one another, thus
the term INTERLOCKING comes in to existence. The Control laws or better known
as Interlocking rules which decide the safe movements of trains have evolved over a
period of 150 years of experience gained in operating trains. These Controls laws are
extremely complex.

1.3.1. Route Relay Interlocking

In Route Relay Interlocking or popularly known as RRI, the Control Rules are
implemented using Relays. These relay based circuits implement all types of Logic
and take inputs from Signals, Points and Track Circuits Etc. in the form of relays. The
Command to set and clear the route for the train is taken in the form of button form
the Station masters console (Control cum Indication panel). When a command is
given the RRI checks if the command given is safe and takes necessary action, but if
the command given by the station master is invalid and unsafe it does not execute it.

The output of the Interlocking Logic is also a relay, which in turn drive the
signals and Point Machines associated with points. RRI till date is the safest system
implemented, because it implements the proven interlocking rules and also since the
Relays used in RRI are inherently failsafe, they (Contacts) drop to safe state due to
gravity even when power supply is not available or in any kind of malfunction.

The relays circuits are build using the station Control Table as the input
document and the interlocking rules as the Logic. The Control table decides the
possible movements of the train inside a station yard and its relationship with other
stations.

Example of Typical Control law or Interlocking Equation:

ASSIGN ~59EMTEZ * (L60HS * 59NWC + L60AHS * 59RWC + ~59TPS *
R62VS) TO R62VS;

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Implementation of the above equation using relays:

Figure 1: Typical Relay Circuit

1.3.2. Solid State Interlocking (SSI) or Computer Interlocking System (CIS)

An Interlocking System When built using Electronics replacing traditional
Mechanical Levers and Electro mechanical relays is called as Solid state Interlocking
System. The Same Interlocking rules or control equations used in RRI form the basis
here also. The relays used to form the logic circuits in RRI are replaced by software
variables. The field inputs are collected using digital input cards and outputs are
given using digital output cards. The processing is done by a processor where the
virtual relays (Software Variables) are evaluated using the Interlocking equations,
which are now in digitized form either as Algorithms, Boolean equations or state
charts in the processor memory. These algorithms now being executed by the
processing unit take appropriate action.

SSIs are required to replace the existing RRI and PI Systems Since the
traditional systems are very expensive and difficult to maintain because of the huge
number of relays and mechanical levers used. SSIs are a better solution to the older
systems since they are costing only the cost of RRI or PI and the maintenance cost
is negligible and are easy to maintain.

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Figure 2: A Typical Solid State Interlocking System in a Station Yard

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2. Existing Interlocking systems and their Limitations

Here we discuss the existing systems used for railway traffic control and their
system architectures. We also list out the limitations these systems have in the current
scenario

2.1. Route Relay Interlocking (RRI)

In traditional RRI (Route Relay Interlocking) systems the interlocking logic is
implemented through electromechanical relays. In a typical four road station the
number of relays used to implement this type of logic would in the order of 1000
relays and wiring is so complex that the time taken to install and commission a RRI is
very long. The testing of the system requires the total station to be setup and testing
done during normal train operation. The maintenance of RRI systems is costly and
complex. So the need for a better system which would reduce the number of relays
and maintenance was needed.

A brief list of issues that explain why RRIs are not suitable in the present age of
Information technology

1. The Relays used to build the logic circuits are bulky and take a lot of space
2. The relay wiring is very huge and it may take years to complete an installation
3. The wiring from the field object such as Signals, Points and tracks to the
Relay Room and entire relay wiring is done using copper cables, which is
expensive and it amounts to 50% of the RRI installation cost
4. The testing of RRI is still an informal process that take months to verify and
validate the installation
5. Any change to the station yard such as adding an additional line requires most
or entire RRI wiring to be changed or replaced, which take years to complete
6. Maintenance of the system is very difficult

Due to the above listed reasons, we conclude that RRI is not acceptable to present day
scenarios where traffic needs are growing continuously and the demand for speed of
trains in continuously going up

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Figure 3: Typical RRI Installation

2.2. Computer based Interlocking System (SSI)

In SSI system the relays used to implement the interlocking logic in RRI
would be simulated by software variables and only the final Output driving relays are
needed, so the number of relays is reduced to of the total RRI relays. The
Installation time is also greatly reduced to 1/5 of the RRI installation time and the
testing can be simulated and be done even at the factory. Thus the need for a SSI
System aroused. The Control Laws or the Interlocking equations are modified as
software algorithms and are stored in the embedded system memory. The control table
of the station yard which gives the possible movements of the trains in the yard is
stored as look up tables in software.

Advantages of SSI over RRI:

1. The space taken by SSI system is minimal when compared to RRI

2. Entire logic circuits are simulated in software, no need of Bulky relays
3. Relay wiring cost is saved
4. Installation time comes down drastically to months
5. Verification and Validation of Software is a formal documented process
6. Any change to the Station yard can be quickly addressed by changing the look
up tables and can virtually be done in a matter of hours
7. Maintenance of the system is very easy

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Figure 4: Typical SSI Installation

2.2.1. Challenges faced by Computer based Interlocking Systems

1. The wiring from the field object such as Signals, Points and tracks to the SSI
Rack is still done using Copper cables which amounts to huge costs
2. The hardware reliability and availability factor is low compared to the system
availability given by RRI
3. The fail safe mechanisms employed in processor based equipment is not
standard and often get untested during V&V activities
4. Lack of formal methods in developing the control algorithms (Interlocking
Logic)
5. Lack of domain Knowledge in Signalling and Traditional Route Relay
Interlocking Systems, This creates a technological gap between the software
programmers and the Domain consultants. This leads to Errors in software,
which might lead to unsafe failures of the system
6. Extending the working scope of the Interlocking systems for monitoring and
other non-Interlocking functions, which leads to degraded performance of the
system
7. Employing Non-Formal Interlocking principles instead of traditional RRI
Principles leads to software complexity. For Ex: The Geographical method

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needs every system that is installed for new Yard needs validation, which is
not practicable.
8. Since the software and hardware is so complex, complete test of the system is
not possible and most of the faults are revealed at the field Installation stage or
during normal working of the system in field.
9. The software is to be changed for every yard, the software structure should be
in a generic form, but we seldom see a generic form and at this stage errors
creep in.
10. The lack of standardization in the railway working principles and the core
Interlocking principles, the software developers are forced to do changes in the
software for every yard in Different railway zones.
11. Increase in the complexity of the software leads to difficulty in testing, since
most of the Interlocking systems are sequential machines they are error prone
and are very difficult to test.
12. With Increasing speed of trains, there needs to be a direct communication with
the on board computer of the train (Engine), so that there is less human
involvement and thus less human errors. But Interlocking systems are mostly
not capable of sending commands to the on board computer of the train
(Engine)

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3. Proposed Architecture of Signalling Systems in Railways

As Discussed in the above chapter, the existing systems used for signalling in
railways have limitations in terms of Operations and Technology. These systems have
not used the latest advances in the field of Information Technology. There is need to
upgrade the existing Railway Signalling Infrastructure and addition of new
technologies like fail safe wireless communications which shall combine both the
ground based signalling (Interlocking Systems) and the Locomotives (On Board
Computers of the train), so that the operation speed of the trains can be increased and
thus leading to safe systems with very low accident probability, better utilization of
the track and increased profits to railways. In this chapter we shall propose the
futuristic model of signalling in railways using the most recent advance in the
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). We shall also propose a formal approach to be
taken in making Control Algorithms for safe movement of trains

3.1. Wireless Sensor Networks

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a wireless network consisting of

spatially distributed autonomous devices using sensors to cooperatively monitor
physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, vibration, pressure,
motion or pollutants, at different locations. The development of wireless sensor
networks was originally motivated by military applications such as battlefield
surveillance. However, wireless sensor networks are now used in many civilian
application areas, including environment and habitat monitoring, healthcare
applications, home automation, and traffic control.

3.1.1. Sensor Node

Each node in a sensor network is typically equipped with a radio transceiver or

other wireless communications device, a small microcontroller, and an energy source,
usually a battery. The envisaged size of a single sensor node can vary from shoebox-
sized nodes down to devices the size of grain of dust, although functioning 'motes' of
genuine microscopic dimensions have yet to be created. The cost of sensor nodes is
similarly variable, ranging from hundreds of dollars to a few cents, depending on the
size of the sensor network and the complexity required of individual sensor nodes.
Size and cost constraints on sensor nodes result in corresponding constraints on
resources such as energy, memory, computational speed and bandwidth.

As per the above definition of a sensor node, sensor node can be used in
railway signalling scenario to detect the presence of train, serving the purpose of track
circuits, to detect the aspect of the signal and its health and detect the position of
points and alsodetect the presence of vehicles at level crossing gates etc. When the
sensors detect the event being monitored (Presence of train, Change of aspect in a
signal, Movement in a point, Movement near a Level Crossing gate etc), the event
needs to be reported to one of the base stations, which can take appropriate action.
Depending on the exact application, different objective functions will require different
data-propagation strategies, depending on things such as need for real-time response,
redundancy of the data (which can be tackled via data aggregation techniques), need
for security, etc.

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Apart form the above discussed points, a sensor node can also be installed in
on board systems like train engine to monitor the different aspects like speed, brake
pressure etc. so that these can be used by the ground based equipment (Interlocking
Systems) to process the data and take appropriate action in case of abnormal
conditions.

Sensor nodes communicate with each other by wireless means, using the IEEE
802.11b wireless technology. The deployed network has typical inter-nodal distances
of 400m, and the furthest reliable communications range we have achieved in the field
is about 600m, therefore nodes at the edges of the network must use nodes between
themselves and the gateway as data relays when communicating with the gateway. To
fulfill this requirement, the nodes form an ad hoc network, where each node aims to
form as many communications links to other nodes in the network, where possible.

Figure 5: Typical Architecture of a Sensor Node

3.1.2. Gateway Node

Gateway nodes are important elements in a sensor network since they provide
the ability to establish long range reach-back communication in order to retrieve
critical data to remote locations. Gateways connect sensor clusters to wired networks.
All communication with the user within the sensor network goes through the gateway
node. The data is then transmitted to the base station where all the processing of the
data takes place

3.1.3. Base Station

The Base station receives the data from all the sensor nodes through the
gateway and processes them. The base station in a railway signalling scenario consists
of wired network connection to the gateway(s). It consists of a processing unit which
is responsible for executing the Control algorithms (Interlocking Rules) and the
station specific data to allow safe movement of trains. As opposed to the traditional
interlocking systems, the base station here can be used to communicate to the onboard
computer of the train and facilitate safe speeds and proper braking distance without
manual intervention. This base station can also be use to know the geographical
location of trains and send to it to the central office where all traffic can be monitored
efficiently. The base station logs all the events in its memory eliminating the need for

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an external data logger as in the case of traditional interlocking systems. Since the
Base station is connected to Internet, any authorized person can monitor the station
yard sitting in a remote location.

In case of Remote train control or driverless trains, the Information from

sensor nodes must participate in algorithms which result in commands to traction
motors, brakes, and doors Etc. One of the safety-critical applications for sensors in
railroading is separation management. Current train control systems -- freight or
passenger, manual or automatic -- rely on 'block signalling,' by which separation is
assured under the online influence of a centralized authority arranged to allow only
one train at a time to occupy a given block (a segment of track of fixed length).
Information about the location of trains is crudely quantized based on train length and
the size of each block.

All of the requisite sensors, signalling, and processing devices are derived
from proven failsafe technologies, as are the accompanying software methodologies.
Sensor nodes, some with built-in intelligence, play an important role in the
architecture of autonomic train separation. Furthermore, there are daunting safety
requirements that characterize railroading applications. Railway vehicles with their
traditional wiring harnesses suffer limitations in supporting vital control functions.

Central
Processing Unit

Communication
Unit for Gateway Gateway
Nodes Node

Operators Console
unit

Data Logging Unit

Communication Interne
Unit for Internet t

Figure 6: Typical Architecture of a Base Station

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3.1.4. Driving Node

A driving node is similar to a Sensor node, the only difference is that it drives
the objects in the station yard and the on-board systems, based on the commands
received from the base station through gateway node. The driving node consists of a
radio transceiver or other wireless communications device, a small microcontroller,
and an energy source, usually a battery and driving channels that generate signals to
drive the field objects. The driving node is used to drive the DC motors of point,
Glow a Signal Aspect and also operate Level Crossing gates.

Transceiver

Output Channels (Output

Power source

Card)
Microcontroller

External
Memory

Figure 7: Typical Architecture of a Driving Node

3.2. Network Architecture

Availability of data is the most critical part of the Railway Signalling system.
Therefore a reliable architecture of Sensor Network shall be used. Mesh networking
is a way to route data between nodes. It allows for continuous connections and
reconfiguration around broken or blocked paths by hopping from node to node until
the destination is reached. A mesh network whose nodes are all connected to each
other is a fully connected network. Mesh networks differ from other networks in that
the component parts can all connect to each other via multiple hops, and they
generally are not mobile. Mesh networks can be seen as one type of ad hoc network.
Mesh networks are self-healing: the network can still operate even when a node
breaks down or a connection goes bad. As a result, a very reliable network is formed.
This concept is applicable to wireless networks, wired networks, and software
interaction.

Wireless mesh networks is the most topical application of mesh architectures.

Wireless mesh was originally developed for military applications, but have undergone
significant evolution in the past decade. Wireless mesh networking has seen three
distinct radio configurations of mesh technology, each incorporating iterative
improvements allowing for greater reliability and versatility. As the cost of radios
plummeted, single radio products evolved to support more radios per mesh node with

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the additional radios providing specific functions- such as client access, backhaul
service or scanning radios for high speed handover in mobility applications. The mesh
node design also became more modular - one box could support multiple radio cards -
each operating at a different frequency. As a result, a whole new set of applications
are being enabled by third generation mesh networking technology. These include real
time video surveillance, border security or voice communication inside underground
mines.

Sensor Node
Train Engine Sensor Node Sensor Node Sensor Node
Driving Node
S1 S2
1T 2T

P1 S4
3T
S3

Output Channels
Sensor Node Sensor Node
Driving Node

Gateway
Node
Base
Station

Figure 8: Futuristic Model using Sensor Networks in Railway Signalling

In Figure 8, it can be seen that how wireless sensor networks are used to
perform railways signalling. The Sensor nodes are used to detect the presence of train,
aspect of the signals, Position of points, speed of the train etc. The sensor network
normally constitutes a Wireless ad-hoc network, meaning that it each sensor supports

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a multi-hop routing algorithm (several nodes may forward data packets to the base
station).

3.2.1. Routing Algorithms

A number of routing protocols for sensor networks have been proposed in the
literature over the last few years. Many of the protocols draw inspiration from similar
protocols for wireless ad-hoc networks. Since the challenges for sensor networks are
different from those of ad-hoc networks, several interesting variations are introduced.
In addition, many novel routing mechanisms have been proposed specially for sensor
networks. The following lists some of the sensor network routing algorithms suitable
for Railway Signalling Scenario.

3.2.1.1 Flat routing algorithm

Flat routing protocols are similar to the conventional multihop ad-hoc routing
protocols. Each sensor node determines its parent node(s) to forward data packets.
The nodes are not organized into hierarchical clusters as is done in the hierarchical
protocols. The advantage of this approach is that all the nodes can reach the base
station irrespective of their position.

The most common way of routing in a sensor networks is routing trees (multi
hop routing). A routing tree is a collection of sensor nodes with the base station as the
root of the tree. Sensor A is the parent for sensors B and C. Sensor nodes
transmit all there results to there parent nodes only. It is the responsibility of the
parent node for forwarding them to the base station. A child can keep track of several
parent nodes, and depending on the power levels or the quality of the communication
links a child node can change its parent node.

Figure 9: Routing Trees

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Routing structures such as routing trees is well suited when there are only a
few number of nodes in the network. A data gathering schedule is a way the data
packets are collected from all the sensors and routed to the base station with
maximum lifetime. The main assumption of this algorithm is that the location of the
sensors, base station and energy values of the sensor nodes are known priori. In this
model the lifetime of the system is intrinsically connected to the data gathering
schedule. During each round a sensor will collect its own, neighbors data and
possibly aggregate it and send it to the base station.

3.2.1.2 TinyOS beaconing

The TinyOS embedded sensor network platform employs a very simple ad-hoc
routing protocol. The base station periodically broadcasts a route update beacon
message to the network. The beacon message is received by a few nodes that are in
the vicinity of the base station. These nodes mark the base station as their parent and
rebroadcast the beacon to their neighbours. The algorithm proceeds recursively with
nodes progressively propagating the beacon to their neighbours; each node marks the
first node that it hears from as its parent. The beacon is thus flooded throughout the
network, setting up a breadth-first spanning tree rooted at the base station. This
process is repeated at periodic intervals known as epochs.

Each network node periodically reads its sensor data and transmits the data
packet to its parent in the spanning tree. The parent node in turn forwards the packet
to its parent and soon. This process is repeated until the data finally reaches the base
station. The attractive feature of TinyOS beaconing is its simplicitynodes do not
have to maintain large routing tables or other complicated data structures. Each node
needs to remember only its parent node in the path to the base station. By combining
the beaconing with a MAC layer scheduling scheme such as TDMA, the nodes can
conserve power by keeping their radio off most of the time. In spite of its attractive
features, the beaconing protocol suffers from one main disadvantage: it is not resilient
to node failures. If a parent node fails, then its entire subtree is cut off from the base
station during the current epoch. Moreover, the protocol results in uneven power
consumption across network nodes. The nodes nearer to the base station consume a
lot of power in forwarding packets from all the nodes in their subtree, whereas the leaf
nodes in the spanning tree do not have to perform any forwarding at all and consume
the least power.

3.2.1.3 Pulse routing algorithm

The Pulse protocol addresses the three topics of routing, energy consumption
and time synchronization in sensor networks. It uses a periodic pulse signal generated
and flooded by a pulse source to provide routing paths and synchronization to the
network. As the pulse propagates through the network nodes, a spanning tree rooted at
the pulse source is constructed. Node traffic follows the paths along this spanning
tree. A node that wants to communicate packets sends a reservation packet to the
pulse source. The reservation packet contains the address of the node sending the
packet and is used to set up reverse routes for data packets. Thus, active nodes need to
keep sending reservation packets in response to the periodic pulse signals to keep the
routes fresh. Idle nodes that do not have data to communicate and that are not needed
for forwarding packets can switch off their radios till the next pulse signal arrives and
thereby save energy. To further reduce energy consumption, the Pulse protocol is

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modified to incorporate intermediate wake-up periods. The motivation behind this

modification is that the routes in the network are established by the flooding of the
pulse signal, which is an expensive process. Instead, nodes are permitted to send
reservation packets during intermediate wake-up periods which can occur several
times between two pulse floods. This enables faster path activations with lesser
energy expenditure.

The Pulse protocol is similar to the beaconing protocol if the pulse source is
considered to be the base station. Thus it has similar merits and demerits as the
beaconing protocol. One area of improvement in the Pulse protocol is to provide a
path deactivation feature. This feature would allow nodes to deactivate paths and
conserve energy even if the intervals between wake-up periods are arbitrarily long.
This would of course trade off the fast path activation for power efficiency.

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4. Failsafe Techniques

Railway Signalling is a safety critical domain and all the equipment used here
shall be Fail Safe. The Existing failsafe techniques used in the design of hardware is
listed in Table 1. The table gives the advantages and disadvantages of each type of
technique. In this section we propose a new safety technique to be used in the design
of hardware applicable for Sensor node, Driver Node and Base station.

Processor 1

Software 1

Software Voter
Sensor
Inputs

Software 2

System
Identical Hardware V
Outputs
O
T
E
R
Processor 2

Software 1
Software Voter

Sensor
Inputs

Software 2

Identical Hardware

Supervisor and
diagnostic Module

Figure 10: Failsafe Hardware for Sensor Node

In the above figure (Figure 10), two processors are used to process the inputs
from the sensors, the two processors are of the same configuration, but have different
softwares implemented on each one. The two softwares are written in such a manner
that both use different algorithms to process the data. The Software Voter takes the
output generated by two softwares and compares it. The final level of checking is
done by Hardware Comparator called Voter to compare the results given by two

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 Railway Signalling Using Wireless Sensor Networks

processing units. If the results are matching the data is transmitted to the base station
other wise appropriate action is taken to make the system Fail Safe. Above all this the
Supervisor and the diagnostic module monitors the performance of the two processing
units, such as Voltage, Error checking Etc. The same architecture can be used in the
design of a Base Station. The above architecture is unique since there are two voters
ensuring safety i.e. First level checking is done by a Software Voter and the final level
checking is done by a Hardware Voter. By adopting the above described architecture,
both failsafe operation and high reliability is ensured.

4.1. Fail Safe Tech used in the design of Control Laws (Interlocking Logic)
As Discussed in earlier sections the Railway Signalling Control Laws or
Interlocking Rules form the basis for Safe movement of trains. There are different
methods by which these Interlocking rules can be implemented in software. Here we
discuss the existing methods for design of Interlocking Rules in Software.

4.1.1. Geographical Method

In the Geographical method the input to the Interlocking systems is given as
the position of the signals, points, tracks Circuits and Slots. The Interlocking is
implemented based on the generic rules such as no part of the track are shared by the
two routes at a time, Conflicting routes should not be set at a time etc. This type of
implementation requires a great knowledge of the Yard Elements and the
interconnection between them. In this method the software does not have one to one
relation ship to the relay circuits used for RRI and is very difficult validate, so this
method has failed to create the necessary confidence in the railway operators

4.1.2. Boolean Equation Method

The Boolean equation method is the implementation of the traditional relay
interlocking principles. In this method the relay circuits are implemented as Boolean
equations, so there is one to one relation ship between the relay circuits and the
software variables. Since there is a one to one relation ship between the software and
the RRI Relay circuits, Railway operator can easily validate the software entrees
made and this method gives him sufficient confidence. This method theoretically has
very high safety performance, since the Control laws once written remains constant
and only the station data is changed for every yard, but the actual implementation of
this method has limitations like the control laws are not fully tested and they are not
generic, Boolean equations are written for every yard Etc. Typically these boolean
equation are in huge numbers and very difficult to verify these equations.

As Discussed above both the methods have limitations in practical

applications, so a new method in which the control laws are generic and applicable for
all the yards is yet to be designed. In Railway Signalling using sensor networks
scenario these Control laws need modification and with merging of Ground based
signalling and ON-Board Signalling (On Train), a new set of Control laws have to be
proposed which ensure the safe movement of trains.

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5. Challenges in using Wireless Sensor Networks in Railway

Signalling

The use of Wireless Sensor Networks in a safety critical Domain like Railways
signalling poses challenges in implementation and Operation. Some of the issues and
challenges are discussed in this chapter.

1. Sensor network communications must prevent disclosure and undetected

modification of exchanged messages. Due to the fact that individual sensor
nodes are anonymous and that communication among sensors is via wireless
links, sensor networks are highly vulnerable to security attacks.

2. The gateway nodes are prone to failures just like any sensor node, and they
consume significantly more energy since they transmit over longer distances
compared with sensor-to-sensor links. Failure of a Gateway node results to
catastrophic results because, there not information regarding the yard status to
the base station

3. Sensor nodes have limited computing power and memory sizes. This restricts
the amount of intermediate result a node can hold, also the type of data
processing algorithm on a Sensor node.

4. Signals detected at physical sensors might have errors. Malfunction sensors

might repeatedly generate false signals, also there could be bias caused by the
placement of the sensor.

5. Sensor Nodes, Driver Node and Gate Way node have to work in High EMI
Environment. Since sensor networks can be deployed in different situations,
wireless medium can be greatly affected by noisy environments, and thus the
signal attenuates in regard to the noise. Note that an adversary can
intentionally interfere and cause enough noise to affect the communication. It
is vital to ensure that communication is on time to respond to emergencies.

6. Wireless sensor networks at times may add delay in sending data to the base
station due to the routing algorithms, etc, but Railway Signalling is very time
critical job, any delay in receiving the data leads to Catastrophic results.

7. If a sensor node fails due to a technical problem or consumption of its battery,

the rest of the network must continue its operation without a problem.
Researchers must design adaptable protocols so that new links are established
in case of node failure or link congestion. Furthermore, appropriate
mechanisms should be designed to update topology information immediately
after the environment changes so as to minimize unnecessary power
consumption.

8. The network should be scalable and flexible to the enlargement of the

networks size. The communication protocols must be designed in such a way
that deploying more nodes in the network does not affect routing and
clustering. Rather, the protocols must be adapted to the new topology and

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 Railway Signalling Using Wireless Sensor Networks

behave as expected. In other words, the network must preserve its stability.
Furthermore, introducing more nodes into the network means that additional
communication messages will be exchanged, so that these nodes are integrated
into the existing network. This must be done in a way that a minimum number
of messages need to be exchanged among the sensor nodes, and thus battery is
not wasted unreasonably.

9. As in Wireless Sensor Networks Both Ground based signalling (Way Side

Signalling) and On-Board Signalling (Cab Signalling) get merged, so there is
the complexity of linking the ground based control laws to the inputs received
from the On-Board Sensors in the train

10. Design and development of failsafe, fault tolerant and energy saving network
routing algorithms is a complex design

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6. Future Work and Conclusions

The use of Wireless Sensor Networks in railway signalling domain was

proposed in the earlier chapters. The work ahead is of proving the concept and making
in it to reliable technology that can be implemented. The proof of concept will require
design and development of Fail Safe and Fault tolerant Sensor Node, Driver Node,
Gateway Node and the Base station and the design of network architecture that
combines both ground based and On-Board Signalling. As far as the Software in
considered, design of network routing algorithm which is Fail Safe and Fault Tolerant
and at the same time energy efficient and the design of fail safe Control laws for safe
movement of trains.

In this article I covered the major advantages of using Wireless Sensor

Networks in Railway Signalling domain. The hostile and remote environment at
which sensor nodes are often deployed and the limited computational and energy
power along the limited storage are the factors that drive the adoption of security
solutions. Since the limited resources affect the types of security algorithms and
protocols that can be implemented in a WSN.I also discussed some challenging
directions that need special attention. Focus should be placed on designing protocols
that are scalable, flexible, fault tolerant and adaptable to dynamic changes. However,
the main challenge for researchers is to balance the trade off between resources spent
for security and the protection offered. The target is to have a spherical security
strategy with solutions that compensate each others vulnerabilities, and provide an
enhanced protection to railway signalling Network.

References

1. An Adaptive and Fault-Tolerant Gateway Assignment in Sensor Networks, William W.

Su, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Anaheim, CA 92806
2. Cooperation and Routing in Multi-Hop Networks, Elzbieta Beres and Raviraj Adve, Dept.
of Elec. and Comp. Eng. University of Toronto10 Kings College Road, Toronto
3. Wireless Sensor Networks and Applications, Dagstuhl Seminar, Alois Ferscha1, Stephan
Olariu and Tom Pfeifer, Univ. Linz, AU
4. M. Verma and V. Chandra/The Design and Development of a Fail-Safe Interlocking System
Using Microprocessors for Indian Railways," Proc. Region Ten IEEE Conf., IEEE Press, New
York, 1989, pp.511-514.
5. The Current Status of Signal Control Systems, and Research and Development, Yoshinori
Kon , Advanced Railway System Development Center, Research and Development Center of
JR East Group
6. Microprocessor-Based Railway Interlocking Control with Low Accident Probability, V.
PURNACHANDRA RAO AND P. A. VENKATACHALAM, IEEE TRANSACTIONS OS
VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY. VOL. VT-35. NO. 3. AUGUST 1987
7. http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-signal4.html#general

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7. Appendix- A

Table 1: Existing Failsafe Methods employed in Design of Computer Based

Interlocking Systems

Sno Method Name Method of Implementation Type of Errors Practical

Detected Problems with the
Method
Time The same software is Errors Caused Single hardware
1 Redundancy executed on the same by transients. Fault leads to Shut
hardware during two They are down of the
different time intervals avoided by System. This
(Refer: Figure 11: Time reading at two method is not used
Redundancy) different time since software
Intervals faults are not
completely found in
validation. And the
Self diagnostics
employed for
checking of
hardware faults is
not complete.

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2 The same software is Hardware faults Software faults are

Hardware executed on two are detected not detected since
Redundancy identical hardware channels since outputs the same software
(Refer: Figure 12: Hardware from both the is running on two
Redundancy)
channels are identical hardware
compared. And channels. Software
single hardware Faults at design
fault does not stage are still not
lead to shut detected.
down of the
system

3 Diverse Identical Software is Hardware Software Faults at

Hardware Executed on Different Design faults at the design stage are
hardware Versions the Initial stage still not detected
(Refer: Figure 13: Hardware are Detected
Diversity)

The different software Software Faults Even though the

Diverse
4 versions are at design stage software is diverse,
software
executed on the same are detected they are executed
hardware during on the single
two different timeintervals hardware channel;
(Refer: Figure 14: Software single hardware
Diversity) fault leads to Shut
down of the system.

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 Railway Signalling Using Wireless Sensor Networks

5 Diverse The different software Software Faults Hardware faults at

software on versions are at design stage the design stage are
redundant executed on two identical are detected and not detected.
hardware hardware single hardware
channels faults does not
(Refer: Figure 15: Diverse lead to system
software on redundant
shut down
hardware)

6 Diverse The different software Software Faults This methods is

software on versions are and Hardware rarely used, Since
diverse executed on two different Faults are design complexity
hardware hardware detected at the involved is high
channels design stage.
(Refer: Figure 16: Diverse
software on Diverse Hardware)

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 Railway Signalling Using Wireless Sensor Networks

Processor Reading at
Time 1
System
Inputs Outputs
Processor Reading at
Time 2

Figure 11: Time Redundancy

Processor 1
Processor 1 Outputs
Inputs Identical Software
and Hardware System
V Outputs
O
T
E
R
Processor n
Processor n Outputs
Inputs Identical Software
and Hardware

Figure 12: Hardware Redundancy

Processor 1
Processor 1 Outputs
Inputs Hardware 1
Identical Software
System
V Outputs
O
T
E
R
Processor n
Processor n Outputs
Inputs Hardware n
Identical Software

Figure 13: Hardware Diversity

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 Railway Signalling Using Wireless Sensor Networks

System
Inputs Software 1 Outputs

Software 2

Figure 14: Software Diversity

Processor 1
Processor 1 Outputs
Inputs Identical Hardware
Software 1
System
V Outputs
O
T
E
R
Processor n
Processor n Outputs
Inputs Identical Hardware
Software n

Figure 15: Diverse software on redundant hardware

Processor 1
Processor 1 Outputs
Inputs Hardware 1 System
Software 1 Outputs
V
O
T
E
R
Processor n
Processor n Outputs
Inputs Hardware n
Software n

Figure 16: Diverse software on Diverse Hardware

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7.1. Glossary of Terms

WSN: Wireless Sensor Network, or WSN, is a network of RF transceivers, sensors,

machine controllers, microcontrollers, and user interface devices with at least two
nodes communicating by means of wireless transmissions.

Hard Real Time System or Mission critical System: A real-time computer system
must react to inputs from controlled object and from the operator. The instant at which
a result must be produced is called a deadline. If by missing a firm deadline a
catastrophe could happen, then the deadline is called hard. A real-time computer
system that must meet at least one hard deadline is called a hard real-time computer
system or a safety-critical real-time computer system.

Railway Interlocking System: A railway interlocking system controls the traffic in a

railway station, and between adjacent stations. The control includes train routes,
shunting moves and the movements of all other railway vehicles in accordance with
railway rules, regulations and technological processes required for the operation of the
railway station.

Interlocking Logic: A term used for the logical relationships between physical
entities in the railway yard such as points, signals, track circuits, and so on. In SSI,
this is programmed in the Software; in relay-based interlocking this is hardwired into
the relay circuitry, and in ground-frame interlocking it is manifest in the mechanical
linkages between physical components.

Mechanical interlocking System: An Interlocking System When built using

mechanical linkages between Levers (Physical Entities) is called Ground-frame
interlocking System.

Panel Interlocking System: A system similar to RRI, but multiple commands are
needed to set and Lock a route for safe movement of trains

Route Relay Interlocking System (RRI): An Interlocking System When built

completely using Electro mechanical relays is called as Route Relay Interlocking
System.

Solid State Interlocking System (SSI): An Interlocking System When built using
Electronics replacing traditional Mechanical Levers and Electro mechanical relays is
called as Solid State Interlocking System.

Reliability: The reliability can be defined as the ability of an item to perform a

required function under stated conditions for a stated period of time.

Redundancy: The existence of more than one means of accomplishing a given

function. Each means of accomplishing the function need not be necessarily identical.

Hardware (Software Diversity): Two or more different Versions of Hardware

(Software) working in a system to achieve a same result.

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Failure: The termination of the ability of an item to perform a required function.

Maintainability: The ability of an item, under stated conditions of use, to be retained

in, or restore to, a state in which it can perform its required function, when
maintenance is performed under stated conditions and using prescribed procedure and
resources.

Availability: The ability of an item (Under combined aspects of its reliability,

maintainability, and maintenance support) to perform its required function over a
stated period of time.

Wayside Signalling: Ground Based Interlocking Systems used to drive the objects
located in the station yard

TinyOS: TinyOS is an open-source operating system designed for wireless embedded

sensor networks. It features a component-based architecture which enables rapid
innovation and implementation while minimizing code size as required by the severe
memory constraints inherent in sensor networks.

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