A smart signalling system

for
Indian railways
Smart signalling system – user’s view

• Full capacity realisation

• Flexibility of movements
• Easy to operate
• Intelligence to identify bottle necks - plan
movements – suggest best option
• Maximum availability – reliable & minimum
maintenance blocks - degraded operation in case of
unavoidable failures

• Unique meaning to each aspect – easy to

understand - adequate uniform braking distances
Challenges of Signal Engineers on IR

• Over used infrastructure – less time for maintenance

• Skill up-gradation of maintenance staff

• Multiplicity of similar equipment in one section

• Customisation of foreign technology

• Age old maintenance practices and schedules

• Inadequate diagnostics of signalling equipment
 A Smart signalling system

Maintenance practice

•Periodical preventive – disconnection of equipment

•Breakdown – processor based equipment

•Predictive – desirable
 A Smart signalling system

• Signalling Equipment to generate diagnostic

data

• Monitoring system with Root cause

identification

• Diagnostic alarms to maintenance staff on real

time – to reduce MTTR
 A Smart signalling system

• Reports to increase MTBF - long term

performance
To identify contribution of
local conditions --- installation & maintenance practices
operating staff --- equipment failure
to take managerial decisions to provide inputs

• Semi centralisation of field equipment – for

better trouble shooting & monitoring
Skills to build smart signaling system
• Accurate & non-invasive measurement of
parameters -
Voltage & Current
Time
Distance [gap]
Potential free contact
Data of processor based – IPS, DAC, LEU, EI

• Transportation of data from place of measurement

without delay to central location
Skills to build smart signaling system

• Ability to process large data on real time basis

• Ability to convert real time data - useful information

to generate actionable alarms - adopting
predictive maintenance

• Time synchronization of geographically distributed

monitoring systems

• Analytics of big data to identify trends in system

behaviour for long term planning
 A smart signalling model for IR

• Least additional hardware to implement

• Best use of communication medium

• Less maintenance - Reliable

• Data integrity

• Accessible to all
• Data availability on real - time basis
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
Model for monitoring an equipment
 Examples of
smart signalling components
DC Track Circuit
Predictive maintenance - DC TC
• Excitation below the set limit – availability
• Excitation above the set limit – safety

• Feed end voltage less than set limit – battery

• Excitation is OK but track repeater relay not
operated in relay room

• Track feed charger input voltage beyond set limits

• External supply in Location beyond set limits
Current signature – DC TC
Use case of DC track circuit monitoring
Point machine Current signature
Use case of point machine monitoring
Alarms - from current signature
• Point failed due to obstruction – which end of crossover
• Point machine not operated even after control relay operation

• Point machine correctly operated but detection failed

• Point machine overload protection time delay less

• Point machine friction clutch requires adjustment

• Point machine operating voltage beyond set limits

• Point detecting voltage beyond set limits

ELD – Earth Leakage Detection
BMU – Battery Monitoring Unit
Cell voltage – high resistance
Integrated Power Supply
 Dissemination of diagnostic data

• Front end technician - on real time basis –

actionable - reduce the MTTR

• Supervisor - diagnostic data – to get root cause -

to guide technician at site

• Manager - more statistical information - trend of

failures - to decide inputs required to be given
Dissemination of diagnostic data
Maintainer – Supervisor – OEM
Measurements made easy
Data security - Cloud – big data

•Smart signalling system is data intensive - option of

adopting new technologies - ‘cloud’ – ‘Big data’

•Implementation of Information Security standards –

[ISO 27001]
Information security
Smart testing
Smart testing
 Smart testing – output
Operation Actual result with
Test name with time Expected result time stamp of the Success
stamp event

 
52 NWKR Down
52 Point
01/04/2011
normal
Route 1A-A 52 NWKR Down 09:28:51:312
detection
52 Point 1A UCR Up
drop initiated: No
negative 1A UCR Down 01/04/2011
at
test 1A HR Down 09:28:50:766
01/04/2011
1A HR Down
09:28:51:0
01/04/2011
09:28:51:344
Thanks