Automated Railway Crossing Gate Control with Feedback Mechanism

Pakistan Railways owns 4800 miles of tracks across Pakistan and operates freight/passenger service. Every year train accidents cause number of deaths in Pakistan. Manually controlled crossings has many setbacks(time wastage and mechanical issues). To solve this issue we will build an automated cross

Project Title

Automated Railway Crossing Gate Control with Feedback Mechanism

Project Area of Specialization

Internet of Things

Project Summary

Pakistan Railways owns 4800 miles of tracks across Pakistan and operates freight/passenger service. Every year train accidents cause number of deaths in Pakistan. Manually controlled crossings has many setbacks(time wastage and mechanical issues). To solve this issue we will build an automated crossing gate which uses a microcontroller with transmitters,  receivers, cameras, sensors and motors. These transmitters and receivers will be fixed at different places along the crossing. The motors will open and close the crossing gate when the train is about to arrive. The cameras will be located near the crossing and will send video to the locomotive. A buzzer on the crossing gate will warn incoming traffic to stop as train is about to arrive. In short this automation process will help in reducing the number of accidents.

Project Objectives

1. Design of train barrier operating system

2. Giving feedback to driver to avoid accidents in case of obstacle and malfunctioning of barrier

3. Designing of sensor network to detect the direction of train and distinguish it from others other vehicles

Project Implementation Method

In this project, we are using induction and pressure sensors at entering and leaving nodes. The signals from sensors at these nodes are sent to the gate controller with the help of a transceiver. There is a wireless connection between central (gate), entering and leaving nodes. Proximity sensors are used at the junction between the road and track. If there is a vehicle on the track or under the barrier, proximity sensors do not let the gate close until the clearance is achieved. If the clearance is not achieved till certain amount of time, the driver of train will start to apply brakes. This is made possible with the feedback of IP camera. An IP camera at the gate sends video of gate to the driver of the train. If nothing is detected in front of proximity sensors the gates will close automatically and train will easily pass through.

Benefits of the Project

1. Reduces chances of human error. 

2. Less time consuming. 

3. No human is required. 

4. Safety and quality of services 

5. Accident avoidance

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The two main parts in which project in divided are gate control and detecting (entering and leaving) nodes. The gate is controlled using Arduino Mega 2560. There are servo motors (MG996R) that will open and close the barrier. A 16x2 LCD is also connected to the controller that will display “train is about to arrive”. The proximity sensors are used at barriers that will detect and prevent the gate from closing in case of obstacle detection. The limit switches are also used to detect any malfunction in the barrier operation. Moreover, LEDs are used for traffic signaling (red for close and green for open). The IP camera at gate (TP Link TL-NC230) that will transmit video over WiFi to the driver of the train. The driver will be able to see whether the crossing is cleared for train or not.

The entering and leaving nodes work in same manner because we are implementing a two-way system. The controllers used at entering and leaving nodes are Arduino Mega 2560. We have designed a 1mH induction sensor that will work in coordination with pressure sensor (L1E) to detect the train. When the train is detected the signal will be send to the controller at gate with the help of transceiver(nRF24L01+) that will close the barrier. Transmitting and receiving will be done over WIFI Protocol.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Transportation

Other Industries

Core Technology

Internet of Things (IoT)

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable Cities and Communities

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com