Development of a Low Cost Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle
Pakistan ranks 24th in the world where passengers prefer to travel by train. Although rail transport is the safest approach to public transport, Pakistan has a poor record of train accidents. In the past two decades, there have been 28 major train accidents in Pakistan, in which 623 people were kill
2025-06-28 16:26:38 - Adil Khan
Development of a Low Cost Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle
Project Area of Specialization Mechanical EngineeringProject SummaryPakistan ranks 24th in the world where passengers prefer to travel by train. Although rail transport is the safest approach to public transport, Pakistan has a poor record of train accidents. In the past two decades, there have been 28 major train accidents in Pakistan, in which 623 people were killed. Out of these 28 accidents, 10 were due to derailment.
According to statistics, accidents in rail transportation are mainly caused by obstacles appearing on the rail, human congestion, vandalism, and signal system failures. Still, among them, track faults became the reason for the train's derailment. There is a lack of railway track condition monitoring. In Pakistan, workers monitor railway tracks manually on, a time-to-time basis through push trolleys.
Most train accidents are caused by derailments. While there are many causes of these derailments, most are due to negligence in track condition monitoring. There is, therefore, a need for techniques that can effectively facilitate condition monitoring and hence enable the mitigation of the causes of derailment.
Pakistan Railways lack new technologies; The chances of human error are greater, and it is one of the significant causes of rail accidents in Pakistan. Though nothing can be foolproof with technology, it certainly reduces the chances of accidents.
Considering the fatalities, expense, and environmental impacts of singular incidents of derailment, it has become clear that preventing even one of the derailments a year would be of importance. Our approach to limiting derailments is through the development of an Electrically powered, machine-learning-equipped, low-cost track recording vehicle that can autonomously navigate a track and identify early-stage rail damage.
Our proposed Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle (ATRV) is a low-cost solution for mitigating railway accidents that will satisfy the SDGs. The ATRV represents the latest technological advancement in the Railway Industry. The ATRV will increase the frequency of Condition Monitoring of Railways to provide a Sustainable and Reliable Transport, reducing the number of accidents. Most TRVs being manufactured are engine-based TRVs that use fossil fuels to operate. With the replacement of the Engine with a DC motor, we shall reduce the usage of fossil fuels which reduces the environmental effects
Project ObjectivesWe aim to develop a Low-Cost Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle(ATRV) that would detect faults in the Railway Track so that maintenance can happen at the right time to avoid unfortunate incidents and reduce human error happening during the monitoring of the railway track.
(1) Design of the ATRV Frame and Mechanical Systems for lowering and lifting the rail wheels.
(2) Selection of DC Motor to move the ATRV at certain speeds for the condition monitoring of the track and Battery Pack to power the DC Motor, Controller, and other Electrical Systems.
(3) Fabrication of ATRV Frame and Mechanical systems embedded in the ATRV.
(4) Development of Autonomous Controller of the ATRV
(5) Testing of the Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle
Project Implementation MethodOur Project is to develop a Low-Cost Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle. We will complete our project in 5 steps Design, Selection of Components, Fabrication, Development of Controller, Development of Charging System, Performance Testing.
The Track Recording Vehicle will be designed according to railway industry standards. Selection of Equipment i: e Motor, Obstacle Detection Sensor, Motor Controller, Microcontroller, GPS Module, Battery Pack, Electrical Safety Equipment will be done according to suitability to environmental factors. Fabrication will be done according to the ISO 15614-5:2004 Standards. Development of the Controller of the TRV shall be done under various conditions to avoid any accident with other objects. The performance of the Autonomous Track Recording Vehicle shall be evaluated on the railway track.
Figure: System Architecture
Benefits of the Project1. Represent the latest technological advancements in the railway industry
2. Reduces fossil fuel emissions by utilizing the Electric Vehicle Technology making the vehicle Environmentally Friendly.
3. Reduces the cost of Railway Track Condition Monitoring by reducing the labor cost.
4. Saves time for the Condition Monitoring of Railway Track and provides a reliable track for safe transport.
5. By implementing this type of monitoring system on Pakistani Railway tracks, we can prevent disastrous accidents.
ATRV represents the latest technological advancement in the railway industry. ATRV will help with the condition monitoring of the Railway Track. The Regular Maintenance of the railway track will reduce the number of derailments caused and will ensure passenger safety. Creating a Safe and Reliable Railway System will build the trust of passengers on railways and ensure in development of the Reliable and Sustainable railway industry.
The ATRV will be equipped with a lifting and lowering mechanism for the front and back rail wheels. When the vehicle will be on the track the rail wheels will be lowered and when it will be off track the rail wheels shall be lifted.
The ATRV is Electrically powered which includes the usage of an Electric Motor and Battery Pack.
The Final Deliverable is an Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle along with these components
- DC Motor
- Motor Controller
- Battery
- NVIDIA Jetson Nano Microcontroller
- LIDAR Sensor
- RTK GPS Module
- Electrical Power Protection Equipment
- System Architecture
The Autonomously Controlled Track Recording Vehicle shall be placed on the track and distance shall be provided for the track to be inspected. The vehicle shall autonomously move on the track and detect the faults via high-speed machine vision cameras. The Vehicle can be controlled via Mobile Application.
The Vehicle is also designed such that it can be manned and controlled manually.
Below is the model of the ATRV. the inclusions of mechanisms for lowering and lifting the front and rear rail wheels are in the design process. Seats shall be included in the TRV for seating 2 persons in the final design.
Fig; Model of the ATRV
Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry TransportationOther Industries IT , Manufacturing , Others Core Technology RoboticsOther Technologies Artificial Intelligence(AI)Sustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Climate ActionRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 79000 | |||
| Nvidia: Jetson Nano Developer Kit B01 - 4GB | Equipment | 1 | 30000 | 30000 |
| 10KW 9000RPM BLDC Motor | Equipment | 1 | 30000 | 30000 |
| Motor Controller | Equipment | 1 | 10000 | 10000 |
| Printing of theises | Miscellaneous | 3 | 1500 | 4500 |
| Other Cost( Vehicle Aesthetics, Communication, etc) | Miscellaneous | 1 | 4500 | 4500 |