Search results

This article is devoted to the development and validation of a system for monitoring and accounting of railway automation and telemetry equipment using NFC technology. The primary objective of the study is to develop technical systems for the maintenance, repair, and storage of a significant amount of equipment in repair and maintenance areas. To select the optimal technical solution, an analysis of existing technologies was conducted, including barcode, QR code, RFID, and NFC. NFC was chosen because it provides high security and data exchange speed, low power consumption, and resistance to external influences, which is critical for the integrity and reliability of accounting information. The research methodology included creating a conceptual warehouse model and using photographs of the equipment maintenance and repair process to formalize time costs. The analysis identified the most inefficient elements-the receiving (Och2) and shipping (Och4) processes, where manual documentation takes up to 20 minutes per device. The proposed system is a comprehensive solution comprising a central node (a phpMyAdmin database server), specialized information and algorithmic support for the warehouse management system, and NFC tags, which serve as a source of basic and reference information about the equipment. Implementation of the system includes the integration of reader devices and the scheduled application of tags directly to the railway automation equipment. The efficiency assessment was conducted through simulation modeling of the warehouse management system using an agent-based approach in the Anylogic platform. The simulation showed that implementing the system within a single RTU processing 3,020 devices per month will reduce the total annual labor costs at the "Och2" and "Och4" stages from 416 to 52 man-hours. The 364 man-hours saved facilitate the redistribution of the electricians' workload, increase overall labor productivity, and enhance the RTU's processing capacity.

This article examines the enhancement of local control and monitoring systems for railway turnouts at stations based on wireless technologies. Instead of the traditional four-wire turnout control scheme, a wireless communication system utilizing a microcontroller and LoRa radio module is proposed. A custom-developed application installed on a tablet authenticates users via login credentials, password, and an NFC card. The application provides functionalities such as viewing the current status of the turnout, switching it to the required position, sending control commands, and recording and archiving operational data. Each command issued is saved both in the tablet’s internal storage (local database) and in a remote server database via the internet. For every command, parameters such as date, username, turnout number, status, and type of operation performed are logged. The newly developed scheme and mobile application enable wireless control of turnouts from the locomotive cabin, creating the possibility of performing shunting operations without the involvement of a shunting operator. The article presents the system’s operating algorithm, user interface, schematic solutions, and key functions of the tablet application. Furthermore, a structural diagram of the wireless turnout control system and a practical model based on an experimental prototype are provided. During the development of the software and hardware solutions, the requirements for ensuring traffic safety based on switch control schemes were thoroughly analyzed and taken into account through the following measures: prior to switching to local control, the section’s occupancy status is automatically verified; the switch position is visually indicated on the tablet; and all commands issued by the user are archived in both local and server databases. Furthermore, the ability to remotely control the switch enables safe operation without the involvement of a maneuvering agent. The proposed approach is considered technically suitable and practice-oriented for implementation in the automation of railway infrastructure.