International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication

Volume: 3 Issue: 3

ISSN: 2321-8169
1604 - 1608

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Design and Implementation of Control Unit for Railways using Power Line Data
Transmission
K. Honestraj

C. Girisha

Electronics and Communication Engineering

Jayam College of Engg. & Tech.,Dharmapuri
TamilNadu, India
E-mail: [email protected]

Electronics and Communication Engineering

Jayam College of Engg. & Tech.,Dharmapuri
TamilNadu, India
E-mail: [email protected]

L. Allwin Reni

Assistant Professor of ECE department

Electronics and Communication Engineering
Jayam College of Engg. & Tech.,Dharmapuri
TamilNadu, India
E-mail: [email protected]

M. Soma Sekar
Electronics and Communication Engineering
Jayam College of Engg. & Tech.,Dharmapuri
TamilNadu, India
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract Our project is based on data transmission through power line. And this communication is implemented in railways by transmitting
data through it. In this we are using power line communication module, which is defined as carrying data on a conductor and also used for
electric power transmission. It act as both transceiver with secure and fast condition. The above concept is exiting concept, now a days which
are used in home appliances. Now the proposed concept is implemented in railways, by sending a data from junction to engine driver or viceversa. This process is done in a single line cable. The main advantage in it is data can be transmitted in fraction of seconds. In cas e of any
emergency data can be transmitted and we can do the required process. Thus we discussed completely about the proposed concept in power line
communication.
Keywords- powerline; power line communication module; railways.

__________________________________________________*****_________________________________________________
I.

INTRODUCTION

The concept of transferring the data signal through the

single power line which is already used in the telegraph i.e.,
power distribution where the number of devices installed
through wiring can exceeds far on the number of installed in
AC mains. The reason for this is not, as one can think having
the possible of AC main communication up to recent decade.
In 1920s an American Telephone and Telegraph company
had discussed in field of Carrier Transmission over Power
Lines.
For the past years, power lines have been used for the
transmission of electricity; but now a days with the Advance
of modem networking technologies and the need for
information sharing, data transmission over power lines has
seen a really big growth. This technologies already used for
sharing information such as telephone wiring, optical cable,
Ethernet cabling, fiber optic and wireless have each its
limitations in cost and reliability with complex. A wide range
of power-line carrier communication technologies are needed
for various applications, ranging from home automation to
Internet access which is often called broadband over power
lines (BPL)[5]. Different types of power-line communications
use different frequency band rate and we are using an a 9600
band rate for Data Transmission. Since the power distribution
system was originally intended for transmission of Existing
AC power at typical frequencies of 50 or 60 Hz, In this project
we are going to discuss the advantages of using power lines as
a communication medium and the wide range of applications
that this technology can provide, in addition to the

implementation in Railways using the data transmission over

power lines.
II.

POWER LINE COMMUNICATION

Power line communication system can be defined as is a

system for carrying data on a conductor also used for electric
power transmission. Power Line Communication (PLC)
technology uses standard coaxial cables else power supply
cables to allow the communication between different devices.
Now a days this technology is widely used in home, building
and industry automation, because it avoids the installation of
additional network cables. Due to past low data rate
communication needs, utility companies used PLC to maintain
power grid New technologies allow high data-rate
communication over low-tension lines.
III.

EXISTING METHODS

A. Power line Communication Based on Energy Meter

Automation
In the existing concept, it is based on the power line
communication in multiplex data which can be used in various
devices .This method of communication it has new application
that we can prove this technology can control the energy meter
automatically. The process of connection/Disconnection of
consumers, power meter can control automatically which
carries the information in the supply of consumers. Using this
intelligent power meter, it can automatic connect and
disconnect the power supply of customers.
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International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication

Volume: 3 Issue: 3

ISSN: 2321-8169
1604 - 1608

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Automating kilowatt-hour (kWh) meter reading has
become a necessity for most energy suppliers for free
customer choice[1]. The technology of automatically
collecting consumption, diagnostic, and status data from
energy metering devices and transferring that data to a central
database for billing, and analyzing. This technology mainly
saves utility providers the expense of periodic trips to each
physical location to read a meter. Another advantage is that
billing can be based on near real-time consumption rather than
on estimates based on past or predicted consumption. This
study shown that a human meter reader could only achieve an
equivalent average information rate of about 1bit/s, which is
very slow. [1]

The data security process is done by encoder and decoder

ie., encryption and decryption done along the transceiver. This
process is used in station to engine driver and vice-versa. We
also implemented the Motor speed control for controlling the
train speed. It seems that if any fire accident or track detection
occur it automatically slow down the speed of train and
immediately it will intimate to the train driver and to near
station as well as main station. Then it also can intimate the
basic commands. . In our project the transition data rate is high
compared to the existing project. So this concept can also be
implemented for many application because most of the areas
are used Power lines.

1) Automated EB Billing Procedure

The automated EB billing system eliminates the need
to pay the bills at the EB office.
This system allows the user to get updated details of
the power used in his house.
The user can also verify if the bill received is the right
one or not.
Finally the wireless method sending data is feasible
even when more buildings are being built into the
Network.

The block diagram of our proposed concept of two section

that are transmitter section and receiver section.

B. Power line Communication in Home-Building Automation

systems
This system is also based on the power line
communication, which is used to implement in the home
automation application it is uses because the different
application equipments to manage in home environment to
manage in home environment with safe and comfortable way.
This same concept is also possible to implement in bigger
building named as building automations.
The home appliance is connected to the power line, it
create noise, disturb and make some problems during power
line data transmission. If a house is near an electric closet, the
power line may be unstable. The intent of this work is to show
the differences between PLCS for power distribution net and
PLCS for home and building environments, to indicate the
methods to send data over the power line, to explain which are
the automations that is possible to connect and to control in a
power line demotic system [4].
1) Drawbacks
Transmit and receiving data rate is slow due to some
noise in wireless transmission.
They are using more topologies for controlling
different applications.
High noise will occur when we use two or more
equipments at same time.
IV. PROPOSED METHOD
The main advantage in it is data can be transmitted in
fraction of seconds. In case of any emergency data can be
transmitted and we can do the required process. We have tried
to Implement the new application ie., the control unit for
railway using power line data transmission. Here, the Power
Line Communication Modem act as a transceiver, which is
used for transmitting and receiving data through power line
(Vice-Versa).

V.

BLOCK DIAGRAM FOR PROPOSED CONCEPT

A. Transmitter Section

Here the, Transmitter section is placed in the junction

or station.
This section is transmitted the serial data through
power line to engine driver.
These all are controlled by a personal computer (PC)
using Terminal Software because it is an open source.
It consist of encoder and decoder in the security block.
It used to encrypt and decrypt the serial data for secure
purpose.

B. Operation of Transmitter Section

In this transmitter section is used to transmit the serial data
through power line carrier communication modem. Here it act
as transceiver mode. URQ-1120 series power line carrier data
transceiver module is connected between power line and
microcontroller driver circuit. Here some of the basic codes of
data are been stored for controlling the train. And also it can
receive the information or data from the train that if an any
emergency.

Power
supply unit

Enco
der

230v power
line

PLC
module

Micro
controll
er
AT89s5
2

Deco
der

230v power
line

PC

Figure 1. Block Diagram of Transmitter section

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_______________________________________________________________________________________

International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication

Volume: 3 Issue: 3

ISSN: 2321-8169
1604 - 1608

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
The modem has connected to pc for data transmission and
reception. This data is transmitted in the secure way, It is that
encryption and the decryption. The microcontroller is
interfaced with because for any external use in the future
updating and all the basic commands are stored in it which is
controlling the whole unit.
The power supply is common. This circuit is connected to
the power line which is also connected to the train. The
transmitter section is mainly used receiving the information or
data from the train. Transmitter section is also placed in station
and as well as substations.
C. Receiver Section
This can be processed at both automatic and manual.
The Track detection and fire sensors are used sense for
emergency message worked in automatic.
The motor control driver is used for control the train
speed and if any track error detected.
It will be automatically slow down the speed and also
convey the message to driver and to junction.
D. Operation of Receiver Section
Here, The Receiver section is placed in the train. In this
section it will receive the instruction from the junction or
station and also it can pass the information to junction if it
needed. In the receiver section it contains some sensors for
avoiding accidents and some other effects to us. So we used
fire detector sensor for detecting the fire and it will
automatically intimate to train driver and station. Then the
track detection sensor are used for avoiding train accident and
if it detects it will automatically slow down the train speed
with intimating for both train driver and station that there is an
crack in the track so please stop the train. For the station it will
intimate the place where the track has cracked and says to
repair the track. These functions are done by using Atmel
microcontroller.
LCD

Power
supply
unit

230v power
line

Fire
Detect
or

Micro
contro
ller
AT89
s52

Enc
ode
r

Dec
ode
r

Track
Detect
or

PLC
modul
e

Keypa
d

Motor
controlle
r
Figure 2. Block Diagram of Receiver Section

In this section also same as transmitter, it will transfer and

receive the data or information with the security of encryption
and decryption But in train we used the LCD display for
sending and receiving the information or data. It also contains
the keypad for sending the data or information in the
emergency purpose.
VI.

SOURCE AND SYSTEM ANALYSIS

A. The core module: PLC modem

Power line modem is useful to send and receive serial data
over existing AC mains power lines of the building. It has high
immunity to electrical noise persistence in the power line and
built in error checking so it never gives out corrupt data. The
modem is in form of a ready to use circuit module, which is
capable of providing 9600 baud rate low rate bi-directional
data communication. Due to its small size it can be integrated
into and become part of the users power line data
communication system. Features are,
Transmit and Receive
serial data at 9600 bps
Powered from 5V
Low Cost & Simple to use
Direct interface with Microcontroller uart txd, rxd pins
B. Atmel AT89S52
The AT89S52 is a low-power, high-performance CMOS 8bit microcontroller with 8Kilo bytes of in-system
programmable Flash memory. All four ports in the AT89C51
and AT89C52 are bidirectional. Each consists of a latch
(Special Function Registers P0 through P3), an output driver,
and an input buffer. The output drivers of Ports 0 and 2, and
the input buffers of Port 0, are used in accesses to external
memory[5].
All the Port 3 pins, and two Port 1 pins (in the
AT89C52)are multifunctional[5]. Atmel AT89S52 is a
powerful microcontroller which provides a highly flexible and
cost-effective solution to many embedded control applications.
C. Serial Communication unit (and MAX 232 IC)
Our microcontroller has a built in USART (Universal
Serial Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter). Pins 3.0
and 3.1 of port 3 are also Transmitter and Receiver.
These pins are used to communicate with any serial
character. We shall use it to communicate with the PC
via the RS232 port of the PC.
The MAX 232 IC is used as an intermediate link
between the PC and the Microcontroller IC, during
serial Data communication. This is required as the PC
RS232 port , MicroController serial pins communicate
the serial Data(Emergency commends) using different
logic systems[1].
MAX232 IC receives a TTL level to convert, it
changes a TTL logic 0 to between +3 and +15 V, and
changes TTL logic 1 to between -3 to -15 V, and vice
versa for converting from RS232 to TTL[5].
VII. ROUTING ALGORITHM
A. Artificial Cobweb Routing Algorithm
For long distance data transmission through power line we
use the traditional polling algorithm. This method does not
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_______________________________________________________________________________________

International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication

Volume: 3 Issue: 3

ISSN: 2321-8169
1604 - 1608

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
finished successfully. Because it has some drawback. So that
we cant communicate direct path via base station(BS).The
possible method of data transmission rate is very poor. So,
instead of using Traditional polling algorithm we use
Artificial Routing Cobweb Algorithm, Which transfer the for
long distance successfully.

B. Flow Chart for Receiver Section

start

Initialize

Configure the
microcontrolle
r ports
Figure 3. Single layer Artificial Cobweb Routing Algorithm
SW=01
SW=02
SW=03

Track
Detector

Assuming that the physical link is connected , we stipulate

that[6]:
All nodes in the networking process are responsible
for recording the
Physical signal strength of the
received information.
Any node within the network can communicate with at
least one other Node.
Each node attempts to find the possible number of
nodes in a maximum physical range.
The logical ID of the BS is 0, and the nodes which
have been assigned logical ID is no longer involved in
the new logical ID allocation process.

Fire
Detector

N
o

N
o
Ye
s

Motor
Controll
er

Emergency
Commends

Intimatio
n

Tx Data

PLC Module

Engine

VIII. FLOW CHART FOR PROPOSED CONCEPT

Tx & Rx Data

A. Flow Chart for Transmission Section

start
<power line>
Figure 5. Flow Chart for Receiver Section
Initialize

IX.

Configure the
microcontroller

Check
Errors

Ye
s

Reset

Ye
s

PLC Module

CONCLUSION

This proposed data transmission using power line has very

usefull for railways as well as it can also implemented in other
application. Due to the fast and secure transmission of data we
can communicate easily & rapid and also we can avoid the
accidents etc. The advantages of this model are, Automation of
all features including communication from the Train to
junction. Data Transmission using both automatic and manual
control. It involves less cost to communicate and this system
increases productivity.
FUTURE RESEARCH

N
o

Tx & Rx Data

It used to transmit the data for long distance without

any loss.
Data also transmit and receive in single power line.
Here train also move with same power line.
This transmission is done along high security.
X.

Read switches
N
o

Commends using
Terminal

ADVANTAGE OF PROPOSED METHOD

<Powerline
>

Figure 4. Flow Chart for Transmission Section

After having tried with several practical URQ-1120F

experiments, further steps will be explore other powerline
systems (like Lonwork or Konnex) to test their potentialities,
also conducting a comparative study on the power consumes.
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International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication

Volume: 3 Issue: 3

ISSN: 2321-8169
1604 - 1608

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Another key point remains in any case the world of domotic
control interfaces for disabled people, so our effforts will be
again concentrated on this topic.
REFERENCE
Namita N. Jinde,Rashmi K. Bhojane D.M.I.E.T.R. Sawangi
(Meghe), Wardha(M.S.) Powerline Communication Based on
Energy Meter Automation at IJECCE Volume 4, Issue (2)
REACT-2013, ISSN 2249071X.
[2] Dhiraj S. Bhojane, Saurabh R. Chaudhari, , Eshant G. Rajgure,
Prakash D.More "power line communication" IJERA ISSN:
2248-9622 www.ijera.com Vol. 2, Issue 1,Jan-Feb 2012, pp.747753 747 .
[3] Awab
Fakih
,
Ramzan
Khatik
Electronics
and
Telecommunication Anjuman Islam Kalsekar Technical Campus
New Panvel, India TRANSMISSION OF DATA USING
[1]

[4]

[5]
[6]

[7]

POWER
LINE
CARRIER COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM IJECCT Volume 2 Issue 6 (November 2012).
Elena Mainardi, Marcello Bonf at University of Ferrara in Italy
Powerline Communication in Home-Building Automation
Systems at intechopen ISBN 978-953-7619-13-8.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Liang Zhang, Xiaosheng Liu *, Yan Zhou and Dianguo Xu, at
Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China A Novel
Routing Algorithm for Power Line Communication over a Lowvoltage Distribution Network in a Smart Grid in Energies
2013, 6, 1421-1438; doi:10.3390/en6031421.
Huaiyu Dai, Member, IEEE, and H. Vincent Poor, Fellow,
IEEE+ Advanced Signal Processing for Powerline
Communications This research was supported by the National
Science Foundation under Grant CCR-99-80590..

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