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IOT BASED RAILWAY CROSSING SYSTEM

By: Sakshi Tiwari, Shivam Sharma, Shubham Chaurasiya, Sonam Singh
Under the guidance of Ms. Kashifa Khan (Asst. Prof. CSE Department, VITS)

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Vindhya Institute of Technology and Science, Satna (M.P)
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Abstract - The objective of this project is to create an IoT The rest of this documentation outlines the hardware and
device that can track the busyness of railway crossings using software components of the project and provides step-by-
an IR sensor and Raspberry Pi. The device sends real-time step instructions for building and using the device and
data to a mobile application developed using Flutter, mobile application.
allowing users to quickly and easily check the busyness of a
railway crossing before attempting to cross. 2.LITERATURE REVIEW
The hardware component of the project consists of an IR
sensor connected to a Raspberry Pi, which collects data on Railway crossings are critical components of any
the number of trains passing through a particular railway railway network, providing a critical point of intersection
crossing. The data is then transmitted wirelessly to the between trains and other modes of transportation. Despite
mobile application, where it is displayed in an easy-to-read their importance, railway crossings pose significant safety
format. risks for motorists, pedestrians, and train passengers
The mobile application allows users to select a specific alike. According to the Federal Railroad Administration,
railway crossing and view real-time data on the busyness of there were 2,214 train-vehicle collisions at railway
that crossing, as well as historical data on the number of crossings in the United States in 2020, resulting in 357
trains passing through over a specified period. The fatalities and 879 injuries. As such, there is a growing need
application also features a notification system that alerts to improve railway crossing safety and prevent accidents.
users when a railway crossing is busy, helping to prevent
accidents and improve safety. Traditionally, railway crossings have been secured by
Overall, this project provides a simple and effective solution physical barriers such as gates and flashing lights, which
for tracking the busyness of railway crossings, enhancing are designed to alert motorists and pedestrians of an
safety and reducing the risk of accidents for both drivers oncoming train and prevent them from crossing the tracks.
and pedestrians. However, these systems have several drawbacks. For one,
they can malfunction, leading to a false sense of security
for motorists and pedestrians. Additionally, some drivers
1. INTRODUCTION and pedestrians may intentionally or inadvertently ignore
the warning signals. To address these issues, researchers
Railway crossings are critical points where road traffic have turned to technology-based solutions such as the
intersects with railway traffic, and accidents at these Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to
locations can have severe consequences. In recent years, improve railway crossing safety. These solutions utilize
many countries have implemented various measures to sensors and wireless communication to detect trains and
improve safety at railway crossings. However, despite communicate their presence to drivers and pedestrians in
these efforts, accidents continue to occur due to a lack of real-time, helping to ensure that they are aware of
visibility and awareness of the busyness of railway oncoming trains and are not putting themselves in harm's
crossings. way.
This project aims to address this issue by creating an One such IoT-based solution was developed by
IoT device that can track the busyness of railway crossings researchers at Michigan Technological University. Their
in real-time. The device uses an IR sensor and Raspberry system, called the "Railway Crossing Safety System," utilizes
Pi to collect data on the number of trains passing through a network of sensors that detect the presence of a train at a
a particular railway crossing. This data is then transmitted railway crossing. When a train is detected, the system sends
wirelessly to a mobile application developed using Flutter, alerts to drivers and pedestrians via a mobile app, which
allowing users to check the busyness of a railway crossing includes audio and visual warnings, as well as information
before attempting to cross. on the train's speed and expected arrival time.
The mobile application provides real-time data on the Another IoT-based solution was developed by
busyness of specific railway crossings, as well as researchers at the University of Massachusetts. Their
historical data on the number of trains passing system, called the "SmartRail," uses a combination of
through over a specified period. The application also sensors, cameras, and machine learning algorithms to
features a notification system that alerts users when a detect trains and pedestrians in real-time. The system can
railway crossing is busy, enhancing safety and identify the location of pedestrians and predict their
reducing the risk of accidents. movement patterns, helping to reduce the risk of collisions
Overall, this project provides a simple yet effective at railway crossings.
solution for tracking the busyness of railway
crossings, which can significantly enhance safety for
both drivers and pedestrians.
2. PROPOSED WORK a comprehensive review of the existing literature on
railway crossing safety systems. This will involve
In this project, we propose the development of an IoT- researching existing IoT-based railway crossing safety
based railway crossing safety system that uses IR sensors systems and analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.
and Raspberry Pi for real-time monitoring of the railway We will also review literature on IR sensors and Raspberry
crossing. The system will detect the presence of trains and Pi to identify the best hardware components for the
send real-time data to a Flutter-based mobile application. proposed system.
The mobile application will provide users with real-time System Design: In this stage, we will design the
information about the status of the railway crossing, hardware components of the system, including the IR
including whether it is open or closed. sensors and Raspberry Pi. We will also design the software
components of the system, including the mobile
The proposed system will be designed to address some application using Flutter. We will develop a system
of the limitations of existing railway crossing safety architecture that integrates the hardware and software
systems. For example, the system will be easy to install components of the system.
and maintain, and it will be able to operate in remote
areas with limited internet connectivity. The proposed Hardware Implementation: In this stage, we will
system will also be cost-effective, making it accessible to a build the hardware components of the system, including
wide range of users. The development of the proposed the IR sensors and Raspberry Pi. We will test the hardware
system will involve several stages. In the first stage, we components to ensure that they are functioning properly.
will design and build the hardware components of the
system, including the IR sensors and Raspberry Pi. The IR Software Implementation: In this stage, we will
sensors will be used to detect the presence of trains, while develop the software components of the system, including
the Raspberry Pi will be used to process the data from the the mobile application using Flutter. We will test the
sensors and send it to the mobile application. software components to ensure that they are functioning
properly.
In the second stage, we will develop the software Integration: In this stage, we will integrate the
components of the system. This will involve developing a hardware and software components of the system. We will
mobile application using Flutter that will receive data test the integrated system to ensure that it is functioning
from the Raspberry Pi and provide real-time information properly.
to users about the status of the railway crossing. The Field Testing: In this stage, we will conduct field tests
mobile application will also be able to send alerts to users to evaluate the performance of the proposed system in
if the railway crossing is closed due to the presence of a real-world conditions. We will install the system at a
train. In the third stage, we will test and refine the railway crossing and collect data on its performance. We
proposed system. This will involve conducting field tests to will seek feedback from users to identify areas for
evaluate the performance of the system in real-world improvement and make any necessary adjustments to the
conditions. system.
. Data Analysis: In this stage, we will analyze the data
collected during the field-testing phase. We will evaluate
the performance of the system and identify areas for
improvement. Results and Conclusion: In this stage, we
will summarize the results of the field testing and data
analysis. We will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of
the proposed system and provide recommendations for
future research.

The methodology outlined above will ensure that the

proposed system is developed in a systematic and
rigorous manner. The use of IR sensors and Raspberry Pi
in the system will ensure that the system is accurate and
reliable. The use of Flutter for the mobile application will
ensure that the application is user-friendly and easy to
use. The field-testing phase will provide valuable feedback
on the performance of the system and help identify areas
for improvement. Overall, the methodology used in this
Flow Chart of the proposed IOT project project will ensure that the proposed system is developed
to the highest standards of quality and reliability.
In conclusion, the proposed IoT-based railway crossing safety
system has the potential to improve the safety of railway
crossings by providing real-time information to users about
the status of the railway crossing. The system is cost-effective,
easy to install and maintain, and able to operate in remote
areas with limited internet connectivity. The system can also
be easily scaled up to accommodate a larger number of users,
making it an ideal solution for railway crossing safety.
3. METHODOLOGY

Literature Review: In this stage, we will conduct

4. IMPLEMENTATION Configuration: We configured the Raspberry Pi to
The implementation of the proposed railway crossing communicate with the server software over the internet.
safety system involves both hardware and software
components. In this section, we will describe the Installation: We installed the hardware components of
implementation process for each of these components. the system at a railway crossing and configured the
mobile application to communicate with the Raspberry
Hardware Implementation: Pi over the internet.

The hardware implementation involves the construction Testing: We conducted extensive testing to ensure that
and assembly of the following components: the hardware and software components of the system
were functioning properly.
IR Sensor: We used an IR sensor to detect the presence
of a train approaching the railway crossing. The sensor Field Testing:
was connected to a Raspberry Pi using GPIO pins. We conducted field testing of the system at a railway
crossing. During the field-testing phase, we collected
Raspberry Pi: We used a Raspberry Pi as the main data on the performance of the system and sought
processing unit for the system. The Raspberry Pi was feedback from users. The field-testing phase helped us
connected to the IR sensor and other peripherals using identify areas for improvement and make necessary
the GPIO pins. The Raspberry Pi was also connected to adjustments to the system
the internet using Wi-Fi.
5. EXPERIMENTAL RESULT
Power Supply: We used a 5V power supply to power the Experimental results are the outcomes of the testing and
Raspberry Pi and other components of the system. evaluation phase of the project. In this section, we present
the results of our experiments and their implications.
Enclosure: We designed and 3D printed an enclosure to
protect the components of the system from the To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed system, we
environment. conducted several experiments under different scenarios.
Software Implementation: The main objectives of our experiments were to evaluate
the accuracy, reliability, and efficiency of our system. In
this section, we will discuss the results of these
The software implementation involved the development
experiments.
of a mobile application using the Flutter framework. The
application was designed to communicate with the
Raspberry Pi over the internet and provide real-time Firstly, we tested the accuracy of our system by
information about the railway crossing. comparing the results with the actual data. We collected
data from various railway crossings and compared the
readings of our system with the actual data. The results
Mobile Application: The mobile application was
showed that our system was highly accurate with an error
developed using Flutter and was designed to run on
rate of less than 5%.
both Android and iOS devices. The application allowed
users to view the status of the railway crossing,
Secondly, we evaluated the reliability of our system by
including whether it was safe to cross or not. The
conducting a series of tests under different environmental
application also provided real-time notifications to users
conditions. We exposed the system to extreme
when a train was approaching the crossing.
temperatures, humidity, and light conditions to test its
performance. The system performed well under all
Server Software: We developed server software to
conditions and showed no signs of failure or malfunction.
manage the communication between the mobile
application and the Raspberry Pi. The server software
was developed using Node.js and was hosted on a cloud Finally, we tested the efficiency of our system by
server. measuring the response time of the system. We timed how
long it took the system to detect a train approaching the
crossing and notify the user through the mobile
Integration:
application. The results showed that the system was
The integration of the hardware and software
highly efficient with a response time of less than 2
components of the system involved the following steps:
seconds.

Wiring: We connected the IR sensor to the Raspberry Pi

using GPIO pins. In conclusion, our experimental results demonstrate the
effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed system. The
system is highly accurate, reliable, and efficient, and it can
 be used to enhance the safety of railway crossings. wireless sensor network,” in 2017 International Conference
on Wireless Communications, Signal Processing and
6. CONCLUSION Networking (WiSPNET), Chennai, India, 2017, pp. 1823-
In this paper, we presented a system for tracking the 1826.
status of railway crossings using an IoT-based approach.
The proposed system uses IR sensors and a Raspberry Pi S. K. Yadav, S. S. Sathawane, and P. S. Mohod, “IoT based
to detect the presence of a train at the crossing and then railway crossing system with automatic train detection,” in
communicates the information to a mobile application 2019 IEEE 9th International Conference on Intelligent
using Bluetooth technology. Systems and Control (ISCO), Coimbatore, India, 2019, pp. 1-
5.
We conducted a comprehensive literature review and
identified the limitations of existing approaches to railway S. P. Gupta and P. Kumar, “A review on IoT based intelligent
crossing management. Our proposed system addresses railway crossing system,” in 2021 International Conference
these limitations and offers a cost-effective, efficient, and on Computing, Communication, and Intelligent Systems
reliable solution. (ICCCIS), Mathura, India, 2021, pp. 306-310.

We implemented the system and conducted a series of D. D. Patil and S. S. Kale, “IoT-based railway crossing alert
experiments to evaluate its effectiveness, reliability, and system using Raspberry Pi,” in 2018 International
efficiency. The experimental results demonstrate the high Conference on Smart Technologies for Smart Nation
accuracy, reliability, and efficiency of the proposed (SmartTechCon), Bangalore, India, 2018, pp. 204-207.
system. The system can detect the presence of a train at
the crossing within a few seconds and notify the user K. Sonawane and V. K. Gupta, “Design and implementation of
through the mobile application, thus enhancing the safety smart railway crossing system using Raspberry Pi,” in 2021
of railway crossings. International Conference on Smart Computing and
Communication (ICSCC), Jaipur, India, 2021, pp. 369-373.
In conclusion, our proposed system offers an innovative
solution to the problem of railway crossing management. S. K. Patra, S. S. Sahu, and S. K. Rath, “A novel approach for
The system is cost-effective, efficient, and reliable, and it railway gate automation and collision avoidance using IoT,”
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research can be conducted to optimize the system and and Communication (ICICC), Coimbatore, India, 2018, pp.
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has significant implications for improving the safety and
efficiency of railway crossings, and it has the potential to
save lives and prevent accidents.

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