Arduino-Powered Solution for Railway Track Crack Detection System

Development
Najma Siddiqui1, Akil Ahmed2, Tejas Thakre3, Sujyot Jibhe4, Yogesh Karnake5, Samir Sheikh6,
Yash Sangole7, Sohelraza Sheikh8
12
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Anjuman College Of Engineering and Technology, Nagpur,
Maharashtra.
345678
Students, Department of Electrical Engineering, Anjuman College Of Engineering And Technology, Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Abstract –
Traversing more than 1.15 lakh kilometers throughout India, Indian Railways makes one of the most extensive rail
networks in the world. With respect to the global standard of reliability and passenger safety, Indian Railways does not measure
up. Neglecting timely detection and necessary maintenance results in cracks on railway tracks that seriously question the security
of operation for rail transport. The development of cracks on over 25% of the track length has prompted recommendations for its
replacement according to a recent study. Determining tracks manually can be burdensome as well as not completely accurate
because of extensive time demands and a need for qualified personnel. In order to tackle the problem effectively with advanced
technological solutions based on Internet of Things (IoT), we present in this paper an automatic railway track crack detection
system. By collecting a significant amount of data it is feasible to achieve localization and tracking for Railway Fault Detection.

Keywords: Railway Track, Crack detection, Automatic Robot, Sensor and Controller, GSM & GPS etc.

project is to aid in enhancing the safety culture of relevant

1. Introduction railway authorities.
When it comes to transportation in India nothing can beat Develop the requisite monitoring tools needed for current
railways which are not only cheap but also hold great safety management despite their potential danger, railway
significance, however, through reading newspapers every crossings remain a distinctive and unavoidable feature of the
day we learn about several rail mishaps. More emphasis modern world. At this meeting point, two disparate entities
should be given on improving the security measures as with varying roles and activities come together for the
railway accidents have higher risks associated with them common goal of providing a service to those who use the
compared to other traffic accidents. road. Using an ultrasonic sensor makes it possible to detect
The significance of ensuring railway safety cannot be rail cracks effectively for this particular project. The status
overstated in the realm of global railway transportation, and of any crack detected can be monitored in real-time via an
the negative perception among people towards railroads due integrated LCD screen, and to measure properly we use an
to highlighted incidents caused by failure-based accidents infrared sensor. The railway safety monitoring system has
can create unnecessary pressure for immediate changes. The been developed using an Arduino Uno (ATmega328),
incredible scale of Indian Railways makes it's railway ultrasonic sensors and an LCD display.
network one of the largest in the world - covering a distance
greater than 115000 kilometers Indian Railways’ level of
reliability and passenger safety do not match up to that of 2. Proposed Methodology
the global standard. The absence of timely detection coupled
with inadequate maintenance is causing serious questions The design and development of a crack-finding robot
about rail traffic safety owing to the cracks on its rails. Due has been initiated for use on railway tracks. The connection
to cracks in the tracks, a new research suggests more than between the robotic vehicle and crack detection sensor is
25% of its entire length needs replacing. Because it takes up made through a controller in this system. Detecting changes
so much time and skilled technicians to perform manual in voltage on the crack sensor is followed by signaling of
trace identification, it can feel onerous. However, by microcontroller by sensing device The Robot's behavior is
creating an automatic track slotting system specifically decided by analyzing changes in voltages between a given
designed for addressing issues related to LCD screens measuring level and another level called a threshold using a
proliferation, we hope to solve this problem effectively. Micro-controller.
Accumulating an extensive amount of data is necessary for
locating and tracking rail defects. The purpose of this
 Detecting railway cracks is crucial to avoid train
incidents and our concept offers an affordable and effective
method for achieving this. To counteract drastic situations in
Indian railway networks and avoid stopping down, an
innovative automated system that does not require manual
intervention has been introduced.

In order to guarantee robustness, reproducibility, and

ease of implementation, the fundamental idea has been kept
relatively basic. It presents a cost-effective solution to the
problem of resilient railway crack detection system
(RRCDS) by using AT mega microcontroller, ultrasonic Fig. 4: Experimental Diagram
sensors, buzzer, and IOT assembly. It uses ultrasonic
sensors to find the crack. IoT service is employed to
determine the crack's present location. IOT module is
utilized to transmit the information that has been received. 4. Working
Using this wireless communication, the proper authorities Infrared and passive infrared sensors are interfaced with an
will receive it. In order to save many lives, they promptly Arduino board which in turn connects them to an LCD
trace the exact position of track damage after receiving a screen. The four-wheeled LCD vehicle operating within the
buzzer warning signaling the identification of a fracture. railroad perimeters is equipped with an integrated system.
Utilizing an infrared sensor on each of its left lane, right
The method of interfacing between the robotic model lane and frontal part, the robot is able to detect any potential
and microcontroller utilizes both driver ICs as well as SPDT obstacle or a break in the road which eventually helps it
relays. In case of a railway track getting cracked or damaged forward. Moreover, Arduino is coded through the Arduino
while being inspected by our robot, it automatically comes IDE and linked with multiple peripherals including the
into halt mode with raised alarming sound while displaying essential motor driver needed for moving our robot in both
errors on its built-in screen simultaneously. The IOT unit directions. Utilizing an LCD display module, we can easily
also conveys this through internet or control panel. communicate with higher authorities through our project's
system. Additionally, it's equipped with infrared sensors that
detect cracks and has two railway models installed alongside
3. Block Diagram each ultrasonic sensor unit.

The project block diagram which contains following

process-

1. Initially the tracks are being continuously monitored

with the help of sensor, which is used to detect the
crack in the track.

2. This monitoring is done with the help of ultrasonic

sensor in order to sense the minor changes also which
can be quite difficult with other sensors.

3. Whenever the crack gets detected with the help of

ultrasonic sensor it passes the alert of crack found to the
Arduino microcontroller.

4. The Arduino microcontroller will perform the process

assigned to it accordingly.

5. The process mainly includes positioning, sending and

alerting through the help of GPS module.
Fig. 3: Block Diagram

6. Once the message is sent to the railway authority, the

alarm must be heeded and important action must be
taken to prevent future crashes and accidents that could
result in loss of life and serious injury.
5. Conclusion Information and Communication Technology (IJAICT),
Volume -1, Issue-1, May 2014.
The suggested Arduino-Powered Solution for Railway
Track Crack Detection System has the ability to [6] Akhil n, Dinumohan , Fayis p, Sijagopinath,” Railway
automatically and without human assistance identify Crack Detection System”, International Research Journal of
fractures in the rail track, even little ones. Comparing the Engineering and Technology (IRJET) ,Volume: 03 Issue: 05
suggested approach to conventional detection methods | May-2016
reveals significant advantages. Fast detect and reporting
systems, lower costs, reduced power consumption, and [7] Rajesh lv, Manjunathgasuti, Mukundaswamy,” CRACK
shorter analysis times are some of the benefits. Additionally, DETECTION AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE IN
the suggested system is perfect for deployment on a broad RAILWAY TRACKS” IRF International Conference,
scale with very little initial expenditure due to the simplicity Volume 2, 12th June, 2016.
of the idea and the ease with which the components are
readily available. As a result, in operational conditions, it [8] Saurabh Srivastava, Ravi Prakash Chaurasia, Syed Imran
can operate successfully and efficiently. With the aid of this Abbas, Prashant Sharma, Nitin Kumar Singh,” Railway
suggested model, accidents caused by trackside cracks may Track Crack Detection Vehicle” International Advanced
be easily avoided, perhaps saving a great number of lives. Research Journal in Science, Engineering and
Technology(IARJSET), Vol. 4, Issue 2, February 2017.
In this project, we developed a low-cost, low-power
embedded technology to help improve train track safety [9] Ajeya G R, Ashwini N, Kavitha S, Latha D C, Chaithra
standards and avoid accidents caused by cracks and other G, ”Robust Railway Track Crack Detection Scheme”,
obstructions. The testing railway model prototype is capable International Research Journal of Engineering and
of accurately identifying fractures and other obstructions on Technology (IRJET), Volume: 03 Issue: 05 | May-2016.
the rails. The outcome demonstrates that this brand-new,
cutting-edge technology will improve the dependability of [10] S. Arivazhagan, R. NewlinShebiah, J. Salome
safety systems used in railway transportation. We can Magdalene and G. Sushmitha, “Railway Track Derailment
prevent mishaps to the tune of 70% by putting these features Inspection System Using Segmentation Based Fractal
into real-time use. Texture Analysis “Ict Academy Of Tamilnadu (Ictact)
Journal On Image And Video Processing, August 2015,
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