A cost effective approach on railway vehicle identification and positioning using RFID technology

Detecting and reporting vehicle positions in light rail / tramway operation is always a challenge to the railway design engineers as most, if not all, light rail systems do not possess continuous signalling system in tracking the vehicle (train) positions for obvious reasons. However, accurate reporting of vehicle position is important for certain light rail applications, such as Passenger Information Display system which advises the passengers which and when the next vehicle will arrive at a particular stop. As light rail network normally comprises of many stops (stations), cost effective yet proven technology is a basic and essential requirement for such application. The authors have jointly developed a system employing low cost active RFID technology to perform vehicle identification and positioning. This system is being used in one of the busiest light rail networks in the world and is proved to be a very cost effective solution for this type of applications. This paper describes the common issues encountered in light rail / tramway operations and the design of the vehicle detection system using active RFID technology to address the identified problems. The benefits that this technology is bringing to end users are discussed in this paper. Towards the end, the authors will also highlight other applications of this technology in the railway environment.