A Report on

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING IN SIGNAL AND TELECOMMUNICATION

At North Central Railway
Jhansi Division

Submitted By:
AAYUSH SHRIVASTAVA
Roll No.: 2100430310002

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

BUNDELKHAND INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY,
JHANSI

September 2023
 Acknowledgement

This industrial training is by far the most significant accomplishment in my life and it would be
impossible without people (especially my family) who supported me and believed in me. I am
thankful to Sr. DSTE (CO) Mr. Amit Goyal for giving me the opportunity to work under him and
lending every support at every stage of this industrial training work. I truly appreciate and value him
esteemed guidance and encouragement from the beginning to the end of this industrial training. I am
indebted to them for having helped me shape the problem and providing insights towards the solution.
Their trust and support inspired me in the most important moments of making right decisions and I
am glad to work with him. I want to thank all S.S.E (PRS) Mr. Ashish Trivedi, S.S.E (Test Room)
Mr. Harendra Damele, S.S.E (Railnet) Mr. Aniruddh Singh Yadav and S.S.E (Exchange) Mr. Deepak
Rai for providing a solid background for my studies and research thereafter

Submitted By:
Aayush Shrivastava
(2100430310002)
 Abstract

This report is detailed overview of my internship journey at signal and telecommunication department
in North Central Railways, Jhansi. An effort to a significant insight into the working of devices of
railways from view point of communication has been made In Indian Railways, training is given to
engineering aspirant desiring to secure future in the dynamic world of Telecommunication. Optical
Fibre Communication system is the backbone of Railways Telecommunication Network. The short-
haul STM1 equipment of 155 Mbps capacity is provided at every station along the fibre network. The
short-haul STM1 network is protected by long-haul STM4 / STM16 self-healing ring network
provided by Railnet.
I worked in passenger reservation system, optical fibre communication, railnet and exchange area
and learn about various communicating devices and technology used in railways. I have summarized
my overall experience, with my learnings and challenges face as intern.
 Table of Contents

Title Page No.

Chapter 1 Introduction to Indian Railways ............................................................. 1

1.1 About Indian Railway 1

1.2 Need for a Railway Network 1
1.3 S&T Department 2
1.4 Role of S&T Department 2

Chapter 2 Optical Fibre Communication ................................................................. 3

2.1 About OFC 3
2.2 OFC Network 4
2.3 Advantages of OFC 4
2.4 Attenuation 5

Chapter 3 Passenger Reservation System… ............................................................. 6

3.1 About PRS 6
3.2 Network Connectivity 6
3.3 Equipment Used 8

Chapter 4 Railnet ........................................................................................................ 10

4.1 Basic Networking Hardware 10
4.2 Network Topologies 12
4.3 Hardware and Software Components 13
4.4 Pulse Code Modulation 13
4.5 Working of Railnet 14
4.6 Application of Railnet 15

Chapter 5 Exchange .................................................................................................... 16

5.1 About Exchange 16
5.2 Working of Exchange 17
5.3 Input Power Supply 17
5.4 Telephone Line Card 18

Conclusion 19
Bibliography 20
 List of Figures

S.No. Figure No. Title Page No.

1. 1 VGLB Railway Station 2
2. 2 TIR in OFC 3
3. 3 Cross sectional View of OFC 4
4. 4 Attenuation Graph 5

5. 5 Concert Network Topology 7

6. 6 Flow chart of Network at PRS 7
7. 7 Modem 9
8. 8 Thin client 9
9. 9 RJ-45 Connector 11
10. 10 Network Switch 11
11. 11 Various topologies diagram 12
12. 12 Representation of PCM 14
13. 13 Flowchart of Railnet 15
14. 14 Telephone exchange 16
15. 15 Flowchart of Exchange 17
16. 16 Configuration of telephone exchange 18

List of Tables

S.No. Table No. Title Page No.

1. 1 Various Types of Cables 8
 Chapter -1
Introduction to Indian Railways

1.1 About Indian Railways

Indian Railways, a historical legacy, are a vital force in our economy. The first railway on Indian
sub-continent ran from Bombay to Thane on 16th April 1853. Fourteen railway carriages carried
about 400 guests from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 21 miles (34 Kilometres). Since
then, there has been no looking back. Today, it covers 6,909 stations over a total route length of
more than 63,028 kilometres. The track kilometres in broad gauge (1676 mm) are 86, 526 kms,
meter gauge (1000 mm) are 18, 529 kms and narrow gauge (762/610 mm) are 3,651 kms. Of the
total route of 63,028 kms, 16,001 kms are electrified. The railways have 8000 locomotives,
50,000 coaching vehicles, 222,147 freight wagons, 6853 stations, 300 yards, 2300 goodsheds,
700 repair shops, and 1.54 million work force. Indian Railways runs around 11,000 trains every
day, of which 7,000 are passenger trains. Presently, 9 pairs of Rajdhani and 13 pairs of Shatabdi
Express Trains run on the rail tracks of India.

It is interesting to note that though the railways were introduced to facilitate the commercial
interest of the British, it played an important role in unifying the country. Railways are ideally
suited for long distance travel and movement of bulk commodities. Regarded better than road
transport in terms of energy efficiency, land use, environment impact and safety it is always in
forefront during national emergency.

Indian railways, the largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest under one
management are also credited with having a multi gauge and multi traction system. The Indian
Railways have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years. It has helped the economic
life of the country and helped in accelerating the development of industry and agriculture. Indian
Railways is known to be the largest railway network in Asia.

The Indian Railways network binds the social, cultural and economic fabric of the country and
covers the whole of country ranging from north to south and east to west removing the distance
barrier for its people. The railway network of India has brought together the whole of country
hence creating a feeling of unity among Indians.

1.2 Need for a Railway Network

The British rule in India was governed by three principal considerations to expand the IR system.
These were the commercial advantages, the political aspect and even more importantly, the

1
inexorable imperial defense of India against the possible military attacks from certain powerful
countries showing signs of extending their orbit of influence into Central Asia.

Figure 1: Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Railway Station

1.3 Signal and Telecommunication Department

Signal and Telecommunication Department is responsible for installation and maintenance of
Signalling system essential for the safe & speedy movement of trains and Telecommunication
systems required for the effective utilization of the large fleet of locomotives and other rolling
stock and track as well as for the administration of the vast Railway Network.
Telecommunication is a vital infrastructure for managing any transportation network. Indian
Railway has an in-house Railway Telecommunication Network for managing Train operations
and staff management and to offer Passenger Amenities.
1.4 Role of the Signalling & Telecommunications Department
• Providing telecommunication infrastructure for:
1. Safe and efficient operation of trains
2. Administrative voice and data circuits
3. Passenger Reservation System (PRS)
4. Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS)
5. Freight Operation Information System (FOIS)
6. Crew Management System (CMS)
7. Coaching Operating Information System (COIS)
8. Management Information System (MIS)
• Management of Railways Corporate Wide Information System (RAILNET)

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 Chapter - 2
Optical Fibre Communication
2.1 About OFC
Optical fibre communication plays a vital role in the telecommunication systems of Indian
Railways. Today, with the route length of more than 50,000 Km approx., OFC is used not only in
various telecom applications like control communication, data networks like Railnet, FOIS etc.,
but in many signalling applications also like Electronic Interlocking, BPAC etc. Both S&T
department & Railtel execute works of OFC laying across Indian Railways for obtaining Optical
fibre communication facility for its various modes of communication. Since the transmission
characteristics of OFC cable can be degraded when subjected to excessive pulling force, sharp
bends, and crushing forces, extra precautions must be taken during the entire OFC laying
procedure. Optical fibre Telecommunication for Railway Utility

A modern telecommunication network for railway utility must be able to handle the emerging of
advanced remote-control centres, digital telephone exchanges, train radio systems and the
extensive development of central and local data systems. Therefore, it is recommended to apply
digital PCM transmission equipment, using optical fibres as transmission media. The advantages
of this kind of telecommunication networks are the low establishing costs compared to its
enormous capacity. For ex., an 8 or 12 fibre cable is able to handle all to- day known railway
transmission requirements and even more. Furthermore, the transmission networks immune to
electromagnetic disturbances in connection with electric railway traffic. In optical fibre
telecommunication systems, primarily mono-mode fibre used today, providing an extremely high
bandwidth (>300GHz x km) and every low attenuation (0.2 dB/km).

An optical fibre is a thin, flexible, transparent fibre that acts as a Waveguide or light pipe to
transmit light between the two ends of the fibre. Optical fibres are widely used in fibre-optic
communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher (data rates)
than other forms of communication. Fibres are used instead of metal wires because signals travel
along them with less loss and are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibres are also
used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus
allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibres are used for a variety of other
applications, including sensors and fibre lasers.
Configurations:
1. Core: 8μm diameter
2. Cladding: 125μm dia.
3. Buffer: 250μm dia.
4. Jacket: 400μm dia.

Figure 2: Total Internal Refraction in the OFC

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 Figure 3: Cross Sectional View of OFC

2.2 Optical Fibre Communication Network at IR

IR Vision is to tap revenue generation potential in the telecom and IT sector, using the 64,000-
km long 'right of way' for laying optic fibres, signalling towers and other infrastructure assets
that Indian Railways owns. OFCs are laid down along the track. This will be done in
collaboration between the RailTel Corporation and private sector companies in a transparent
framework.

The advantages of using OFCs over conventional copper cables include:

i) free from EMI and RFI making it especially useful in electrified areas.
ii) supports low bit-error rate digital communication.
very high traffic carrying capacity and hence potential for leasing excess capacity to
other users and providing other services.
iii) negligible cross-talk between channels.
iv) insufficient commercial value of bits of cable and hence less prone to theft
multiple joints does not significantly degrade BER and therefore speech quality.

2.3 Fibreoptic cabling offers the following advantages:

• Bandwidth: Fiber optic cabling offers greater bandwidth than copper-based cabling,
in part because different wavelengths (colours) of light can be used to carry signals
through the core at the same time.

• Speed: Typical transmission rates are in the 100 Mbps range. Fibreoptic cabling has,
however, been shown to transmit a signal cleanly over thousands of miles at the rate
of 1 Gbps (gigabit, or roughly, one billion bits, per second), and at speeds in excess of
2 Gbps over shorter distances.

• Signal integrity: Immunity to electrical interference is higher with fibreoptic cabling

because the transmission medium is light, rather than electricity.

• Security: The light signal cannot be "hacked" by bad guys wanting to intercept or
steal the data.

4
Because of its greater bandwidth and speed, and because the cabling can transmit a signal for
long distances without error and without the need for refreshing and boosting, fibreoptic cable is
often used as the backbone cabling connecting LANs in different locations.

2.4 Attenuation
Attenuation is the reduction of signal strength or light power over the length of the light-carrying
medium. Fiber attenuation is measured in decibels per kilometre (dB/km). Optical fiber offers
superior performance over other transmission media because it combines high bandwidth with
low attenuation. This allows signals to be transmitted over longer distances while using fewer
regenerators or amplifiers, thus reducing cost and improving signal reliability.

Attenuation of an optical signal varies as a function of wavelength (see Figure 9). Attenuation is
very low, as compared to other transmission media (i.e., copper, coaxial cable, etc.), with a
typical value of 0.35 dB/km at 1300 nm for standard single-mode fiber. Attenuation at 1550 nm
is even lower, with a typical value of 0.25 dB/km. This gives an optical signal, transmitted
through fiber, the ability to travel more than 100 km without regeneration or amplification.
Attenuation is caused by several different factors, but primarily scattering and absorption. The
scattering of light from molecular level irregularities in the glass structure leads to the general
shape of the attenuation curve (see Figure 9). Further attenuation is caused by light absorbed by
residual materials, such as metals or water ions, within the fiber core and inner cladding. It is
these water ions that cause the water peak region on the attenuation curve, typically around 1383
nm. The removal of water ions is of particular interest to fiber manufacturers as this water peak
region has a broadening effect and contributes to attenuation loss for nearby wavelengths. Some
manufacturers now offer low water peak single-mode fibers, which offer additional bandwidth
and flexibility compared with standard single-mode fibers. Light leakage due to bending, splices,
connectors, or other outside forces are other factors resulting in attenuation.

Figure 4: Attenuation vs wavelength curve

5
 Chapter - 3
Passenger Reservation System (PRS)

3.1 About PRS

The Passenger Reservation System Software functions as an integrated system of four main
modules, which handle the functional requirements of Reservation, Enquiry, Accounting and
Charting. The system has full scale Back-up and Recovery facilities. IR now has inter-linked the
five Host Computers using Networking Software and Distributed Transaction Processing. This
provides access to databases in all the five Host Computers at any Terminal in the country. The
entire system can thus cover all Reservation Quotas on IR, with the Databases distributed over
five computer locations, providing reservation access all over the country. As a first major step
towards the goal of single image passenger reservation system, the first prototype of PRS
Networking Software, CONCERT (Countrywide Network of Computerized Enhanced
Reservation) using FORTRAN (30%) and C (70%) languages was implemented at Secunderabad
in January '95. CONCERT is written, keeping in mind the Client-Server architecture of
Computer System to achieve easy hardware expansion ability in future. Its message routing
feature for WAN (Wide Area Network) implementation is achieved through RTR software and
Router hardware, connected directly to an Ethernet Backbone. After the full-scale
implementation, the requirement of communication channels has come down, as there will be no
need for extending circuits for connecting remote terminals to particular PRS location only, in
view of every terminal being universal. CONCERT will also add multiple lap functionality
resulting in better customer service.
• PRS is a system that has been developed for reserving the seats in the trains in advance for
passengers from different Railway reservation centers in India.
• COUNTRY-WIDE NETWORK FOR COMPUTERIZED ENHANCED RESERVATION AND
TICKETING (CONCERT) developed by CRIS, is a total networking solution to Indian Railways
Passenger Reservation System.

3.2 Network Connectivity

A Booking Terminal on any locations attached to assign PRS via dedicated 2Mbps links through
Router- Modem connectivity.
• All the locations have redundant links, either RCIL & BSNL or both.
• Each Dumb terminal port is connected to Terminal server port which in turn connected to
central server via Switches, Router and Modems.
• PRS servers are located at 5 locations Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai & Sikandrabad.
• These servers are connected in fully mesh topology.

6
 Figure 5: Concert Network Topology used in Indian Railways

Figure 6: Flow Chart of Network Connection at PRS Jhansi Railway Station

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3.3 Equipment Used: -
STM (SYNCHRONOUS TRANSPORT MODULE)

STM is an equipment which is used to connect OFC to network. It converts light

information to electrical information and vice versa. Basically, it has two pair (one optical fibre
trans and other receive in one pair) of optical ports. It multiplexes the whole optical data into 2
Mbps E1 / Tributary. (Note: - 2 Mbps line is called E1, 4 Mbps E2 and 16 Mbps E3). These E1
are 63 pairs in total which can be further divided into 30 channels. High speed
networks (data networks) like UTS requires 2 Mbps line directly. For VF (Voice Frequency) the
2mbps line is put into MUX (multiplexer) and 30 channels are taken out and given as per
requirement. So STM-1 has capacity of 63 X 30 channels i.e. 1890 channels

SDH Rates
• SDH is a transport hierarchy based on multiples of 155.52 Mbit/s
• The basic unit of SDH is STM-1:
• STM-1 = 155.52 Mbit/s
• STM-4 = 622.08 Mbit/s
• STM-16 = 2588.32 Mbit/s
• STM-64 = 9953.28 Mbit/s
• Each rate is an exact multiple of the lower rate therefore the hierarchy is synchronous

Router
Routers are used to connect remote LANs technologies.
• A router uses a combination of hardware and software to actually "route" data from its source to
its destination.
• It works at the network layer (layer 3).

Table 1: Various Types of Cables used in Indian Railways

8
Modem
Modem as we all know is used to modulate and demodulate information on network. Here two of
modem are used. In the line side G703 / L-type modem is used (E1 is connected to it) and
network side V-35 N' type is used (router is connected to it). So, Tx of G703 / L-type modem is
connected to Rx of V-35 N' type modem and vice versa. Two modems are used because router
cannot be directly connected to G703 / L-type modem because the ports are different.
Also, G703 / L-type modem gives analog output which is converted to digital output by modem
and vice versa.

Figure 7: Modem (G703 & V35) set up in PRS at VGLB Railway Station

Thin Client
A thin client is used for desktop virtualization, shared services, or browser-based computing.
With a virtualized desktop setup, including one where each user has a remote desktop, each
individual desktop exists within a virtual machine, which is simply a partition inside a
centralized server. Computing is a popular desktop virtualization solution. Several partitions
exist side by side, and each one serves a different user. Each of these users has their own
applications and operating system, similar to when they use a normal PC.
A Thin Client is a ticketing system (Similar to dumb terminal) having capability of continuous
ticketing in case of network / Zonal server failure. It has its own application and database. It has
all ticketing features of Zonal UTS Server.

Figure 8: Thin Client

9
 Chapter 4
Railnet

The Indian Railways is Asia's largest and the world's second largest rail network. Adopting e-
Governance in right earnest and to reap the benefit of IT explosion, Indian Railways have
established a 'Corporate Wide Information System'(CWIS) called RAILNET, abbreviated as RN
henceforth. It provides smooth flow of information on demand for administrative purposes,
which would enable taking quicker and better decisions. Realising the important role that
information plays in customer services and in railways operations, IR had embarked on its
computerisation program.

4.1 Basic Networking Hardware

4.1.1 Network Interface card (NIC)

NIC is an electronic device, internal or external to a station, which contains circuitry that
enables the station to be connected to the network. Each station on a network (such as a pc,
work station, server, printer etc.,) has its network interface card (NIC). The NIC usually fits
inside the station and provides the station with a six-byte physical address. The number on a
NIC is unique.
Local area networks (LANs) allow PCs to communicate with each other and the network server
via this circuit board that is installed in each computer. It can also be referred to as a LAN card,
or network card. Each PC on a LAN needs a network interface card (NIC). There are several
types of NICs, including Ethernet, Token Ring, Fiber Distributed Data interface (FDDI), and
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Ethernet is most common.
4.1.2 Adapters
Like telephones, network adapters, sometimes called LAN cards or network interface cards
(NICs), are associated with a particular "number" (the computer's network address). They are
also the pieces of hardware through which communication flows, and they connect one node
with another via the network cabling, much as telephones connect people via telephone lines.
Physically, of course, network adapters are nothing like telephones. They are printed circuit
boards. Although some come in the form of small credit card-like PCMCIA (Personal Computer
Memory Card International Association) cards (which can slip into portable computers) and
some are external units, typical network adapters are installed inside the computer-specifically,
in one of the expansion slots inside the machine. Figure shows what such a network adapter
looks like.

4.1.3 Adapter to cable connectors

Unlike some aspects of networking, such as protocol stacks, adapter to cable connectors are easy
to understand, because there are only three basic kinds, all are very different in appearance. And,
as already mentioned, each of these connectors is associated with a particular type of cabling
and, thus, with a particular type of network. For flexibility, a single network adapter can come
with two or even all three types of connectors, although only one type can be used at a time to
connect to the network. The choice of which connector to use is made either manually, as in
flipping DIP (Dual Inline Packages) switches, or through software-based options as is the case
with Plug-and-Play-based PCI adapters.

10
4.1.4 RJ-45
The type of connector known as RJ-45 is the one most likely to look familiar. It is used with
unshielded twisted pair wiring and looks very much like the plug (known as RJ-11) at the end of
the telephone cable, only a little bigger because it contains eight wires as opposed to the RJ-11's
four wires. Both plugs work in the same way: stick them into the socket until the small clip on
one-side locks into place, and off you go. RJ-45 connectors are used on Ethernet and 100 Mbps
networks. Figure shows both an RJ-45 connector and the socket into which it fits.

Figure 9: RJ-45 Connector

4.1.5 Hubs
A hub is a central device in a star topology that provides a common connection among the nodes.
Hubs are the distinguishing feature of star-based topologies. They are, in fact, characteristic of
two widely used networks: 10BaseT Ethernet and Token Ring. A 10BaseT network is based on a
star topology, and Token Ring is based on a star-wired ring. In an Ethernet network, the hub is
just called the hub. In a Token Ring network, however, the hub is referred to as the MAU
(multiple access unit).
Externally, a hub is equipped with a number of ports (connectors) to which nodes and other
network devices connect. As messages are transmitted by the various nodes connected to the
hub, the hub ensures that the messages are copied to all of its ports, so the messages are
broadcast to all attached nodes.

4.1.6 Switches
A switch is a network device capable of forwarding packets directly to the ports associated with
network addresses. Instead of (or in combination with) hubs, LANs are also coming to rely on
devices called switches to transmit messages. These devices operate on the data link layer of the
ISO/OSI Reference Model-specifically, at the MAC sub-layer. Unlike hubs, which "broadcast"
messages to all ports regardless of the node to which they are actually addressed, switches rely
on internal address tables to determine where to route packets so that they travel directly from
the sender to the port associated the recipient. Although this distinction might not sound
particular noteworthy on the surface, it is the means by which switches can speed up network
performance.

Figure 10: A network Switch

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4.2 Network Topologies
Nodes in a network can be arranged in different manners calle the topology of the network.
Every topology has its own advantages and disadvantages and are used according to cost and
need of a network.
Types of topologies
Bus Topology
All the nodes are connected to a common bus. Requires minimum of wiring
Mesh Topology
Every node is connected to every other node. Uses Point to point protocol (PPP). Requires
maximum wiring lengths.
Ring Topology
Every node is connected to its adjacent node. The last node is connected to the first one. Uses
Token Ring protocol. If any node fails the entire network goes down.
Star Topology
Every node is connected to a central Hub/Switch. Easy to implement and expand.
Most widely used. If Hub/Switch fails entire network goes down.
Tree Topology
Extension of Star network. Every node is connected one of the Switches. These switches are in
turn connected to one common Central Switch. This is the practical network topology in the
field. If one of the switches fails also the remaining nodes will be in operation.
Hybrid Topology
The hybrid topology is the combination of the basic topologies.

Figure 11: Various Topologies Diagram

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4.3 Hardware and Software components used in Railnet
1) Hardware Components
• Compaq Server Compaq Proliant 1600R .
• Cisco Router Cisco 3640 and Cisco 2610.
• Switches Cisco Catalyst 2924 XL with 22 (10/100Mbps RJ45 port) and 2 FX (optical
fibre) ports.
• Modem RAD V.35 64kbps modems.
2) Software Components
• Windows NT Server 4 as the Network OS.
• IIS 4.0 as the Web and FTP Server2.
• Lotus notes as a Mail Server.
• IP scheme of railnet
RAILNET uses the TCP/IP protocols, RAILNET can be easily scaled for Internet as well.
RAILNET has used the private IP address of 10.0.0.0/16, The IP addressing scheme is uniform
and consistent all the web servers were given with an IP 10.xx.2.19 and Routers with an IP
10.x.2.1.

4.4 Pulse Code Modulation

Pulse code modulation (PCM) is the process of converting an analog signal into a 2n-
digit binary code. Consider the block diagram shown in Figure 8-9. An analog signal is placed on
the input of a sample and hold. The sample and hold circuit is used to capture the analog voltage
long enough for the conversion to take place. The output of the sample and hold circuit is fed
into the analog-to-digital converter (A/D). An A/D converter operates by taking periodic discrete
samples of an analog signal at a specific point in time and converting it to a 2n-bit binary
number. For example, an 8-bit A/D converts an analog voltage into a binary number with 28
discrete levels (between 0 and 255). For an analog voltage to be successfully converted, it must
be sampled at a rate at least twice its maximum frequency. This is known as the Nyquist
sampling rate. An example of this is the process that takes place in the telephone system.

Standard telephone has a bandwidth of 4 kHz. When you speak into the telephone, your 4-kHz
bandwidth voice signal is sampled at twice the 4-kHz frequency or 8 kHz. Each sample is then
converted to an 8-bit binary number. This occurs 8000 times per second. Thus, if we multiply

8 k samples/s × 8 bits/sample = 64 kbits/s

Temporarily store the digital codes during the conversion process. The DAC accepts an n-bit
digital number and outputs a continuous series of discrete voltage steps.

13
All that is needed to smooth the stair-step voltage out is a simple low-pass filter with its cutoff
frequency set at the
maximum signal frequency.

Figure 12: Representation of Pulse Code Modulation, Analog and PCM Signal

4.5 Working of Rail Net

Rail Net is similar to internet. All the computers and communication cables that make up the
thousands of smaller networks at various railway offices are connected together to form the Rail
Net. It follows a simple rule, TCP/IP. Here packet switching, where a computer message is
broken into small packets, is used. Each packet consists of a] destination address, a source
address and packet identity and user data. A packet can travel through any path on the network.
Different servers of railways are connected to each other via its own microwave stations to form
a nationwide network of Indian Railways. Four wires are coming from microwave station and

14
they are terminated on the lease line modem. This modem is connected to router through a cable.
Router is connected to the switch. Switch is an interface between server and router. Various hubs
can be connected in a cascade to increase the no. of terminations.

This is a star topology. Hubs along with computers within the distance of 50 meter are
terminated on the switch. In this manner all the computers in the LAN can share the data and can
access the internet through server. Router also provides the facility of Dial-Up Networking. It
can accommodate 8 dial tone modems which provide internet facility on distant computers.

4.6 Applications of RAILNET

1) Railnet users can exchange e-mail on the Internet.
2) Commercial Department is using RAILNET for their ‘Complaint Centers'.
3) Railways have launched their web pages on RAILNET and they update the information.
4) Authorised users can access the internet through RAILNET either in LAN or through
Remote Dial-up on Rly. Telephone.
5) RAILNET users can share the resources.

Figure 13: Flow chart showing bandwidth distribution of RailNet

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 Chapter - 5
Exchange
5.1 About Exchange
Exchange is basically switched telephone connection between different office and phones
usually used in large offices to facilitate communication between various employees in this case.
Let us take an example to illustrate this. Let us take a office with 100 offices for 100
employees. Let us assume you are in this office as "boss". Suppose you want to relay some
information to one of your subordinates. Now you have a couple of options here.
1) Go to the office of your subordinate and convey him the information.
2) Order your Personal Assistant to call him and then convey the information
3) Convey the information to your Personal Assistant and then he conveys it to the employee.
The First and second method are time consuming. Also, if some query is there it will take even
more time. The third method can involve incorrect convey of information plus the query problem
is still not solved. To facilitate this, we use telephone exchange. Here a phone is connected to
each of the offices by a central exchange (analogous to switch) and a code is assigned to each of
them. Now you must simply enter this code in your telephone and your work is done

Figure 14: Telephone Exchange at Jhansi Railway Station

Telephone exchange has one another advantage. For example you have your office in Delhi
and you have to call to another branch of the office at Surat. Let us assume similar case is with
25 of employees and you only have one landline connection. So, all 25 of your employees will
come at your office to make the call. "DISTURBING isn't it" You are already busy and now this.
It can be solved by telephone exchange. Just give a code to the landline number and the
employees will enter the code and converse with the other office. After all it is highly unlikely
that two people at once will call together.

16
5.2 Working of Exchange
Let us assume we have 8 offices which are assigned exchange codes as shown above and an
MTNL/BSNL number. All the phone are connected to a single control unit called exchange. The
codes assigned to the offices are programmed in it. Now let's assume you are in Office 1 and
want to ask your subordinate at Office 8 for bringing some file. You will simply take your phone
and dial 24 (Code for office 8). Now the exchange will look up in its database code 24 and
immediately know that you want to talk to office 8 and will connect the line.

Figure 15: Flow Chart of Telephone Exchange

5.3 Input Power Supply

It can run on 230 V AC supply. Besides it can also run on 48 volt battery. The curious thing here
is that the polarity of battery is reversed i.e ground is connected to +ve of battery and +ve is
connected to -ve side of battery. There are two reasons for this arrangement.
1) It increases the life of battery as electrons are excessive in -ve side of battery.
2) It protects the equipment in case of lightening.
The exchange uses Switched Mode power supply (SMPS) which divides the voltage according to
need of individual equipment in the exchange. It basically changes AC to DC then again to AC
step it down and then again to DC. It then uses voltage divider to get required voltage.

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5.4 Telephone Line Card
As the name suggests the telephone line card is basically used to connect telephone lines from
individual telephones to exchange. Given above is a general layout for Telephone Line Card. No
of circuit blocks can differ from card to card and model to model. The circuit block shown above
consists of relay with other elements like memory etc. They can be divided into categories
according to the number of circuits per cards. They are 8, 16, 24, 32 circuit cards. Each line card
can support a defined number of users (telephones) based on the number of circuits blocks a card
has. These cards must be programmed to work.
When a user wishes to make a call, it takes the headset of telephone equipment. When it does the
relay in the Line card of that telephone goes to CEM (Control Equipment Module) which gives a
dial tone to user. Now when he dials the number the CEM scans the number in its database and
sends ring to the circuit card of dialled telephone. The relay in it gets into "Burst Mode" and
gives ring to the concerned telephone using 75V 25Hz AC.

Figure 16: Configuration of Telephone Exchange at Jhansi Division

Some other cards are also used in Exchange at Indian Railways:

1. Subscriber Line Module Analog Vinetic (SLMAV)
2. Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
3. Subscriber Trunk Module IP Extended (STMIX)
4. Analog Trunk Module (TMANI)
5. Digital Subscriber Module (SLMU-24)

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 Conclusion

Indian Railways, as an organization is a very vast centre of telecommunication in itself. Today

the telecommunicating world is getting its roots, grabbing the new era more firmly. We think that
our training was a success and we think that Indian Railways was an excellent training institute
for inquisitive emerging engineers. In Indian Railways, training is given to engineering aspirant
desiring to secure future in the dynamic world of Telecommunication.

The main achievements of the training at Indian Railways are that we got familiar with the latest
technologies and principles of networking. The main achievement could be said to get
knowledge about recent technologies of LAN. We got experience as to how to organize the
things. After the completion of the training, we consider ourselves capable of facing any other
challenge of that type. The training at Indian Railways cultivated the zeal of inquisitiveness and
the excitement to know more than more about this field in limited duration.

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 Bibliography

• Optical fibres, cables and system ITU-T Manual 2009

• Centre for Railway Information Systems, INDIAN RAILWAYS, DELHI

• Fundamentals of Photonics Bahaa E. A. Saleh, Malvin Carl Teich

• Signalling and Telecommunication in Indian Railways Report No. PA 26 of 200809

(Railways)

• Wikipedia – Indian Railways

• Telecom Hand Book - IRISET

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