SCADA TELEMETRY IN INDIAN RAILWAY 25 KVA OHE DISTRIBOTION SYSTEM

SCADA SYSTEM IN INDIAN RAILWAY FOR 25 KVA OHE

TRACTION DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
Brief application Description:

The Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition System in Indian Railway for remote monitoring
and control of 25 KVA over head distribution systems for catanory power supply of
electrified traction area of Indian Railway is quiet common, important and poplar aspect in
Indian Railway Electrification related projects has executed successfully as well executing
under various electrified sections of Indian Railway. In present scenario with the demand of
time and the need of modern system the rapidly growing need of electrifications of
unelectrified sections of Indian Railway has generated a parallel demand and business scope
in the segment of supply, engineering and commissioning of state of the art SCADA systems
or some time popularly known as REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM in the terminology of Indian
Rail, separately along with the OHE Traction Power Supply projects in Indian Railway.

The Heart of the SCADA or REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM is centered on a Master Control Unit or
Central Control Unit (MCU). Which is centrally located at the main control room of OHE of a
particular section or division of Indian Railway. Which is networked with the remote terminal
units popularly known as RTU in the conventional terminology of SCADA.The RTU under the
MCU in a particular section of Indian Railway is located in remote positions across the section
which field connected with the substation equipments like switch gear energy and other
parameter monitoring transducers in each location which gathers the mandatory status and
parameters specified by Indian Railway through the auxiliary components of switch gear also
it interposes the commands to the switch gear control circuits through its auxiliary actuating
components.

Normally there can be normally 32-36 RTU’s in rough estimation in a section of a 90 to 110
Km’s long section under one central monitoring cum control unit. The RTU’s are hooked up
with the MCU through communication link dedicated for Indian Railway is to be provided by
Railway to the SCADA vendors. This MCU & RTU can be either a Micro Processor based or PLC
based as par the specification. Although there has neither any logical conflict nor any
technical demarcation for developing the system either by µProcessor or PLC since PLC is
simply a product which is based on standard µController or µProcessor with an enhanced user
level development platform for the ease of field level debugging in a minimum time and
guaranteed compliance with various international safety standard ensures the reliability of the
project linked application. The standard compliance is IES, UL, SIL etc is guaranteed with PLC.
Along with PLC has a wide built in communication options ensured a varity of communication
standards like:
i. Serial RS232
ii. DH485
iii. DH+
iv. Profibus
v. Devicenet
vi. Cotrolnet
vii. MODBUS RTU
viii. MODBUS TCP
ix. MODBUS Serial
x. Ethernet
xi. HART
Like many more.

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Some of the existing Vendors of Indian Railways who have success fully executed the
SCADA project in different section:
1. ABB
2. CMC
3. NELCO
4. HART etc

In the earlier concept there was Micro Processor based MCU and RTU developed by the
vendors were hooked up by the Railway telephone line through modems for polling and
interchanging the data and commands.

But in the case of projects like SCADA the concept of implementation of the project is
unconditionally accredited to do with the PLC only as on date apart from Indian Railway
whether the SCADA is in Power Plant, Electrical Utility Distribution System, Substation, Oil
and Petrochemicals, Water and Wastewater management etc.Similarly Indian Railway also
has focus of acceptance with the latest concepts of SCADA.

With the updated concept of Railway Electrification along with the introduction of Optical Fiber
Technology in the communication of Railway the new concepts are:
To connect the SCADA RTU’s with the MCU in the main control room through FO (Fiber Optic)
media instead of dial up modems of through railway telephone line with copper trunk media.
At the same time the acceptability and preference of SCADA system for Indian Railway 25
KVA OHE distribution system of Loco catenary’s supply using Programmable Logic Controller
is getting in the high key and high focused area because of certain practical and technical
reason which is as been shown in this write up mainly because SCADA is a subject which is
from universally acceptable with PLC only in any application else where in the globe.Bucause
of its open source application and dependability of individuals as far as design and technical
know how is concerned is almost none. As a result the existing installations where old
µProcessor based system is exists the user is suffering from long term operability problem
and maintains due to the non standard development view and dependability of the
individuals.

Although the core architecture of a PLC is nothing but an embedded processor as described
below in case of various OEM’s such as SIEMENS S7-200 is based on Intel 8 Bit µ Controller
where SIEMENS S7-300/400 PCS7 is based on Intel 32/64 Bit µProcessor only, Rockwell use
16/32/64 Bit RISC based ARM processor depending upon the Family of application where as
GEFANUC uses Intel or AMD µProcessor etc, but as far as large automation jobs are
concerned in Industry where large distributed system are used with multi node hookup with
communication link is required the PLC/DCS based application is only accepted with no
other alternative.

The brief comparative analysis of the some important aspect for a system like SCADA
between PLC and µProcessor:
Sl. Features µProcessor PLC Remarks
1 Raw Material Cost Less High It can be minimized
through proper
negotiation
2 Cost of Development Tools High Less
3 Time for in house engineering High Less Mostly integration
4 Time of Development High Less User friendly

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5 Time of Commissioning High Less

6 Field level debugging of SW Tedious Very user Through GUI based
friendly development tools
7 Principles support from OEMS - Very high
8 Cost of Maintenance support High Less Since MTBF of the
after commissioning product is very high
9 Reliability of the component & - Guaranteed Follows standard
system hardware practices
10 Portability & Flexibility of the - Guaranteed Universally accepted
system with high
flexibility
11 Scalability of the system Not at all Highly Scalable Unique feature of PLC
scalable
12 Reliability of remote Restricted Seamless Seamless
communication wit nodes communication ensured
13 AMC business - High revenue In line with the basic
with less effort design of the system
and
involvement.
14 Up gradation business Tedious Very flexible Follows standard
practices
15 Communication of Numerical Tedious Very flexible Follows standard
Relay used with the Switch Gear and practices
items in the new substations transparent

Here in this application write some brief description of the requirement published by Indian
Railway is also enclosed as Annexure.

Enclosure:
ANNEXURE-I
ANNEXURE-II

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ANNEXURE-I

Electric Traction Supply System on Indian Railway

Northern Indian Railways, Allah bad
1.0 Introduction
Indian Railways is the largest government institutional costumer and purchaser from various
Electricity boards and other Electric Supply Authorities. Out of total RKM 19000 RKM is
electrified which carries 60% of total freight as well as passenger traffic across India.
Annually, approximately 30 billion units of electricity is consumed by Railways, out of which
10.4 billion units are used for electric traction purpose. Railway is paying approximate Rs.
5000 crores every year on account of traction energy charges which constitutes about 20% of
total revenue budget of Railways.
2.0 Bar diagram

3.0 Traction Power Supply Scheme

Indian Railway has adopted 25 KV industrial frequency (50 Hz) A.C supply system for traction
purposes. The power supplies are derived from 220 KV / 132 KV 3 phase transmission system
from the various grids.
The typical schematic of power supply arrangement is shown in fig. 3.1
The basic arrangement constitutes incoming supply to Railway traction sub station at a
voltage level of 220 KV / 132 KV, which normally feeds power along the track for 35-40 Km.
Adjacent traction sub stations are fed from different phases in rotation in order to balance the
3 phase load in its entirety. Neutral sections are provided in between two adjacent sub
stations to prevent the bridging of different phases while passing the electric locomotive.
Level of voltage is reduced to 25 KV for the end use of locomotives by 21.6 MVA signal phase
power transformers placed at traction sub stations which are located at every 30-35 Kms
distance along the track.

5.0 Details of TSS

2 Phase (R-Y) incoming 220/132 KV supply from Power supply authorities is fed to traction
transformer through double pole isolators and circuit breakers with relevant protection
scheme. Out put voltage at 25 KV is fed to overhead wire running along the track through
single pole circuit breaker and remote controlled interrupters. Overhead lines are separated at
periodic intervals through sectioning post (SP) and sub sectioning post (SSP) for isolation of
faulty section through remote control. Sub sector are further sub divided into different
elementary section through manual isolators in order to reduce the faulty section to the bare
minimum and carry out smooth train operation the advancement healthy section.

6.0 Protection Scheme

A number of protection equipments are provided at traction sub station as well in the
locomotive for protection of traction equipments. Following protective device are provided at
traction sub-station:-
i) Differential protection
ii) Restricted earth fault protection
iii) Buchholz relay
iv) Oil temperature indicator
v) Winding temperature indicator

The following further protective relays are provided for protection of overhead line against
any fault

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i) Mho relay for distance protection

ii) Wrong coupling relays between two sub station
iii) Over current relays for fault closure to sub station.
iv) Panto flash over protection

With the emerging digital technology, old electromechanically and solid-state type relays are
being replaced by microprocessor based numeric relays in a phased manner. These relays are
having parallelogram characteristic instead of circular characteristics with feature of inbuilt
fault locator.

7.0 Traction Power Control

Supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) is in place for operation and control
of traction power supply. All the switching operations required for maintenance as well as
segregation of fault is being performed from Remote Control Center through SCADA.
Remote Control System constitutes standard SCADA software and remote terminal units
provided at TSS/SP/SSP. SCADA system is so designed that RTU at various switching posts
shall be able to communicate as standard communication media, which may be optical fiber
cable , chord cable or through microwave, VHF radio patch.
The typical schematic block diagram of complete SCADA is shown at fig 7.1.
The communication protocol is employed for present SCADA system has been standardized
and based on IEC- 870.
Remote control center are provided with operator works station, based on Pentium IV
processor, Main server & stand by server and window based communication processor.
The data from Remote Control Center is communicated through 600/1200 BPS, FSK, modem
and sent to remote terminal unit via communication media which interact with various
controlled and protective equipments provided at the controlled posts.

8.0 Power Quality aspects of Electric Traction

8.1 The term power quality is used to describe the extent of variation of the voltage,
current and frequency on the power system. The variation of voltage and current can either
be in terms of magnitude or waveform shape/ distortion.
8.2 Power Quality Standards
• While IEEE 519, IEC 61000-3-2/4 describes current distortion limits at PCC for different
power system voltages & fault levels and for different equipments respectively, IEEE 1159
describes recommended practices for monitoring of power quality. Performance standards like
EN 50160 describe limits of voltage un balance, harmonic distortion that have been fixed for
utilities.

8.3 Effects of harmonics in the system

• Form factor deterioration, i.e. ratio between the RMS and the Average value of the
rectified traction voltage. Increase of form factor means reduction in ability of loco to absorb
power from system.
• Harmonics are also non useful reactive energy and cause poor PF.
• Increase in line current and losses.
• Limitations of signaling track circuits.
• Interference to telecommunication.
• Limitations of harmonic injections into public utility.

8.4 Controlling Harmonic currents

Shunt filters are tuned series L-C circuits. On IR presently HT capacitor with 13% reactor
acts as harmonic filter.
• Harmonic compensation or injection using voltage source converters or active filters.
• Phase multiplication. The basic 3- Phase converter is a six pulse unit. Phase shifting
transformers are used to combine 6 – pulse bridges to construct 12/24 pulse converters.

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8.5 Main features of Traction Load

Traction load is inductive in nature with a poor power factor in the range of 0.7 to 0.8. Because of
presence of nonlinear components like thyristors, power-diodes etc, locomotive is nonlinear and
prominent source of generation of odd current harmonics (16-20%THD). Moreover, wide variation of
load in a very short duration leads to voltage flickers and fluctuations (swell and sags in power quality
terminology) and also results into poor voltage regulation. Although conventional locomotives do not
have elaborate provision for containing harmonics, advanced locomotives which are equipped with
three phase technology do have extensive circuits for harmonic filtrations as well as voltage
regulation.

8.6 Effort taken by Indian Railways for improving power quality

Compensation of reactive power in order to improve power factor is being done by
series parallel combination of LC circuits.
• Compensation or elimination of harmonics in the system, for improvement in voltage form
factor and reduction of line losses is achieved by using passive filters (LC circuits) at RTSS.
• Reduction in voltage imbalance in 3 phase supply system of Grid is being achieved by
balancing the traction load over a bigger geographical arena by alternatively changing the
pair of incoming phases taken from the grid for supplying successive RTSS.
• Monitoring of short duration voltage disturbances i.e. sag, swell and flickers is not being
done by the railways, at present.
8.7 Compensation of reactive power to improve power factor
Reactive power compensation Methods of improve PF
• Using HT capacitors with 13% detuned reactors. It also act as passive filters for filtering of
harmonics.
• Static VAR compensators (SVC): It uses switching devices to control capacitive or
inductive energy into the system. Available SVC configurations are Thyristor switched
capacitors (TSC). Thyristor controlled reactors with passive filters ( TCR).
• Self commutated VAR generators: The fast switching power electric devices are used
to act either as voltage or current fed inverter to inject required amount of leading/lagging
reactive KVAR into the system.

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ANNEXURE-II

REMOTE CONTROL EQUIPMENT

I. GENERAL

20400 Introduction

A Remote Control Centre (RCC) is set up near the Traffic Control Office on each Division
having electric traction, to work in close liaison with the traffic control. The RCC includes the
main control room, equipment room, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) room, Remote
Control Laboratory and Battery Room and is the nerve centre of the Traction Power Control.

Types Of Equipment:

The following types of Remote Control Equipment are mainly in use on Indian Railways at
present:

(i) Frequency Modulated Voice Frequency Telegraph (FMVFT), Strowger type equipment for
supervisory control.

(ii) Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems with Microprocessor based
equipment and/or Computer based equipment.

The FMVFT equipment was in use for all electrification schemes prior to 1980. Being mainly
all relay system, the equipment has become outdated although some Remote Control
Centres still continue to operate on this system. Salient features of the system are indicated
at paras 20401 to 20406.

The SCADA equipment based on State of the art technology has come into use after 1980.
Considering the fast growth and development of computer based equipment, newer types
with enhanced capabilities and new makes are being introduced. Addional facilities at each
new RCC are also natural as new features get incorporated.

II. FMVFT EQUIPMENT

20401 Transmission Path

For transmitting control signals from the Remote Control Centre (RCC) to the various
controlled posts underground cable circuits suitable for voice frequency (VF) operation are
employed. These consist of star quads with an attenuation of about 0.3 dB/km. Isolating
transformers are provided on the cable circuits at intervals of 10 to 15 km to limit the build
up of longitudinal induced voltage on account of induction effect of single 25kV ac traction.
Line losses are made good by VF repeaters provided by the S&T Department at interval of
30 to 50 km. The maximum gain in the repeater is 20 dB. Depending upon the distance of
the RCC or controlled post (TSS/SP/SSP), repeater gain is so set that signal level at any
point is within prescribed limit. Impedance matching transformers of ratio 1120 : 1120 are
provided at points where communication cable is tapped for taking connection to the R.C.
Centre or to the controlled posts. Suitable surge arrestors are also provided inside the
equipment room at the termination point of communication cable to protect the circuits.

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Normally three pairs of conductors are earmarked for Remote Control System, one pair
reserved for telecommand signals from RC Centre to the posts and one pair from the posts
to RC centre for telesignals. The third pair is spare for use in emergency, when any one of
the other two pairs become unhealthy.

20402 Remote Control Switching Equipment

The RCC switching equipment consists of the following five major in

1. Pulse Generator,

2. Send Selector Circuit,

3. Receive Selector Circuit,

4. Check Circuit and

5. Indication Circuit.

All the units are of the plug-in-type and are housed inside the steel cabinet, which is
provided with dust proof front and back doors. A number of such cabinets are provided in
the remote control centre depending upon the number of controlled posts in a section.

20403 Mimic Diagram Board at RCC

The mimic diagram board at the RCC comprises several control panels on which the mimic
diagram is shown. Every apparatus to be remote controlled is represented on this mimic
diagram board by a control discrepancy switch. Hand operated dummy switches similar to
but clearly distinguishable from the control discrepancy switches are provided to represent
certain non-remote controlled apparatus like sub-station isolators. The electrified tracks are
represented on the mimic diagram by white perspex strips or metallic strips. Whenever the
25kV voltage on any portion of the OHE between two controlled posts fails, or is not
available, the corresponding portion of the mimic diagram lights up. The mimic diagram,
however, remains dark under normal working conditions.

Each control discrepancy switch includes a built-in-lamp in a central indicator bar. If the
controlled equipment is in closed position, the central indicator bar shows continuity of the
diagram. If it is open, the central indicator bar will be at right angles, breaking the
continuity of diagram.

Besides above, fault annunciation windows on the mimic diagram board are provided for
each controlled post, with suitable inscription to annunciate the following kinds of fault:

1. Station Blocked

2. R.C. Equipment Defective

3. Contact Failure

4. Low volt d.c.

5. 240V a.c. Failure

6. Transformer Alarms

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7. Transformer Faults

8. Low Volt 110V/72V DC.

Item 6, 7, 8 are provided only for traction sub-stations. Item 6&7 are provided separately
for each individual transformer.

20404 FMVFT Equipment

The control signals from the RCC as well as indication signals from the various controlled
posts are transmitted on separate channels within the voice frequency range of 420 to 2460
Hz. at a transmission speed of 50 baud, with a 120 Hz separation between the channels.
Only 18 channels are thus available for use. Frequency modulation is employed. The
oscillator unit on the transmitter modulates the frequency +30 Hz (for 'mark') -30 Hz (for
'space') of the channel frequency.

The transmitting level of each channel is -22dB across 1120 Ohm. The normal receiving
level can be between -22 dB and a minimum level of -30 dB.

Due to availability of only 18 channels within the voice frequency range of 420 to 2460 Hz.
with channel separation of 120 Hz each pair of conductor can control up to 18 independent
of grouped stations, where the number of such stations exceeds 18, one more pair would be
required for purposes of telesignals only.

20405 Frequency Allocation

In view of their operational importance, all the feeding and sectioning posts are controlled
independently by using a separate frequency channel for transmission of telecommands and
telesignals to/from each post. For purposes of telecomm and only SSPs are grouped (not
more than 3) in order to economize in the number of channels. Telecommands for all the
posts in the same group are transmitted on the same frequency channels. However, the
individual controlled post in a group is identified by inserting a code in the shape of a long
pulse or a long pause in the impulse train generated by the pulse generator in the switching
equipment. When posts are grouped as explained above, only one operation at a time can
be carried out in the grouped posts from the RCC.

20406 Controlled Post Equipment

The switching and FMVFT equipment at each controlled post are housed in one steel cabinet
with dust proof doors. The switching equipment is similar to that provided at the RCC.

The FMVFT equipment has one send channel panel and one receive channel panel. The
equipment works on 24V dc battery power supply. All the panels except the termination
panel are of plug-in-type. An amplifier is provided with attenuation pads for level
adjustment. The channel panels are of the same type as those in the RCC.

III. SCADA EQUIPMENT

20407 General
The SCADA equipment at the RCC is called Master Station while that of the controlled
station is referred to as Remote Terminal Unit (RTU).

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20408 Transmission Path

Underground telecommunication trunk cable is provided for transmitting the signals from
and to the RCC and the controlled Remote Terminal Units (RTU). Three pairs of conductors
(One pair for "Send", one pair for "receive" and the third as spare) from this cable are made
available for remote control operation.

20409 Isolating Transformers

To limit the build up of longitudinal induced voltage on account of induction effects of 25 kV

traction, isolating transformers are provided on the cable circuit at intervals of 10 to 15 km.
The cable is tapped at the RCC and each controlled station and 3 pairs of conductors are
terminated on a terminal board. Isolating transformer of impedance ratio 1120:1120 is
provided at the point of tapping.

20410 Repeater Stations

Voice frequency repeaters are provided at intervals of 40-50 km to boost the signal and to
make good the line attenuation. The amplifier gain at the repeater station is about 20 dB,
with an equalizer incorporated to compensate up to 0.02 dB/kHz/km. Depending upon the
distance the repeater gain is set so that the signal level at any point en-route is within
certain prescribed limits.

If the lead is long suitable surge arrestors are provided inside the equipment room to
protect the circuits. The metallic sheath of the lead in cable shall also be kept insulated from
the earth system of the switching station to prevent induction effect, the insulated
conductor alone being led into control panels. For the same reason, switching station
earthing, LT 240 V auxiliary transformer neutral earthing and earth of R.C. equipment are
all kept separate and distinct and are NOT interconnected. In addition, the switching station
structure should be solidly bonded to the track rails by two independent connections.

20411 Microwave Communication

In some of the sections on Indian Railways dedicated Microwave channel at carrier

frequency of 18 GHz has been provided for the purpose of communication.

20412 Optical Fibre Cable

Optical fibre cable has also been introduced for communication in some sections of Indian
Railways, which is also used for RC equipment.

Details of the interface between the latest communication systems and the RCC/RTU
equipment may be seen in the relevant technical documents.

20413 Master Station Equipment

Hardware Configuration: Dual main micro-computer/mini-computer system, one main and

the other hot standby, is provided at the master-station, each system interfaces with its
front end processors, if any, and modem for communication with RTUs and with the man-
machine interface equipment to provide up-to-date network data and to accept commands.
Each system has its own system console and hard and floppy disks along with their drives.
Watch dogs are provided for monitoring the health of the computer system. In case of
failure of one computer system, the standby system takes over automatically.

Two data-logging printers, one on-line and other as standby, are provided, both being

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connected to the same online computer system. In case of failure of one printer, the other
printer automatically takes over.

Man-Machine-Interface.- Work Stations

Two work-stations, one for each of the two operators, each consisting of two semi-graphic
colour Visual Display Units (VDUs) and a key-board are provided at the RCC. The key board
contains both functional keys for operations that are repeated frequently and alpha-numeric
key for input of numerical data and text.

Both workstations are connected to the same on-line computer and meet the following
requirements:

(i) Normally control pre-defined and physically demarcated sections.

(ii) In case of complete outage of one workstation, all of its functions can be transferred to
the healthy workstation, so that normal operations can continue.

(iii) Normally one VDU is on line and the other acts as standby at each work station.
However, if so needed, it is possible to have both VDUs of each work station on lines
simultaneously, either of the two VDUs being used for viewing diagram for telecontrol
purposes and the other for viewing alarm, on-demand trend curves, histograms or any
other data.

20414 Mimic Diagram Board (MDB)

A mimic diagram board and its associated mimic driver is provided at the RCC. The MDB
depicts the traction power supply diagram, indicating the energize/de-energize condition of
the sub-sectors of the catenary, status of the interrupters and CBs at TSS & FP, SSP and SP.

Unlike in the conventional Mimic Diagram Board used in RCCs prior to introduction of SCADA
system (see para 20403) all control operations are carried out from the key board (s)
provided at the work station (s). The Mimic Diagram Board's sole purpose is, therefore, to
give an overall view of the traction power supply system to the operator. Size of the MDB is,
therefore, very much smaller. It is the intention to do away with the MDB altogether since
the system can be viewed in the VDUs.

20415 Annunciations

Controlled Station
"Remote Station Defective" is annunciated by a LED.
Master Station

The following annunciations by LEDs are provided on the MDB.

(i) Main System "ON"
(ii) Standby System "ON"
(iii) Main System Defective
(iv) Standby System Defective
(v) Main UPS Failed
(vi) Standby UPS Failed
(vii) UPS battery low (below 90% of nominal voltage)
(viii) 415 V, ac, 3 ph, supply to UPS failed.

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20416 SCADA Software

The operating system used is suitable for multi-user, multi- tasking, net working and real
time applications.

20417 VDU Display

The application software supports a large number of versatile semi-graphic colored displays
for issuing telecomm ands, blocking/deblocking the controlled points, viewing alarm listing,
event listing or for carrying out special functions. For details of these displays.
Manufacturers Operating Manual may be referred to. Calling any of the VDU displays is by
simple keyboard operation by the operator, with pre-defined options available for the order
and manner in which displays are called.

20418 Transmission and Coding System

The master station equipment normally scans continuously all the RTUs In a pre-defined
cyclic sequence, to update the equipment status, alarms, events and measurands. Exchange
of Information between Master Station and RTUs takes place on interrogation by master
followed by reply from RTU. The communication technique is based on Digital Address Time
Division Multiplexing. Every data exchange is based on well defined transmission protocol.
Each transmitted information contains sufficient parity check bits to detect transmission
errors,

20419 Historical Data Storage

The SCADA system is designed to cater for historical data storage of traction power supply
system data for a period of one year. This includes:

(i) All alarms /events / measurands of controlled stations and all system alarms.

(ii) Day wise storage of average feeder current and voltage during the day, maximum
demand, maximum and minimum feeder voltage in the 25 kV side, total number of
operations of feeder protective relays viz. OCR, DPR and WPC relays, CB trippings and
maximum and minimum OHE voltage on both sides of the neutral section. A memory
capacity of 40 MB is provided for this purpose in the hard disk, with provision for further
expansion of the memory as required.

20420 UPS and Batteries at RCC

Dual Stand-alone UPS System of adequate capacity to supply 240 V a.c. 50 Hz single phase
supply to the SCADA system at Master Station is provided.

Both the UPS work in parallel sharing the load. In case of failure of one, the entire load is
automatically taken over by the healthy UPS without affecting the working of the system.

In case of outage of both the UPS at the same time, the load of SCADA equipment is
directly connected to input mains through a static switch without any break.

A single battery is provided with both the UPS with adequate Ah capacity to provide 2 h
supply to various equipments in case of failure of input 415 V AC. 50 Hz supply.

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20421 Remote Terminal Unit (RTU)

The RTU is microprocessor based and includes its associated digital input/output modules,
alarm input modules, analog input modules, watchdog transducers, memory modules,
interposing relays, summation CTs, power supply unit (s), surge arrestors and other items
necessary for its proper working.

20422 Storage of Events and Alarms

All changes (one or more) in the status of the CBs/interrupters / motor-operated isolators
and alarms that may occur between consecutive pollings are stored by RTU until they are
reported to the master station. This is to eliminate any loss in reporting to the master
station due to intermittent failures of channel or any other reason. In other words, no event
is lost without its being reported to master station.

20423 SCADA Equipment Capacity

The SCADA equipment is generally designed for the following tele commands, telesignals
and telemetered parameters for a typical TSS, SP & SSP of a double line section:

CONTROLLED
S.NO. TELECOMMAND TELESIGNAL MEASURANDS
STATION
1. TSS 24 64 8
2 SP 8 12 4
3. SSP 8 12 .

Number of controlled stations (TSS, SP, SSPs) to be controlled from an RCC will be as per
the requirements of the section.

Speed of Transmission and Update Tune

The communication between the master station and the RTUs is at a suitable transmission
speed not exceeding 600 baud. Normal polling time for updating status, alarm and
measurands for the designed capacity is not more than 4 sec for 20 controlled stations and
not more then 6 sec for 30 controlled stations. The actual timings may slightly vary
depending on communication protocol adopted and the system design.

The RCC should be in the middle of the electrified section if the number of controlled
stations exceeds 30 so that scanning on either side is possible and update time kept to the
minimum.

20424 Modems

(i) The modems (modulator/ demodulators) provided for communication between the
master station and the RTUs utilize frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation and include
send, receive and timing functions. The send and receive functions are independently
programmed as required. The modem work satisfactorily up to an input signal level of 45
dBm.

(ii) The modem also incorporates necessary amplifier having a minimum gain of 30 db to

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compensate for any signal variation at different points in the system. Suitable attenuation is
provided within the amplifiers to adjust the level through trimpot/rotary switch. It has an
output signal level adjustable between 0 and -30 d bm in steps of 1 dbm.

20425 Special Features in SCADA Equipment

The following additional features are incorporated to the SCADA equipment:

(i) Tripping of bridging interrupters on under voltage at SP in extended feed condition.

(ii) Inter lock release request facility for circuit breakers/interruptors control at boundary
post (for guidelines for these inter locks see RDSO's letter No. ETI/PSI/RC/SPEC.19 dated
10.3.1989).

(iii) Control of shunt capacitor bank and monitoring of power factor.

(iv) Automatic localization of fault on OHE and isolation of faulty sub-sector.

SCADA systems on Indian Railways are being supplied by various manufacturers. Although
the systems are different, the basic features of the systems are similar. For details of
operating instructions and maintenance, the operating technical manuals of the makers
should be referred to.

IV. OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF RC EQUIPMENT

20426 Duties of CTFO (RC)

He is the senior supervisor working under the control of DEE/AEE (TRD) and directly
responsible for the proper operation and upkeep of the RC equipment, which are vital for
the efficient operation of the electric traction system. He shall be thoroughly conversant
with all the technical details of the equipment under his control. In particular, he shall
perform the following duties.

1. Maintain the RC equipment at the RCC and the controlled stations in accordance with the
prescribed schedules.

2. Keep close liaison with the S&T department as to the sound condition of the cable pairs
allotted for RC operation.

3. Measures periodically the levels of voice frequency signals at controlled stations and
arrange with the S&T department for correction, when required, at their repeater stations.

4. Keep in constant touch with the TPC on shift duty and ensure prompt rectification of
defects reported in the RC system.

5. Ensure proper maintenance of UPS/battery sets for uninterrupted operation of the RC

equipment and the stand by generating set in the RCC.

6. Inspect the RC equipment at every controlled post once in two months.

7. Impart necessary training to the staff under him in the special techniques of maintenance
of RC equipment as well as trouble shooting.

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8. Ensure that the special instruments and tools provided for maintenance of the RC
equipment are properly cared for.

9. Keep a watch on stocking of spare parts and other stores required for the RC equipment
and initiate timely action to recoup stocks.

10. Co-ordinate with CTFO (PSI) and CTFO (OHE) or territorial CTFOs for manning the
controlled posts in the event of persisting faults in the RC equipments.

11. Submit prescribed periodical returns on RC equipment to AEE (TRD) and Sr. DEE (TRD).

12. Keep his superior officers fully informed of all important developments and seek their
guidance when required.

13. Carry out such other duties as may be allotted by his superior officers.

14. Carry out minimum monthly inspections as per manufacturer’s recommendations.

20427 Operation of RC Equipment

The RCC is the nerve centre of the traction system, from which full control over every
switching operation on the entire electrified route is exercised. It should, therefore, be kept
in perfect operating condition at all times. No one, other than an authorized official, shall at
any time operate the equipment. The TPC shall, at every change of shift, carry out a lamp
test and, once a day give a general check for all stations and thereby ensure that the
indications on the mimic panel are in order. Any defects observed in operation shall
immediately be reported to the CTFO (RC) and the entry made in the log book of the time
defect was reported and the time it was rectified. Any excessive delay in rectification which
militates against operation shall be brought to the notice of AEE (TRD). Depending upon the
nature of the defect TPC shall take adequate precautions against mal-operation until the
defect noticed is rectified.
Should RC equipment of a switching station fail completely, the failure shall be reported to
AEE(TRD) and Sr. DEE (TRD) and arrangements made to man the switching station with
trained personnel to carry out the switching operations, observing the precautions
prescribed in the Chapter VIII 'Breakdowns'.
TPC shall once a day contact on telephone the Operators of each Grid sub-station from
which traction power supply is obtained and ensure that the communication facilities are
intact.

20428 Investigation of Failures by CTFO

As with any other equipment, every failure of RC equipment should be separately

registered, investigated and rectified, making a brief note in the failure report of the action
taken as well as classifying and finally pin-pointing the exact cause of the failure. The
failures should be analyzed every month and any special steps required taken to overcome
the trouble and prevent recurrence should be taken. A 'history sheet' showing the faults
that have occurred on different items of equipment will assist in carrying out detailed
investigation of recurring troubles in consultation with the Manufacturers' of the equipment.

20429 Maintenance Schedule

The specific maintenance instructions issued by the respective suppliers of SRC/SCADA

systems, should be observed and changes to be made therein may be decided in

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consultation with the manufacturers. For the batteries used in the remote control centre and
the remote terminal units (RTUs), the instructions in Chapter II for fortnightly maintenance
and quarterly maintenance shall be applicable.

Project details
Area of work: Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), master station, remote
terminal units (RTUs), leased line telephone communication, field instrumentation.

Keeping the critical requirements of the Railways in mind, CMC developed the standard
electric traction SCADA software (SETSS) on the Windows NT platform. The standard
protocol on railway traction (SPORT) was also developed, to remove the proprietary protocol
problem.

Features
Acquisition of analog and digital parameters
Control of circuit breakers and Interrupters located in the sub-station and switching
stations
Automatic localization of faults
Logging and reporting of alarms and events

In addition to the standard SCADA software, CMC has also developed a separate GUI-based
toolkit called SPORTIVE, to test the firmware and the functionality of the RTUs.

Technical architecture
Major components
Transducers and relays
Buggerized RTUs with closed loop functions
Leased line telephone communication equipment
Host computer systems in host standby configuration
Man-machine interface (MMI) and Mimic
Lower cost per site

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