Topology Based Automatic Formal Model Generation for Point Automation Systems

Abstract

Designing and developing a point automation system is a challenging task since railway transportation systems are required to be highly secure and safe systems. Nowadays point automation systems are usually designed manually, this results in a waste of personnel, time and resources. So in this study, we developed and established a software tool in order to automatically generate formal models for point automation systems. The novelty of our study is that our models are created automatically by a software. Here designing time and human errors are reduced to a minimum thus safe, reliable and secure system models are generated. The developed software has a built in graphical interface which is used to model the basic station topology and using this model, software generates a point automation system's Timed-Arc Petri Net (TAPN) models, which is a strongly recommended formal method by CENELEC EN50128 standard, automatically. Generated TAPN models are also verified automatically for specified safety requirements by using Computational Tree Logic (CTL), which is also a formal proof method strongly recommended by CENELEC EN50128 standard. The TAPN models were automatically generated and verified with 100% success by taking the point automation systems of stations on M1 Aksaray-Airport line, operated by Istanbul Transportation Co., as the reference.

Improvement of Railway Signalling System by Using Cyber-Physical Model

“…1 are described by three steps of building a cyber-physical model. Based on experience of real systems [5] and due to the need for functional integration of different local subsystems into a single model, the first step is to upgrade elementary signalling subsystems (power units, signals, switches, central control of sections, railroad crossings, trains) [6,7]. Such approach will first improve the functionality and reliability at the field equipment, and then enable the construction of a physical layer of the model that should change the current principles of rail traffic in terms of centralized data collection and processing.…”