PASSENGER RESERVATION SYSTEM

OBJECTIVE
1. To study the various equipments used
in the Passenger Reservation System of the Indian Railways. 2. To understand the installation and construction of the equipments. 3. Failures and troubleshooting. 4. Maintenance of the system.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION CONNECTIVITY OF FIVE MAINFRAMES CONNECTIVITY OF BANGALORE DIVISION CONNECTIVITY AT KENGERI STN CONNECTIVITY AT A NON-RAIL HEAD STATION / SATELLITE STATION EQUIPMENTS FEATURES NETWORK THIN CLIENT MERITS AND DEMERITS FAILURES CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION
PRS is and innovative project started buy the Indian Railway back in 1985 at Delhi. The main objective was to extend reserved accommodation on any train from any counter, preparation of train charts, to provide availability, PNR status, enquiry about trains, to enable passengers to cancel their tickets if necessary etc., There are five chief PRS mainframes namely Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Secunderabad. All these mainframes are interconnected with each other. PRS is MUX and Modem based. PRS at SBC was installed in 1990.

CONNECTIVITY OF FIVE MAINFRAMES

New Delhi Kolkata

Secunderabad

Mumbai Chennai

CONNECTIVITY AT KENGERI STATION

SERVER

SWITCH

ROUTER

MODEM V.35

MODEM G.703 64 Kbps/2 Mbps Channel

TERMINAL SERVER T T T

SWITCH

ROUTER

MODEM V.35

MODEM G.703

CONNECTIVITY OF PRS AT AN NON-RAIL HEAD STATION / SATELLITE STATION

Router

switch

Terminal server

MODEM

MUX
PRS Dump Terminal

MODEM

MUX

EQUIPMENTS
ROUTER
A router is device attached to two or more networks and forwards packets from one network to another. Router connects two or more logically separate networks. Each network is identified by its network address, a logical name is assigned to it. Each network in an Inter-network must be assigned a unique network address.

SWITCH
When a switch receives a transmission, it forwards the signal through the port that will allow the transmission to be delivered to the device to which it is addressed. Using switches you can set up a network where all the transmission media segments are permanently connected, but each segment is used only when a signal is directed to computer on that segment. This significantly improves the performance by optimizing bandwidth use.

MODEM
A device that converts serial data from a computer to analog data for transmission over ordinary or leaded telephone lines and converts analog data back to digital at receiving end. This is used when the terminal is to be connected to a system located at remote locations. Modems translate the computers digital signal into analog signal and also retranslate the analog signal from telephone line to a digital signal for the computer. The word Modem is derived from the words Modulate and Demodulate. There are 3 interfaces in modems 1. V.24 interface low speed modem 2. V.35 interface high speed modems at equipments end 3. G.703 or E1 interface high speed modems at Exchange end. Modems used in Railways Railway & BSNL low speed (9.6Kbps) ACE, GATEWAY Railway OFC channels (64 Kbps to 2 Mbps) CYGNUS, RAD, ATRIE BSNL MLLN channels (64 Kbps to 2 Mbps) - Tellabs

MULTIPLEXER
A multiplexer is a device which allows a number of terminals to share a common communication facility to remote computer. Product used in Railways CYGNUS A CYGNUS 508 8 Terminal port, 1- low speed (9.6Kbps) connection. A CYGNUS 516 - 8 Terminal port either 1low speed or high speed (64Kbps) connection. A CYGNUS 517 - 8 or 16 Terminal port, 1 high speed & low speed at a time 1 channel will be active. When first channel fails second channel will take effect. A CYGNUS 701 16 port 2 low speed or high speed, load balancing.

FEATURES
Booking of tickets is possible three months in advance Passengers can get access to ticket booking from anywhere including a postal counter and internet. Cancellation of booked tickets is also possible

NETWORK
A network is a system consisting of nodes (computer or router) made to share data, hardware and software. It consists of an address that identifies a network to the rest of the internet. A LAN network is a network connecting device inside a single building or buildings close to each other. A LAN refers to relatively small group of connected computers that do not exceed more than a kilometer and provides Data transmission services for entity such as a company, a department, etc., A WAN network technology spans over large geographic distances and operate at slower speed. It has higher delays than LAN networks.WANs often use telephone or satellite communications.

WHAT IS THE NEED FOR NETWORKING ?

To access the mainframe where Data Base is available. To connect two main frames. To get updates from every location regarding availability.

THIN CLIENT
Thin clients are solid state, diskless devices that are connected to a centralized server through some access software or a browser. Information is processed by the server and accessed by the users through a thin client device. By incorporating this device it is possible to functionalize a failed UTS for three days and tickets can be issued. The drawback of the system is that season tickets cannot be issued if link fails, cancellation is not possible and far-off destination tickets cannot be issued except within the division.

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF PRS SYSTEM

MERITS
Optimum train capacity can be obtained. Manpower required is considerably less. Reduced queue lengths at PRS counters. Enables advance planning of reserved journey. Helps Indian Railway to add extra trains and coaches depending upon the season rush and sale of tickets. Caters to every need of the passenger and hence is customer -friendly. Accuracy in accounting of cash. DEMERITS As it is a solid state system, it is prone to faults. A virus corruption can occur. A network failure may bring the working of the system to a grinding halt.

FAILURES
Failures can be of two types Software failure Which is taken care by CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Service). Hardware failures Which is taken care by the CMS (Computer Maintenance Service) Engineers.

HARDWARE FAILURES
Power supply Failures Fuses and Earthing needs to be checked. Link Failure The cable may be punctured due to rat bite or the medium may be cut due to trenching. System Failure The terminals may hang up due to power failure. Equipment Failure Faults may arise in Modems, Routers, Multiplexers, Printers, etc.,

LIST OF FAILURES

Equipment Day

No. of failures Month

Reason

Rectification Time

Printer

3 or 4

90 to 120

cartridge

Within 1 day

System hang-up

3 or 4

90 to 120

Power supply failure Cable cut

Within 15 to 20 minutes

Link

3 or 4

90 to 120

Within 1 day

Mainframe

Once in a month

Due to power supply failure

Within 30 minutes to one hour

CONCLUSION
PRS with all its innovative features, applications and merits proves that it is a state-of the-art system and sure is a cap-inthe-feather for Indian Railway. This technology should be upgraded whenever possible and should be implemented everywhere to bring about far reaching effects in the Indian Railway scenario to enhance the growth and development of our country.