Railway Ticketing System: Reliable Custom System Integration

Introduction
With networks that span around the nation and into its interior, the vast numbers of passengers that board trains today demand an efficient, quick, and reliable ticketing system to get them where they want to go. During weekends and holidays the amounts of passengers can be overwhelming, which is why the Railways Administration sought a self-service solution for their automatic ticketing needs, one which Advantech participated in providing. Radically changing passenger habits, this machine also sped up the purchasing process by eliminating a number of steps that were once performed by multiple personnel.

Solution
To meet the customer’s specific requirements, Advantech needed to produce a high performance machine within a short lead time. It had to be capable of incorporating several peripherals with easy plug-in access, in addition to withstanding a constant barrage of passenger use. The following features were a necessity:

igh performance

Custom system integration

Reliable and rugged

Simple and compact

RS-232 peripheral device control

Custom System Integration
A trouble-free, reliable, integrated ticketing system was custom designed for the railways. The self-service units are powered by Advantech’s AIMB-562 MicroATX industrial motherboards which are housed in IPC-5120 chassis with modified mounting holes to accurately fit the customer’s machine framework.

Integral peripherals, such as coin and bill collectors, a card dispenser, a printer, a touch screen monitor, and related components were attached to the system via IPC-5120 front I/O ports which allowed the system integrator to easily assemble the whole ticketing system. In addition, the CPU’s Intel® Core™ Duo engine helps to ensure reliable, automatic operation. The self-service ticketing machines are also compatible with both AC and DC power supplies, and Advantech’s components solution enabled a quick production time to match the customer’s strict schedule.