Case study- TRANSPORTATION

Central ticketing Solution::

The basic operations handled by the system are reserved and unreserved ticketing. The system
is designed to work in client server architecture. The client systems used are thin clients with an
embedded operating system. These client systems can work both in the stand-alone and network
mode.

The software can be broadly classified into four different modules, namely,

Administration module
Ticketing module
Communication module
Auditing module

All the client systems (in LAN) get connected to the central server installed in the zonal
headquarters. The central server (a high-end-server) generates all kinds of MIS-related reports
pertaining to daily, periodic and monthly updates.

The area of focus during the design of the system is to make the system a very secure one as the
data generated by the system is of utmost importance. The data generated pertains to the cash
collected in the counter, the system level operational data, the reservation status data, etc.

Data (fare data, train related data, station level data, concessions, surcharges) change at the
station level is bound to happen. A remote programming and monitoring facility is provided to
ease the implementation of data change in the counter system.

Scope of work
The scope of the work is implementing a total ticketing solution for Syrian Railways. The points
that come under the scope of work are:

System requirement study and customisation of software

Testing of the system off-line and on-line in Syria before implementation
Implementation in two phases
System maintenance and support for a period of two years (warranty period)
User training

List of deliverables

Sr Item
No
1 Counter equipment
2 Central server
3 Network equipment
 4 Client software executable
5 Server software executable
6 User manual
7 Installation manual
8 Technical reference manual
9 Training manual
10 Acceptance test plan

ARTS is a comprehensive state of art solution for railways to automate their ticketing operations.
The system is basically built on a client-server-based architecture. The system has two main
components namely the counter system (client) and central server, apart from other
communication components to make it operational.

The counter system is an intelligent special purpose-ticketing terminal, with capabilities of issuing
all types of journey and non-journey tickets for passengers. Independent transaction-wise reports
can be generated from each of these counter systems. All the counter systems are networked in
a station through LAN. Passengers can book or cancel tickets from any counter. This feature
achieves a real universal counter operation without compromising security in any manner. The
counter systems are connected to the central server using either a dial-up or leased line. In
addition to generating various accounting reports, the central server also has the capability of
monitoring the client systems and programming the client's systems with software and data
updates as and when required.

The major points considered during the design and development stage of this application:

High security
Centralised administration
Ease of maintenance
Ease of installation with control from central server
Quick implementation of business logic
User-friendlier interface
Interfaces to future needs like smart card, scanners etc

Administration

User management
Event management
Stock management

Ticketing
Ticketing is the most important and necessary function of the ARTS system. Ticketing can be
classified in two major components, namely

Reservation module
Un-reservation module

Reservation
Allocation of seats and berths for long distance passengers and train composition management
are the two main activities of this module.
The GUI provided in the system helps the operator in selecting the seat according to the choice of
the passenger taking the train number, class, source station and destination station code as
input. The system checks for availability of seats on the central server and then allocates it to the
passenger. The algorithm used in the allocation of seats is; allocate minimum available seats to
be filled first to avoid splitting of large parties at a later point.

The train composition module handles the basic train definition module taking the number of
seats in each bogie depending upon the class and the bogie layout. This module basically fits into
the server application. The server sends the information to the counter system to enable
reservation. This module also handles the provision of RAC, WL, etc.

The reservation module works in both the stand-alone and network mode. In case of the stand-
alone mode, the system will allocate seats based on the allowed quota, which is station
dependent and already available in the counter system. The moment the system switches back to
the network mode, the counter system will update the central server and will work in an on-line
mode.

Un-reservation
This module handles ticketing that does not allocate a seat / berth. This module handles the issue
of season tickets, platform tickets, miscellaneous tickets, etc. The system can operate in the
stand-alone mode without connecting to the central server. However, the system will require the
connectivity for transferring data to the central server at the end of day or shift.

Cancellation
Cancellation is process in which the system registers the ticket as invalid and will internally
declare the seat / berth as open. An additional fee, 'cancellation fee', is charged depending upon
certain rules and regulations. The various methods of cancellation are:

Normal cancellation
Partial cancellation
Special cancellation
Non-issue
Across counter cancellation
Across shift cancellation
Across station cancellation

Anywhere to anywhere ticketing

The counter system has a provision of issuing tickets from any source station to any destination
depending upon the data available in the database. The system will also be able to issue seats
and berths for tickets under this option depending upon the network to the central server.

In a stand-alone mode, the system will be able to allot seats / berths only for the ticket issue
station. However the system will be able to issue unreserved tickets from any source to any
destination.

Language printing
The counter system will print the following information in Arabic, French and English on the ticket.

Source station name and destination station name

Class type
Fare
 Date of journey

Time-off
A facility of soft log out for the operator to take a short time off is also provided. The operator is
expected to select the time-off option. The system will internally create a temporary log out. The
system will also register this event in the event log file for auditing purposes. The operator can re-
login by using his ID card. This facility is provided to avoid unauthorised usage of the system in
the absence of the operator.

The ARTS system handles various types of transactions supporting various types of trains with
different classes.

Auditing

Administration
Apart from the normal user login and other administration activities, the administrative module
also handles system maintenance like regular backup, recovery, etc.

Report generation
The system generates various types of reports, train-wise, zone-wise and station-wise.

Remote management
Remote management is one of the key features of the ARTS system. The two major modules of
this feature are:

Remote monitoring
Remote programming

Security provided in counter system

Security is one of the major criteria considered during the design and development of the entire
system. We considered security at different levels, namely:

Operating system level

Data storage level
Application level

Security provided in the central server

The central servers installed an the railway headquarters require the maximum security as all
data pertaining to all the stations are stored here. Security features on server are categorised in
different levels, namely;

Operating system level

Application level
Database level
All the hardware and software proposed are year 2000 compliant
All hardware and software proposed are ISO 9001 certified.