{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T16:54:56Z","timestamp":1788972896283,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]],"date-time":"2022-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1647820800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Shift2Rail programme that is a Joint Undertaking","award":["In2Track2 project, sub-task 1.2.1 titled as; extension of operation, control and maintenance for enhanced S&C"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["In2Track2 project, sub-task 1.2.1 titled as; extension of operation, control and maintenance for enhanced S&C"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Currently, a number of positioning systems are in use to locate trains on the railway network; but these generally have limited precision. Thus, this paper focuses on testing and validating the suitability of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, for aligning vehicles to switch and crossing (S&amp;C) positions on the railway network. This offers the possibility of accurately knowing the position of vehicles equipped with monitoring equipment, such as the network rail track recording vehicle (TRV), and aligning the data with reference to the locations of the S&amp;C (and ideally to key elements within a particular S&amp;C). The concept is to install two tags, one on the switch-toe sleeper and the second on the crossing-nose sleeper, with an RFID reader that will be installed underneath the vehicle. Thus, the key features of the S&amp;C, the switch toe and crossing nose, will be considered as a definitive reference point for the inspection vehicle\u2019s position. As a monitoring vehicle passes over a piece of S&amp;C, the proposed positioning system will provide information about this S&amp;C\u2019s ID, which is stored inside the RFID tags and will indicate the S&amp;C\u2019s GPS coordinates. As part of the research in this paper, more than 400 tests have been performed to investigate two different RFID technologies, passive and semi-passive, tested in a variety of conditions: including different passage speeds, different distances between the RFID reader and the tags, and varied strength signal transmitted between the reader and the tags. Based on lab testing and analysis of the recorded data, it is concluded that passive RFID technology is the most suitable of the two technologies. The conclusions find that the proposed RFID-based solution can offer a more precise positioning solution to be a reference point for the train location within the network.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s22062401","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]],"date-time":"2022-03-21T21:48:42Z","timestamp":1647899322000},"page":"2401","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":27,"title":["Development of a Novel Railway Positioning System Using RFID Technology"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9681-146X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Osama","family":"Olaby","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE), School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2948-4208","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Moussa","family":"Hamadache","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE), School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0889-2317","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Soper","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE), School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Phil","family":"Winship","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Network Rail, Asset Enhancement Team, Milton Keynes MK9 1EN, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6753-8006","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roger","family":"Dixon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE), School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Albrecht, T., L\u00fcddecke, K., and Zimmermann, J. 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