International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology

Vol.94 (2016), pp.39-48

http://dx.doi.org/10.14257/ijast.2016.94.04

RFID Ticketing Solution for Improved Railway System in Nigeria

Madukwe, Chinaza A.1* and Chukwudebe, Gloria A.2

1
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
University of Agriculture,
Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
2
Department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering
Federal University of Technology,
Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria
1
madukweca@gmail.com, 2chukwudebe.gloria@gmail.com

Abstract
The Design and Implementation of a model contactless smart card railway ticketing
solution is presented in this paper. An appropriate ticketing system is one of the necessary
means to ensure optimal revenue collection as a rail station operator. In Nigeria, manual
ticketing involving plain paper tickets are still in use as at the time of this research. This
system has many disadvantages which include the difficulty in tracking sales, very poor
access control, difficulty in offering benefits to customers and the high cost of providing
security for the trains. The system proposed is easy to use and manage. It makes use of the
Contactless Smart MIFARE S50 card which has a three – step authentication method and
also has 15 sectors to allow for use in multiple applications apart from rail transport
ticketing. A model to show how the system will work was implemented using the Intel
Galileo Generation 1 Board as the controller.

Keywords: contactless smart card, RFID, e-tickets, railway ticketing, Nigeria

1. Introduction
The importance of Rail Transport cannot be overemphasized in Nigeria especially
given the country’s population. A well-organized Rail Transport System in Nigeria can
go a long way in providing an efficient means of transporting large numbers of people
and goods between and within cities. Therefore, it is very important that there is a robust
ticketing system in place.
There are many Transport ticketing solutions available these days due to new ICT
technologies. Researchers and transport operators alike are interested in these new
technologies because of their numerous advantages. The major issue faced by Transport
operators is in reducing congestion at both the entrance and exit of their vehicles. The
choice of new technology now hinges on how fast a technology can process payments and
grant access to the passengers. In this paper, a contactless smart card is proposed for an
access control and micropayment facility to reduce the cost of operations and increase
revenue generation for business sustainability. Contactless Smart Card/Device is an RF
(Radio Frequency) based tag that normally operates at a frequency of 13.56MHz. This
device can only be read by an appropriate reader at a distance that is less than 10cm. It
normally has a microcontroller or microprocessor for processing and storing information,
and an antenna for transmitting and receiving information from a suitable reader. It can be
found in a card, inside a watch, a key fob, documents or inside bracelets. The contactless
smart cards support a lot of security structures for guarding payment, identity and access
control applications. Contactless Smart Card technology is being used all around the
world for applications that need to protect personal information and supply fast secure

ISSN: 2005-4238 IJAST

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International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol.94 (2016)

transactions such as access control, documentation, toll collection, micropayments and

automatic transport collection.
The allure of using contactless smart cards in automatic transit collection resides in the
fact that for customers, it offers appropriate and fast service (i.e., how they pay and access
the trains), while for the rail operators, it enables them to provide high level of proficient
service delivery to their clients, and a robust ticketing system without fraud.

2. Literature Review
Rail Ticketing Scheme adopted by Operators determine to a large extent the amount of
income generated. In Nigeria, the rail ticketing scheme is manual and makes use of plain
paper for tickets. Passengers purchase tickets for each single journey from the rail station
then board the train. The disadvantages that arise from this setup include but are not
limited to the following:
 Paper tickets are easily damaged;
 Paper tickets cost more to produce and they are not easily recyclable;
 There is the risk of losing such a ticket without ease of reimbursement from the
transport operator;
 There is the possibility of waiting in long queues in order to purchase a ticket;
 There is difficulty in proper access control and this leads to high operational cost;
 There is difficulty in collating passenger data for planning.
All over the world, in order to combat these disadvantages, Rail and Transit Operators
started automating their rail ticketing services. They have used technologies such as Bar
Codes, Magnetic Stripe Cards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Tags. They are
easier to use, cheaper to maintain and similarly their use have made it easier to retain
customers. Bar codes and Magnetic Stripe Card do have disadvantages that are not
encountered when using the contactless smart cards. The contactless smart card can be
used in access control and micropayments hence can be used in automating the rail
ticketing scheme in Nigeria.
A contactless smart device contains a microcontroller, an RF interface, internal
memory, can perform complex functions (encryption and security functions) and provide
access [1]. This technology is based on an international standard that limits its reading
range to approximately 10cm. The RFID reader sends out radio frequency
electromagnetic waves; when a contactless smart card passes within its range, the antenna
of the card already tuned to receive these waves, activates the chip in the smart card and a
wireless communication channel is created between the reader and the smart card. The
smart card validates the reader and allows the reader to validate the smart card. Then there
is an exchange of information. All of these can take place in less than 0.5 seconds.
The following characteristics of contactless smart cards make them desirable for
applications that require security and privacy of information stored and transmitted [1]:

 Mutual Authentication: Certain contactless smart card can verify that the reader
is authentic and also prove its authenticity to reader before transaction occurs.
 Strong Information Security: Contactless smart cards can be encrypted for
eavesdropping prevention.
 Strong Device Security: They have a variety of software and hardware
capabilities to detect tampering.

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3. Related Work
A lot of research has been done in the use of contactless smart cards for transit
ticketing and access control. RFID has been used in Access Control and security systems
as documented in [2] for an RFID based security system for industries, companies among
others. It consists of an RFID tag, reader, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a buzzer. If
the data contained in the card is the same as that in the database then the buzzer alerts the
personnel that he/she has been granted access as the door opens. In [3] an RFID based
security and access control system for a University Hostel is presented. The system
designed made use of both RFID and biometrics to authenticate a student. RFID readers
were installed at the entrance of the hostels with cameras; the reader detects the number
stored in the RFID card while the camera takes a picture. These two data are then
crosschecked with the information stored in the database and if they match then access is
granted.
In [4] an RFID based ticketing system for the Bus transport for Dhaka, Bangladesh is
presented. This system has 2 parts. The first part is used for bus identification; for this
purpose, 2 tags are placed at the front and rear of the bus. These two would be used for
indication of arrival and departure times of the bus. The second part of the system is for
the ticketing, here a reader is placed inside the bus where the passenger can display
his/her authorized RFID tag and then board the bus. The system proposed by [5] makes
use of both RFID and cyclometer to provide a ticketing system for a user based on
distance travelled on a bus. This design is an improvement on previous designs that
required passengers to input their destination before boarding the bus. With this system, a
passenger only needs to display their RFID tag at the beginning and at the end of their
journey. An automatic gate machine based on the RFID technology is reported in [6]. The
design consisted of RFID tags and readers, database system and a door controlled by the
system. However, the card used in this design is an RFID tag and not a contactless smart
card.
[7] Discusses the shortfalls of existing security protocols and then proposes solutions
for using known cryptographic techniques to preserve privacy on e – tickets. They noted
that there are 3 major attacks on an RFID based e – ticketing system and they are
impersonation (which involves an attacker simulating a token issued to a customer);
tracing (this involves obtaining movement information on passengers in transit); and
Denial of Service attacks (Here attackers can sabotage transit operators by denying an
authorized passengers access to the service). They proposed a solution to prevent cloning
by using physically Un-clone able Functions (PUFs).
In [8]researchers proposed a secure RFID system that supports security properties such
as secure authentication, correct billing and privacy and can prevent attacks. This system
consists of two protocols. In Protocol 1, an RFID card doesn’t perform any computation;
it needs the vendor’s machine (reader) to be trusted. In Protocol 2, RFID cards need to
perform computation so there is no need for trust here.
While considerable research has been done on using contactless smart cards for transit
in the developed nations, some of the factors that were not considered there can affect the
success of such systems in Nigeria. Such factors include the lack of steady Internet
facility nationwide and the largely unbanked populace. Also the system were just
designed for transit purposes only, meaning that a customer would be required to have
multiple cards to access other services that make use of contactless smart card. Then the
cards used in the research above don’t have adequate security features, they also have
small memory making it near impossible to use them for multiple purpose.

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4. RFID Ticketing Solution

The RFID Ticketing solution proposed in this research allows passengers without bank
accounts to use the system. The system designed has the following features:
 It will be used for both railway transit, other modes of transit, and for minor retail
outlets;
 It will use both offline and online card authentication methods to allow for card
usage even when the Internet service is not available;
 The card used will be cheap to purchase and also use strong authentication for
security purposes;
 The card is to be optimised for railway transport loyalty points of 1 free journey
for every 10 journeys paid for using the card;
 A maximum daily amount to be loaded on the card is N10,000 in order to mitigate
risks.

5. System Description
The System has a Contactless Smart Card-based Gate Machine located at a Railway
Station. The Gate Machine is to be located before the platform and is an access control
machine that either allows a passenger to get on to the platform or not.
The passenger approaches the Gate Machine and taps the Machine with his/her
contactless smart card, the gate machine checks for the money balance on the card and
then if it has the minimum balance allowed. If it has, then access is allowed, if not then
access is denied. When the passenger comes down at his/her destination and taps the gate
machine at that rail station, the gate machine deducts the appropriate fare and saves the
new balance on the contactless smart card.
The System designed consists of 3 rail stations – Enugu, Port Harcourt and Aba.
Three card readers are used to represent 3 stations, Enugu, Aba and Port Harcourt
Stations. The cost for a ride between Enugu and Aba is 500 naira while a ride between
Aba and Port Harcourt is 150 naira. Enugu to Port Harcourt is 650 naira. The System also
has a Loyalty Point Feature. For every 10 trips a customer takes, the system offers
him/her 1 free one in return. The minimum amount a customer can have on his/her
contactless card before being allowed access to the train platform is N1000.

5.1. Sample Use Cases

Location 1: This represents Enugu as a take-off location. When a passenger swipes

his/her card at the Enugu Station, the system saves the location on the card. The passenger
can travel to Aba so the System either offers free journey or deducts 500 naira from the
card; or to Port Harcourt and the System either offers free journey or deducts 650 naira. If
the passenger goes across the Gate at Enugu Station and decides not to continue the
Journey, he/she can go back without paying any amount.

Location 2: This represents Aba as a take – off location. When a passenger swipes his/her
card at Aba Station, the system saves the location on the Card. The passenger can travel to
either Enugu so the system either offers free journey or deducts 500 naira or to Port
Harcourt Station and the system either offers free journey or debits 150 naira. If the
passenger goes across the Gate at the Aba Station and decides not to continue the Journey,
he/she can go back without paying any amount.

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Location 3: This represents Port Harcourt as a take – off location. When a passenger
swipes his/her card at the Port Harcourt Station, the system saves the Location on the
Card. The passenger can either travel to either Enugu; so the system either offers free
journey or deducts 650 naira, or to Aba and the system either offers free journey or debits
150 naira. If the passenger goes across the Gate at the Port Harcourt Station and decides
not to continue with the Journey, he/she can go back without paying any money. Figure 1
shows the Block diagram of the system.

Figure 1. Block Diagram of the Railway System Ticketing Prototype

6. Results and Discussion

The prototype circuit is shown in Figure 2. The Arduino IDE has a Serial Monitor. This
Serial Monitor can be used to view the changes in the Information stored in the MIFARE
S50 card as it is being used as rail ticket.

Figure 2. Railway System Ticketing Prototype

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6.1. Passenger at Enugu Station

The Serial Monitor display of the various actions the Passenger at Enugu station can
take as discussed earlier is shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4.

Figure 3. Passenger at Enugu Station for Take-off with Naira Account

Figure 4. Passenger at Enugu Station for Take-off with required Loyalty

Points

6.2. Passenger at Aba Station

For a passenger who gets to Aba from Enugu and doesn’t have enough loyalty points,
but has 9351 Naira on the card; the gate machine deducts 650 naira from the card and
saves it. Loyalty points are increased as well. Then the customer can leave the station.
The Serial Monitor display for this action is shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6.

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Figure 5. Passenger at Aba Station from Enugu Station paying from Naira
Account

If on the other hand, the passenger has up to 10 Loyalty points; the gate machine does
not deduct a fare but grants access while reducing the loyalty point back to 0.

Figure 6. Passenger at Aba Station from Enugu Station using the Loyalty
Point for Payment

6.3. Passenger at Port Harcourt Station

For a passenger who boards the train at the Aba Station and travels to Port Harcourt
and does not have enough loyalty points, then the gate machine will deduct the 500 naira
from the card. Access to leave the Port Harcourt Station is then granted. The Serial
Monitor display for this action is shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8.

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Figure 7. Passenger at Port Harcourt Station from Aba Station paying from
Naira Account

If the customer has enough Loyalty Point, He/she gets access to leave the station while
the Loyalty Point gets cleared back to zero. There is no change to the Naira Account
Balance.

Figure 8. Passenger at the Port Harcourt Station from Aba Station paying
with Loyalty Points

6.4. Processing Timing: The time of processing a single passenger is also of utmost
importance in using a contactless smart card. It is necessary that Automatic gate machine
processes a single transaction accurately in less than a second in order to be handle rush
hour traffic. The average processing time measured at the automatic gate machine from
presentation of card to beeping of the buzzer was 2.64 seconds.

7. Conclusion
Contactless Smart card can be used to replace the use of smaller denominations of cash
and eliminate the need to have these denominations in your wallet and also the time
wasted in searching for change/balance by small scale retailers and transit operators.
Contactless Smart Technology has been implemented in many developed countries all

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over the world since 1997. However, in Nigeria, the technology is still at its infancy. This
technology has the capability to solve a lot of problems encountered not only in transit
operation but also in the small scale retailing business.
The aim of the project to design and implement an alternative way to provide ticketing
for the Nigerian Railway Corporation was achieved. This System is made up of
contactless smart cards, contactless smart readers, Intel Galileo Generation Board 1,
buzzers and LEDs. The system worked as specified when tested.
The use of a contactless based rail ticketing system if implemented will eliminate many
of challenges faced by the Nigerian Railway Corporation presently. It will enable the
Corporation to automate its ticketing processes, thereby saving money and improving its
services. With the contactless smart card, the corporation can then offer up loyalty points
to its customers, rewarding them and encouraging them to use the service.

8. Recommendation for Further Work

The following items are recommended for implementation in order to improve upon
the work:
Near Field Communication integrated in Mobile Devices can be used in addition to the
contactless smart card. This will enable customers to use their mobile phones for
payment.
There are still security issues with contactless smart cards. Research can be conducted
to develop better cryptographic systems. The system produced in this work while making
use of a contactless smart card that supports multi-application, did not make use of all the
functionalities that the contactless smart card has to offer. Improvements can include
adding a retail market payment application to the system.

References
[1] Smart Card Alliance,“Contactless Smart Cards vs. EPC Gen 2 RFID Tags:Frequently Asked Questions”,
Available at: http://www.smartcardalliance.org/resources/pdf/EPC_Gen_2_FAQ_FINAL.pdf (Accessed:
20 June 2015), (2006).
[2] K. Srinivasa, G. H. Varun, T. Vamsi and P. Pratyusha, “RFID Based Security System”, Available at:
http://www.ijitee.org/attachments/File/v2i5/E0691042413.pdf (Accessed: 20 October 2015), (2013).
[3] U. Farooq, M. Hasan, M. Amar, A. Hanif and M. U. Asad, “RFID Based Security and Access Control
System”, Available at: www.ijetch.org/papers/718-B10136.pdf (Accessed: 20 June 2015), (2014).
[4] M. Foisal Mahedi Hasan, G. Tangim, M. Kafiul Islam, M. Rezwanul Haque Khandokar and A. Ul Alam,
(2010), “RFID-based ticketing for public transport system: Perspective megacity Dhaka”, 2010 3rd
International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technology, .doi:
10.1109/iccsit.2010.5564067.
[5] K. Krishna, S. Selvarathinam, V. Roopsai and R. Ram Kumar, “Modified Ticketing System using Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID)”, International Journal of Advanced Computer Research, vol. 3, no. 12,
(2013).
[6] R. Valarmathi and G. Karthika, “Smart ticketing System in Metro Rail”, Available at:
http://www.ijareeie.com/upload/2014/apr14-specialissue3/10_R10_R.Valarmathi.pdf (Accessed: 26
March 2015), (2014).
[7] A. R. Sadeghi, I. Visconti and C. Wachsmann, “User Privacy in Transport Systems Based on RFID E-
Tickets’, available at https://ei.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/media/ei/veroeffentlichungen/2008/
10/19/SaViWa08.pdf (Accessed: 26 March 2015), (2008).
[8] K. Peng and F. Bao, “A Secure RFID Ticket System for Public Transport”, Proceedings of the 24th
Annual IFIP WG 11.3 Working Conference, Italy, (2010) June 21-23.

Authors
Madukwe Chinaza, is a Lecturer at the Department of Electrical
and Electronic Engineering at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi,
Benue State. She is working on her Master’s Degree.

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Chukwudebe Gloria, is a Professor of Electrical/Electronic

Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri,
Imo State. She has a Masters in Electronic Engineering and a
PhD in Electronic Engineering from Newcastle University,
United Kingdom.

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