The 5th RailTopoModel and railML user group conference was successfully held at UIC headquarters in Paris on 4 and 5 November, as part of the ERIM Modelling initiative, supported by BLS/ CFL/ CIE/ HZ-INFRA/ JBV/ MAV/ NETWORK-RAIL/ PKP/ RFF/ SBB/ INFRABEL/ SZ/ SZDC/ TRAFIKVERKET/ ZSR, bringing together 70 participants from different backgrounds extending well beyond that of infrastructure management. This major event underlines both the pioneering nature and the level of interest in this approach to the universal modelling of rail infrastructure, in response to immediate needs (Register of Infrastructure, etc.) and future requirements, in view of the growing importance of data structure and management.
Top-ranking speakers Josef Doppelbauer (executive director of ERA), Jean-Pierre Loubinoux and Alain Bellot (Fer de France) underlined the value and importance of data access and interoperability for rail users and customers, with the railways facing intense modal competition. They emphasised the appropriateness of a common rail infrastructure model such as RailTopoModel.
A presentation of a draft version of IRS 30100 was given by Mr Andreas Pinzenölher, the culmination of over a year’s work by all the partners in this modelling project with its global vocation.
Alexander Schmidt (SBB) and Beat Rigazzi (BLS) presented an example of how the RailTopoModel has actually been used to encourage the exchange of data between two different railway undertakings.
In the afternoon there were workshops where participants could discuss RailTopoModel developments and their expectations, including topics such as
- Providing standards to infrastructure managers, rail operators and the rail industry
- Governing RailTopoModel asset management
- Developments in RailTopoModel and in the railML data exchange format
- RailTopoModel data management for simulation realisation
- Geographical information in the exchange of rail data.
The 5 December session provided the opportunity for the members of the railML users group to discuss the latest developments and innovations in railML data exchange formats, as regards infrastructure, signal interlocking and timetable data in railML 3.0 and railML 2.3 model formats. The railML group has agreed to publish a version of the railML 2.3 scheme in the spring of 2016, followed in the course of 2016 with the railML 3 scheme, after the official publication of IRS 30100 on which it is based.
The railML community has expanded with the integration of two new members from the rail and software engineering sectors. Their new website can be found at:
http://www.railml.org//index.php/home.html
We invite you to join us for the 6th RailTopoModel conference which will be held at UIC headquarters in Paris on 19 April 2016.
