OSDM

Video: Rail Ticketing - What is OSDM?

UIC IRS 90918-10: OSDM

The new OSDM standard comprises two parts: online distribution (transport and reservation) and offline distribution (transport only). Whereas previously the two distribution standards were separate, OSDM enables the sale of both online and offline tickets in a single interface.

Railway customers will be able to purchase rail and multimodal transport tickets across Europe more easily, at the most beneficial prices and tariff conditions. Thanks to OSDM’s ability to provide a combination of fares, customers will be able to combine fares in accordance with existing fare combinations as well as new fares and/or combination models.

Railway operators will be able to provide better services and attract new customers thanks to a combination of technical innovation and smart mobility solutions for seamless travel. By streamlining the distribution process, the railway sector benefits from reduced development and distribution costs.

For online distribution, the new OSDM standard uses an application programming interface (API) that enables distribution of international travel tariffs and prices and seat reservations among railway companies’ distribution systems in real time and makes train tickets available to third-party vendors around the world.

By collaborating more closely with distributors (FSM initiative) using a single interface between the various stakeholders (distributors, allocators, carriers), the railway sector as a whole has taken a major step forward in simplifying ticket distribution for passengers, including through-ticketing, and in developing a consumer-driven, innovative and competitive distribution solution based on transparency and sustainability.

The standard is defined in IRS 90918-10 and provides a new open sales and distribution interface for the passenger transport sector as follows:

• Can be used for all fares, including domestic (offline and online)
• Interface for (multimodal) trip search (online), including bus or local transport ticketing
• Interface for booking/reservations (online)
• After-sales for booking/ticket reservations and ancillary services (offline and online)
• Graphical seat reservation (online)

The technical OSDM JSON format used online is also used offline to exchange tariff data for non-reservation ticket (NRT) trains between railways twice per year.

To enable widespread take-up by railways, UIC has decided to publish the OSDM specification, IRS 90918-10, in Apache 2.0 open licence.

For further information on the OSDM specification, please visit the GitHub website:

OSDM Platform: OSDM Offline Implementation

From 2004, PRIFIS (PRIce and Fare Information Storage) consists of a database containing the price and tariff data for more than 30 railways. The price and fare data exchanged are described in UIC Leaflet 108-1 (NRT).

Difficulties with the old format and the obsolete technology resulted in PRIFIS being redesigned completely.

In 2020, UIC completed the procurement process for implementation of the PRIFIS replacement tool and the design of a new, related specification called Open Sales and Distribution Model. The new system is called OSDM Platform and is a central database used to exchange prices and tariffs for non-yielded tickets twice a year.

To facilitate change management, UIC also provides a converter to transform the railways’ existing 108-1 format into the new OSDM format.

OSDM platform development begun in October 2020, and the platform has been operational since July 2021.

The OSDM platform is provided as a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. Its architecture enables the ongoing introduction of future UIC services relating to the distribution of tariff and price data. The technical components of the solution are deployed in a fully virtual, enterprise-grade cloud environment.

22 railways distributed their tariff files on the OSDM platform as of October 2021, and more are expected to join: https://OSDMplatform.uic.org 

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