RTM SIM

Project description

RailTopoModel (“RTM”, IRS30100:2016) laid the foundation for multi-purpose representation of railway infrastructure. RTM was produced with substantial contributions from UIC members (SNCF, Infrabel, JBV, ÖBB, DB, etc.) and others (railML.org community). However, RTM use cases are, so far, oriented towards asset management rather than design and operations planning.

All railways lose millions of Euros due to incorrect planning and delays in the commissioning of infrastructure projects. This issue can be improved by simulating planned projects and identifying problems prior to implementation.
Simulation is a major tool to gain efficiency at any step of a design process, for example during the early phases of a project (e.g. challenge a concept) or under operation (e.g. validating a scenario to resolve an incident).

New technologies improve the performance and affordability of simulation tools, and therefore their relevance in day-to-day business processes (e.g. augmented reality for documentation of maintenance operations by car manufacturers).
Those situations can be applied to railway industry like many others, not only for regular design phases, but also to test solutions for performance and global efficiency (i.e. optimise topology, topography, routes, scheduling, energy, train driving, environmental impacts, etc.).

The railway system is complex, and commonly qualified as a “System of Systems”. As for other complex industrial domains, simulation will be part of any transformation project, not only for engineering purposes, but also for risk and security management. For instance, when going through disruptive scenarios for the next generation of ATO/ATS, simulation will be a must, not only for engineers and headquarters, but also to convince safety authorities of our capacity to manage risks related to the combination of all sub-systems, old and new, in nominal and degraded modes.