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| {{Under Construction}} <br /> | | == {{rtm}} For Your Business == |
| {{Overview|text=This page give you an overview about RailTopoModel. It is explained what RTM is, why and how it came to be and what it is for.}}<br />
| | [[File:IdealSituationNew.png|thumbnail|1000px|Ideal national situation with the {{rtm}} and {{rml}} (© IIRC)]] |
| [[File:RTMSchema.png|thumbnail|250px|RTM components (© UIC RTM Expert Group)]] | | In this section you will find answers to the question why you should use the {{rtm}} for your specific data modelling and exchange problem. See [[RTM For Your Business]] for more details.<br /> |
| UIC RailTopoModel is a universal railway business model which aims to define railway objects and events in a standard form (UML), to show how they interact with each other, and how they are expected to be used. As such, it aims to standardise the process for designing any business process, data structure, IT software and data flow in the railway industry.<br />
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| One of the first deliverables based on UIC RailTopoModel will be an enhanced version of the standard exchange format railML, with the announcement of railML3.0. Other deliverables will come, as SQL Format and loader, etc.
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| == Motivation ==
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| [[File:CurrentNationalSituation.png|thumbnail|250px|Current national situation (© IIRC)]]
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| One of the greatest challenges for today’s railway sector is to establish a format and mechanism to transfer data both internally across an organisation and externally between organisations. This has arisen from the lack of a standardised data exchange format and a single industry wide approach.<br />
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| To date there has been little coordination or consensus within the railway community over a standard for the exchange of data. Thus multiple standards have been developed for specific purposes, each with its own data definition (model) and file format (2).<br />
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| The consequences of this have been:
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| * Laboured and repetitive developments in IT,
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| * Long project lead times, and
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| * Incompatibility between different standards, which has prevented the development of transformation software in a competitive market.
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| As such, each data model and format cannot be used for other purposes. Examples include formats designed for RINF, INSPIRE, ETCS projects, etc.
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| === A standardised model ===
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| [[File:IdealSituation.png|thumbnail|250px|Ideal national situation with the UIC RailTopoModel and railML (© IIRC)]]
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| The vision for a standardised data exchange process requires a number of components:
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| * A logical model: to describe the topological relationship of infrastructure objects and their attributes.
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| * An exchange format: to represent objects within a model as structured data, typically in text format with a defined schema.
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| * An adaptor / translator: to restructure data from one format to another. Translators can be used to convert the output of platform specific data to a standardised format which can then be shared more readily with other applications.
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| Together these components will provide a data exchange tool that can facilitate the efficient transfer of data within the rail sector. They will allow users to exchange tabular and geographical data related to all aspects of the rail sector from infrastructure description and status, interlocking and routes, timetabling and traffic control etc. using a standardised format.<br />
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| Considering the work done by the railML® initiative project in co-operation with this modelling work, there are currently two products available to facilitate the exchange of data in the domain of railway infrastructure.
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| {| class="wikitable"
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| | Logical model || The '''UIC RailTopoModel''' is a generic railway data model designed to support current and future business needs. It is particularly useful for:
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| * Engineering activities – mainly based on installations and components, and
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| * Circulation activities – mainly based on routing and scheduling.
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| | railML|| '''railML 3''' is the latest evolution of the format created by railML.org. RailML 3 was specifically developed to compliment the UIC’s RailTopoModel.
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| |}
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| Thus, railML® can be viewed as the first benefit of RailTopoModel.
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| === Benefits from a standardised model ===
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| Investing in a standardised railway data exchange format will provide multiple benefits for the sector, including:
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| * Improved data quality,
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| * More efficient business performance,
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| * Streamlined and re-usable development,
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| * Integrated IT systems, and
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| * Return on investments.
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| Detailed Information about railML® can be found on the [http://www.railML®.org/ railML® website].
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| == Goals == | | == {{rtm}} For IT Architects and Developers == |
| The ultimate goal is to propose a standardized infrastructure master model which supports a common representation of a railway network and events, and facilitates the exchange of data within the rail sector.<br />
| | [[File:SampleNetwork1.png|thumbnail|1000px|Simple Sample Network Part 1]] |
| For this purpose, UIC proposes the use of a graph topological model, as such a model is commonly used to display networks for a range of sectors, including the railways. One of the main reasons that such a model has been so widely adopted is that it is systemic, i.e. it is independent of any particular use or application. This choice guarantees sustainability and scalability, meaning it can evolve as business needs change. It also ensures the integrity, quality and dimension of data is not compromised due to the usages and evolutions. <br />
| | This section addresses the software developers of the companies that want to implement a {{rtm}} based asset database. A simple example shows how to get from the real infrastructure to the {{rtm}} representation. See [[RTM for IT Architects and Developers]] for more details. |
| The first objective is to ensure that this model supports the railway’s business needs, today and tomorrow. In order to achieve this, the model must fulfil the following criteria:
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| * Provide a topological representation of the iron network which is fully connected and can be visualised schematically. It must display the track location at the most detailed level and be able to view the connections which exist at other scales (levels of detail) such as line and corridor.
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| * Enable data to be aggregated and disaggregated, to ensure consistency is retained across all scales.
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| * Allow permitted routes to be identified, based on network topology and the location and rules of signaling assets etc.
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| * Support multiple referencing systems, ensuring consistency during transformation. Primary examples include:
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| * Linear referencing – using mileposts and ‘rail addresses’,
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| * Positioning using geographic reference systems,
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| * Screen (schematic) coordinates
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| * Locate point and linear entities, including:
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| * Points / nodes, such as any installation and equipment or event etc.
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| * Lines / edges, such as speed limits, slopes, platforms etc. (attributes which are the same along a linear feature).
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| *Areal objects, such as track circuits, tunnels etc.
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| Finally, it is important to future proof the model. This model is designed to be enriched progressively, per layer, with new concepts to support business usages as they evolve.
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| == History == | | {{FootNavi |
| The origin of the UIC RailTopoModel initiative came from a small group of EIM/CER representatives involved in the RINF EU project, local ETCS works with industrial partners, requests from Inspire EU directive, and other similar activities.<br />
| | |chapterlink=RTM quick start |
| In 2012, these actors shared the fact that the whole sector is permanently facing the following two issues:
| | |nextlink=RTM for your business |
| * Repetitive development of multiple flows of infrastructure data exchange with all kinds of partners
| | |chapter={{RTM}} quick start |
| * Difficulties to manage both concepts of network routes and infrastructure equipment and characteristics in a unique set of data.
| | |next={{RTM}} for your business |
| This shared observation, enriched with some local initiatives, has led to the creation of a working group whose aim was to design a robust model to support these needs, and which could evolve over time.<br />
| | |lesson=This page is just a quick introduction |
| Considering the ambition of this group and the result of that the work would be of benefit to the whole community, it was proposed to UIC to support this initiative and make it a public repository.<br />
| | |nchapter={{rtm}} Modelling Concepts |
| At the same time, this same group of EIM/CER representatives, as contributors to RINF project, proposed ERA to enhance the RINF data model to include route topology in order to support future business use cases to “find the possible routes compatible with my train characteristics”.<br />
| | |nchapterlink=RTM Modelling Concepts |
| In August 2012, during a RINF project meeting, ERA organised a presentation by the railML organisa-tion to propose the railML standard as a possible solution to exchange of data in the RINF project.<br />
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| Ccollaboration between the UIC RailTopoModel working group, and railML.org which was also facing limitation on its current solution to support network topology stemmed from this meeting. The collaboration between these two teams will lead to the delivery of a consistent set of a data model and a data exchange format.
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| UIC RailTopoModel and railML are two separate initiatives that, although complementary, will remain separate:
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| * UIC RailTopoModel is defined as a public good, designed by the railway community to support their needs in long term. As such it should and will remain independent of any usage.
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| * RailML is one use case of UIC RailTopoModel, supported by an open source community, and driven by their interest and priorities.
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| === Feasibility Study === | |
| Before launching the RailTopoModel project, a feasibility study was performed as part of the ERIM project. The results were presented at the UIC in Paris on 17 September 2013 and then published in a [http://documents.railml.org/science/201213_UIC_RailTopoModel_DraftDec13.pdf PDF].<br />
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| The output of this work was a schema for an ‘off the shelf’ network model which describes the topology and basic elements of a railway’s iron network, and related assets such as track, signals etc. The model, or graph, should be designed to be independent of any particular usage, and can therefore be used for multiple applications.
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| The vision is for this model to be adopted by users from across the rail sector to design future applications, and as a first deliverable to support the exchange of data within and between organisations. The study found that it was indeed achievable, and put together a road map for successful implementation.
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| == RTM vs. other models == | |
| Transmodel and UIC RailTopoModel are both Conceptual Models dedicated to transportation infrastructure and services. The main difference between these two models is the business and functional domain of coverage.<br />
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| Transmodel is a European standard data model for public transport, designed to cover the multiple transportation means (bus, tramway, trains,…) in terms of interoperability, and the places where they meet each-other (e.g. stations, cities, towns, villages). The aim is to support operation, and more precisely schedule and plan journeys.<br />
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| UIC RailTopoModel has been developed for the specific needs of the railway sector, to precisely and consistently model network topology, rail infrastructures, and all railways objects and events, at any level of granularity (track, line, corridors,…).
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| ! Back To !! Previous Chapter !! Next Chapter
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| | [[Main Page]] || How To Read || [[RTM Modeling Concepts]]
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| |} | |
