Press release
VISUM-railML® interface presented in Karlsruhe
Software developers meet at 20th railML Conference
Karlsruhe, Germany. 5 December 2011. Not only is it sometimes necessary for rail passengers to transfer between trains, but also data that is used as the basis for planning railway lines, calculating crew shifts and creating timetables has to be transferred during the planning process – in this case via interface to other software systems. At the 20th railML conference held at initplan GmbH in Karlsruhe railML experts discussed how to support the further development of the interface. PTV AG presented the new railML interface to its transportation planning software VISUM – another important step towards seamless data exchange.
The railML® initiative's aim is to enhance data transfer in rail transport via a standardised, XML-based interface. railML.org, a consortium of European railway operators, scientists, software developers and engineers has been addressing this issue for almost ten years. The 20th railML conference which took place in Karlsruhe on 7 November focussed on the new version 2.1 of the railML scheme. Conference participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland appreciate the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas and to gain insight into practical aspects at the annual conferences.
The presentation of the new railML interface of the transportation planning software VISUM was of particular interest to the railML participants. This interface will support the import of railML files as of VISUM 12. When importing timetable data and basic vehicle operation data into an existing PuT network, elements, such as stops, etc., will be synchronised to their IDs. First users now evaluate future timetable concepts with the new interface. “PTV's use of railML for importing timetable data to simulate travel demand at two European railway operators is a new, interesting and practice-relevant application for railML.org,” says Vasco Paul Kolmorgen, coordinator of the railML-Initiative.
The transportation network and its zones as well as timetable data (Rail and PuT) are core components required to develop a traffic model on the computer. Transportation models assist planners in analysing the impact of transport services on travel demand ("What mode of transport do travellers choose?"). They also support traffic assignment ("How many passengers use my services?”), and analyses of reachability (isochrones) and weak points of the public transport services from the passengers' point of view (e.g. travel chains with transfer connections). Moreover, transportation models allow users to assess the profitability of transport services, which means to calculate running costs and fare revenues and allocate these costs and revenues to areas and operators.
The 21st railML conference will take place on 24 April 2012 in Dresden.
426 words. Author’s copy kindly requested.
