railML.org hosted the 45th railML Conference on June 6 ^th, 2024. The event was held online and welcomed over 90 participants from Europe, Asia and Australia, promoting global collaboration and inclusivity. The online format facilitated broader participation, allowing experts from diverse geographical regions to engage in discussions and share insights.

The central theme of the conference was the alpha release of railML 3.3, with the final version set for release in November 2024. Another key topic was the development of railML ontology.

The conference was opened with an introductory speech of railML.org governance coordinator Vasco Paul Kolmorgen and followed by an informative report on the development schedule and updated roadmap for railML 3.3, detailing its timeline and specific features. Subsequently, railML coordinators and partners presented the alpha release of the use cases – LTCP and ECTS and news on planned modifications and improvements for the new release.

railML versions

The alpha release of railML 3.3 was presented for expert review, with the last beta release scheduled for completion by the end of August, followed by a release candidate review by the community. The final release is planned for November 2024.

Furthermore, it was officially announced that support for railML 2.3 will end in June 2024, while versions 2.4 and 2.5 will continue to be supported. railML 3.2 provides all necessary functionalities to replace the 2.x interfaces.

Use cases

The following use cases were presented during the conference:

- Long Term Circulation Planning (UC LTCP): The alpha release of this use case which helps railway companies in coordinating their schedules and resources for long-term operations, was introduced by Chrisitan Rößiger from the Institute for Traffic Planning Systems (iRFP).

- ETCS track net:  The alpha release was presented, covering infrastructure requirements for generating Movement Authorities (MAs) as defined by SUBSET-026, version 3.x. It addresses infrastructure and interlocking information.

- Possessions and Restrictions (UC POMA): David Lichti from HaCon presented use case POMA, the development of which began in May this year. This use case focuses on planning, organizing and coordinating track maintenance and managing restrictions on train operations.

railML ontology

railML ontology coordinator, Dr. Larissa Zhuchyi, along with railML.org partner BaneNor presented ontology current development status and its application in the Norwegian railway project - Digital Infrastructure Model. Since the 44^th railML conference, its scope has been extended to the ETCS use case. The certification process was further automated, making it possible to import into Excel, a format that is accessible to project managers.

railVIVID

The conference also featured railVIVID, a viewer tool for infrastructure, timetable and rolling stock elements in railML files. An analysis of railVIVID 1.3 and an evaluation of the upcoming railVIVID 2.0, which will be available in both web and desktop versions using C# and .NET technology at no cost, were presented. The decision to create new implementation was made by stakeholders. The first release is scheduled for early 2025.

Survey on railML Wiki improvements

The documentation of railML is continuously improved through updates to their Wikis. They aim to simplify the implementation of railML standards, with clear, accurate and efficient data exchange for their users. During the conference, we conducted a survey to gather the preferences of railML community for improvements to the railML wiki sections. The results are shown in the graphics below.

The results indicate that examples, guides and visualisation on railML2 and railML3 Wikis are the most preferred by the majority of voters within railML community. In the upcoming months, we will prioritise these updates to meet the demands and expectations of our community.

Overall, the conference demonstrated a collaborative effort to shape the future of railML, incorporating diverse perspectives and ensuring the upcoming release meets the needs of the rail community. The upcoming 46th conference is scheduled in Prague with the on November 5^th, 2024 on the invitation of our stakeholder Správa železnic. The registration will be open for all members of the railML community from September. We look forward to seeing everyone again at the next conference!

Download of presentations

You can download the presentations from the conference page: 45th railML conference. Everyone from the community is welcome to contribute their feedback or comments contacting our schema coordinators per e-mail.