Interoperability of information: a challenge for European railways INFRATRANS Bucarest 30 September 2011 Paolo Umiliacchi President CNC – Bologna – Italy

Interoperability of information:a challenge for European railways

INFRATRANSBucarest

30 September 2011

Paolo UmiliacchiPresident CNC – Bologna – Italy

Member of CENELEC TC9X WG15Member of IEC TC9 WG43 and WG46

Member of Task Force on Telematic Applications in Rail

Railways are a complex system …Railways are a complex system …

INFRATRANS - Bucarest 30 September 2011 2

ROLLING STOCK

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENTTRAIN OPERATIONS

INFRASTRUCTURE

30 September 2011 3

… … involving many actors …involving many actors …

INFRASTRUCTUREMANAGERS

FREIGHT OPERATORSPASSENGER OPERATORS

MAINTENANCEOPERATORS

POLICY MAKERS SAFETY

AUTHORITIES

MARKET REGULATORS

TRAIN OWNERS

INFRATRANS - Bucarest

30 September 2011 4

… … cross-border operationscross-border operations


ApproachApproach


MONITORING

ANALYSING

OPTIMISING

RUNNING

BETTER INFORMATION BETTER DECISIONS BETTER PERFORMANCE


Railways have information, but …Railways have information, but …

Data can be ambiguous as it is defined according to specific needs, with no check of consistency with other definitions

Data is in proprietary formats and require specific interpretation

Data is available in local databases, not easy to access to Interfaces are built on demand, based on specific

requirements Interfacing and data processing costs are high Data is consumed by specific applications and is normally

not available for wider usage Data hides useful information which is not easy to extract

and is often wasted Information systems cannot be easily upgraded

ScenarioScenario

The number of Actors in Railways is growing due to market opening

EC and ERA aim at achieving interoperability within the European railway network

There is an increasing need for information exchange in the Railways, between all involved Actors, e.g. to fulfil TSIs (regulations) or to improve efficiency

Means to handle the complexity of the railway system and ensure consistency of information are needed


30 September 2011 8

To work efficiently, railways need To work efficiently, railways need efficient information managementefficient information management

To manage complexity

To enable cooperation between all actors

For internationaloperations

To enhancecompetitiveness

Unambiguous data modelling Everywhere (ubiquituous) data

flow

Interoperability between information systems

Cross-border information exchange

Higher performance level


Consistency of informationConsistency of information

Information published by different Actors in different Countries shall have the same meaning


Information 1Company ACountry X

Information 1Company BCountry Y

Consistency in the timeConsistency in the time

When a new Actor enters the market, it shall be able to publish its own information with the same meaning as that published by incumbent Actors


Information 1Company ACountry X

Information 1Company BCountry Y

Information 1Company CCountry Z

Consistency of new Consistency of new informationinformation

When new information is required from all Actors, they shall be able to publish it with the same meaning and ensure consistency with previously published information


Information nCompany ACountry X

Information nCompany BCountry Y

Information nCompany CCountry Z


Example with 5 applicationsExample with 5 applications

Application 5

Application 4

Application 3

Application 1

Application 2


Custom interfaceCustom interface

Application 5

Application 4

Application 3

Application 1

Application 2

INTERFACE

up to interfaces n . (n-1)

2

INTERFACE

INTERFACE

INTERFACE

INTERFACE INTERFACE

INTERFACEINTERFACE

INTERFACEINTERFACE

up to 10 interfaces

Current situationCurrent situation


Task Force on Telematic Applications in Rail

Task Force mandateTask Force mandate

Part A: to identify possible needs for telematics applications which will allow stakeholders to source the data necessary to discharge their legal obligations under the Interoperability and Safety Directives, but which are not yet covered by works and systems already mandated by existing EU legislation.

Part B: assist the Commission in launching further activities which involve putting in place business and governance structures for the development and maintenance of telematics applications identified under part A.


The InteGRail approachThe InteGRail approach

Main characteristics: Flexibility – to adapt to any kind of existing system

No need to change legacy systems

Modularity –selected information only will be made available directly from the source

No need to copy information to a central database

Non-ambiguity – ensure that information is consistent Automatic check of consistency

Scalability – the grid can grow as needed New actors can be added at any time



Common interfaceCommon interface

Application 5

Application 4

Application 3

Application 1

Application 2

INTERFACE

up to n interfaces

INTERFACE

INTERFACE INTERFACE

INTERFACE

standard backbone

5 interfaces

Middleware conceptMiddleware concept

Application

Application

Application

Appl

icat

ion

NETWORK

Communicationinfrastructure

information

middleware

ApplicationApplication

Application

Application

Application

Appl

icat

ion

Appl

icat

ion

NETWORK

information

information

service

information

information

middlewaremiddleware service

service

service

serv

ice



Role of OntologyRole of Ontology

I send youinformation

based onthis concept

APPLICATION A

I understandyour information

based onthis concept

APPLICATION B

ArchitectureArchitecture

Applications as a grid of cooperating services

Services exchange messages according to a common language

Standardisation is required!


Application1

ADAPTER

Application2

ADAPTER

Application3

ADAPTER

Application4

ADAPTER

Application5

ADAPTER

INTEGRAIL SERVICE GRID

21INFRATRANS - Bucarest

IEC TC9 WG22: Train Communication Network

Scope and resultsa)to define a complete network for digital communication onboard trains b)Developed in strong cooperation with UICc)Finally resulted in standard documents IEC 61375-1 (TCN) and IEC 61375-2 (Conformance Test)d)UIC issued several leaflets to define the communication data UIC556, UIC557, UIC647

e)Several European Projects contributed:

30 September 2011

Some historySome history


IEC TC9 WG43: Train Communication NetworksScopea) to maintain/update the documents 61375-1 and 61375-2b) to define and implement a work plan to upgrade and complete the TCN framework, adding:

30 September 2011

New vehicle bus candidates Broadband Train Network Board-Ground Communication Communication Profile Application Profile

TCN evolutionTCN evolution

node node node node node

IEC TC9 WG43IEC TC9 WG43



IEC TC9 WG46: Multi Media Systems on board TrainsScopeTo define and implement a Multi Media framework that includes the standardisation of the following subsystems within the train that communicate using the subsystems specified by WG43. It refers to non operational services. Safety-related services are excluded.

30 September 2011

Train Operator and Maintainer Orientated Services

Passenger Orientated Services

Video surveillance/CCTV Crew Orientated Services

GeneralArchitecture

GeneralArchitecture

TCN evolutionTCN evolution

IEC TC9 WG46IEC TC9 WG46



InteGRail Reference Technology Platform

a)A common platform for interoperability of railway information systems and integration of railway applicationsb)A general framework for high-level railway communication (bearer independent)

30 September 2011

LOW LEVEL COMMUNICATION LAYERS(WTB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Wi-max, GSM-R, etc.)

HIGH LEVEL COMMUNICATION LAYERS - ICOM(routing, addressing, network selection, security)

APPLICATION-TO-APPLICATION(Ontology, reasoning, Web services, service grid)

WG46

WG43

WG43 andother standards

InteGRail inputsInteGRail inputs

Vision on the futureVision on the future

Describe data accurately regardless of its native format Create a virtual data exchange layer on top of the current assets

and systems Avoid any risks associated with configuration changes or updates Allow easy data retrieve according to User (man or machine)

needs Facilitate service reuse reducing application development cost Improve interoperability at train, consist, vehicle, subsystem level Simplify cross-country, cross-system, cross-operator interaction Create added-value from existing information Inject innovation in the railway system , improving its performance Pave the way for a data transfer standard within the Rail domain


ConclusionsConclusions

The enlarging amount of information exchange needed for efficient, interoperable and competitive operation of railways bring to the need of a common language in order to remove bottlenecks and avoid future problems

InteGRail solution was conceived, designed and developed in order to cope with such kind of problems

New standards are in preparation in order to support the future solutions

All this will contribute to turn the Vision into reality



20-21 October 2011Prague – Czech RepublicBuilding of Ministry of Transport

The workshop has the objective to clarify the state of the art and perspectives of ICT applications on-board trains, taking into consideration the business requirements from railways, the new standards under preparation from IEC and CENELEC, the European policy and regulations and the rapid evolution of technologies and platforms.Speakers include representatives from main European railways, industries, CENELEC, the European Commission and other important European railway organisations.

For more info, see: www.integrail.info


CNC Centro Nuova Comunicazione Bologna – ITALY www.cnc.it tel.: +39.051.6325.822 – fax: +39.051.4179.015 – e-mail: [email protected]

Thank you for your kind attention

Documents

Interoperability of information: a challenge for European railways INFRATRANS Bucarest 30 September 2011 Paolo Umiliacchi President CNC – Bologna – Italy