Frequntly asked questions (FAQ)

Answer: Yes, railML is open source. However, it is important to note that while railML files are freely available, they are not to be modified. Extensions can be made if necessary features are not included in the standard.

Answer: railML itself is free of charge, but certain additional services, such as certifying your interface, may incur a fee to cover our costs. You can find more information about the associated costs on our costs page.

Answer: Your railML.org account grants you access to railML documents, schemas, railVIVID, presentation materials from our conferences and other related resources available on the website.

Answer: Yes, once you create an account on railML.org, you’ll be able to access the railML Forum. However, to engage with other users, share ideas and participate in forum discussions, you will be required a approval from railML.org Governacne Coordinator. Please visit our Forum guidelines for more details.

Answer: At this time, railML.org partnerships are typically for companies or organisations. However, individuals with significant contributions or who wish to collaborate closely with railML may be able to participate in the development process. For more details, please contact railML.org to discuss your specific situation.

Answer: Partnership at railML.org is not limited in duration. Once you become a partner, your membership is valid indefinitely, with no set expiration. You can continue to enjoy the benefits of partnership as long as you remain active and engaged. The only requirement is to keep your webpage on railML.org up to date.

Answer: Partnership with railML.org is free, in line with our open-source data principles, and there are no fees to register your company. However, if you wish to access additional services, there may be costs associated with certain partnership levels. For more details, please refer to the Partnership page on our website.

Answer: It is the express purpose of railML to be integrated in software systems to be used as an import or export interface for exchanging railway related information with other systems. You can download our schema files and integrate them in your code however that suits your technical requirements.

Answer: No, railML is not equivalent to XML. railML (Railway Markup Language) is a dialect of XML (Extensible Markup Language). This means that railML is designed according to the rules and structure of XML with a special focus on the representation of railway data (e.g. timetable, infrastructure, rolling stock, interlocking). railML is not compatible with every other XML dialect. For instance, the ERA (European Railway Agency) introduced a RINF-XML, which is not modelled same as railML.

Answer: railML is divided into several main components (schemas), each designed to cover specific aspects of railway data exchange. railML covers the following areas: infrastructure, rolling stock, timetables, interlocking. See Subschemas page for more info.

Answer: There are several ways to identify the railML version of a document. The necessary information can be found in the initial railML tag. First there is the optional attribute version that may have been specified in the document. Then there is the namespaces of the document. Typically, one of the used namespaces (most often it is the default namespace) is specifies an URI of the domain www.railml.org. Using this namespace the version of the document can be determined by looking it up in the table provided here: https://wiki3.railml.org/wiki/Dev:Versions#Namespace_declarations.

Answer: You will need basic knowledge of XML and familiarity with railway-specific data concepts.

Answer: The primary source of documentation for railML is our wikis. Information on railML 2.x can be found here: wiki2.railML.org; Information on railML 3.x can be accessed here: wiki3.railML.org. Additionally several guided and tutorials on how to interprete information encoded in railML can be found here: railML development guides.

Answer: You can only use these files with your railML interface if they are also based on railML, otherwise they won’t be compatible. Even though they might look similar, because both are based on XML, they won't work with a railML interface.

Answer: You can validate railML files using general XML validation tools or with our specific tool - railVivid provided by railML.org, which also checks aspects of semantics that normally are not evaluated by general XML validation tools.

Answer: Support is available through the railML Forum and by contacting railML coordinators.

Answer: Contributions are made through railML working groups, where members propose railML use cases and discuss them or new schema elements. You can also discuss your requirements in the railML forum in order to start development of a new use case. The actual development of a use case however is done in railML working groups. We always encourage participation in those working groups in order to gain a broad understanding of the discussed use cases and ultimately finding a generalized modelling for it in new versions of railML.

Answer: Anyone with a high level of expertise in creating railML® interfaces and a desire to contribute to the development of the railML® standard is welcome to participate. You can bring your proposals and comments into the development process and work with us to approve final schema versions. The only requirement is registering your company as a basic partner with railML.org. However, this is not a significant barrier, as you do not need to be a paying member to contribute. The reason for this requirement is to ensure that contributors are committed to the ongoing development of the standard and to maintain a structured and organized process.

Answer: The schemas for the railML® 2.x line were handcoded. However, with the development of railML® 3.x, we changed our approach. Now, we create UML models in Enterprise Architect, which are then used to automatically generate the schema files. For XML development, we rely on tools from Altova company, primarily XMLSpy, which we are fortunate to have access to through a free license. Furthermore, the development of railML® schemas is managed using the Gitlab version repository and ticket system.

Answer: Yes, railML.org provides a version timeline to outline past releases and future plans, which can be found at the corresponding page.

 Answer: Updates are released after collaborative development, testing and approval by railML working groups. You can find detailed information on development page.

Answer: You can find them in our data examples page.

Answer: railML certification was introduced to ensure the correct implementation of railML in applications/interfaces, enabling the exchange of data without errors or loss of data. For more information, please visit the certification page on our website.

Answer: You can find them in the use cases page. Please be aware that each table is related to specific railML versions. You cannot use a table for railML 3.1 to certify railML 3.2. interface. Please also be aware that the use case element specification tables do not apply to versions prior to railML3.

Answer: The RailTopoModel is a logical object model to standardise the representation of railway infrastructure-related data. Together with railML^®, which defines the schema for the exchange of data, it has revolutionized the sharing of information in the railway industry.