Railml - A Standard Data Interface for Railroad Applications

This paper describes how the growing number of computer programs used to model different aspects of railway operations has created the need for a simple and efficient way to transfer data between applications. In the past, specialized interface programs have been develop to transfer data, but this is a very time-consuming process and is considered to be inefficient. As the number of different railway simulation and operation programs increases, developing and maintaining individual interfaces will become impractical. RailML has developed using XML (eXtensible Markup Language) to simplify data transfer through the use of a common data structure. Programs using the RailML language produce export files with the RailML structure and these files can then be used directly by other RailML compatible programs. RaiML is an open source project being supported and developed by a growing list of partners. This paper presents a more detailed description of RailML, outlines the application's current status, and invites new partners to join the consortium.