Infrabel (schematics)
Infrabel integrates schematic rail infrastructure plans into a topological network
Infrabel, the Belgian railway operator, is responsible for maintaining, expanding and modernising the country’s rail network. Achieving this requires a clear and comprehensive view of the infrastructure and its essential components. By building a high-quality, reliable topological network, Infrabel is taking an important step forward. As in previous projects, the GIS experts from Nordend have provided invaluable technological support.
Infrabel holds a vast archive of plans detailing Belgium’s current extensive rail network, with over two hundred diagrams offering a schematic representation of the entire system. However, these plans have not always been correctly linked, and previous manual attempts to connect them have often led to errors. On top of that, new plans are constantly being added, creating an ongoing challenge to keep everything integrated.
‘Nordend developed an FME application that automatically filters errors from our existing plans and they have truly exceeded our expectations. We initially anticipated that the tool would filter out about 80% of the errors, but today, we’re well beyond that figure.’
Data enrichment
Many of the existing diagrams include more than just track information – they also feature labels and other text. The key issue with these older schematic plans is the absence of a dedicated layer representing the topological structure of the network. This means that features such as interchanges or splits are not represented, while tunnels and bridges often appear to overlap, causing misinterpretations.
To tackle this, Infrabel decided to enhance the existing schematics by adding a topological network layer. According to Kurt Decock, Senior Project Lead GIS & Innovations at Infrabel, this was essentially an exercise in data enrichment. ‘The information was already there – such as tracks and switches, represented as lines and points – needed to be translated into a topological network. We’ve been collecting this data for years, daily in fact, but much of it consisted of disconnected points. line on a drawing doesn’t necessarily show how it relates to the actual infrastructure.’
Data cleaning and correction
Infrabel didn’t have a framework to organise all the data, so it needed to build a new network layer on top of the existing schematics. The problem is that these schematics often contained lines that didn’t connect correctly, were broken, or failed to end at the right nodes, among other issues.
To sort through this complex array of lines and points, Infrabel enlisted the help of Nordend, a local IT partner with whom they had worked successfully in the past. Nordend once again came out on top in our public tender.
Nordend specialises in managing spatial data. For this project, they provided automatic data cleaning and correction for Infrabel’s numerous schematic plans. Once Nordend had completed this phase, they integrated the corrected plans into a unified topological network, tied to real-world coordinates. This unified map now allows users to easily navigate and interact with the rail network in the GIS system.
‘The team at Nordend quickly understood our requirements and developed an effective FME tool tailored to the needs of our GIS department. They also ensured the necessary knowledge transfer and provided comprehensive documentation, which has helped to establish long-term trust.’
Maximising automation
To do this, Nordend used FME, a data integration and transformation platform developed by Canadian firm Safe Software. This allowed Nordend to develop an application that automatically detects and fixes errors in Infrabel’s schematics, linking and correcting inconsistencies across the entire rail network.
‘The focus here was on automation,’ Decock notes. ‘However, Infrabel’s users can only work with the data available. If an asset is entirely missing, users still need to be able to add it manually. Once the dataset is fully accurate, the system requires minimal intervention. On one hand, we want to provide our draughtsmen the tools to step in when necessary. On the other, we don’t want to overload our GIS team. That balance was critical.’
There may still be challenges ahead that are harder to resolve. But with the help of FME, Nordend has already minimised those exceptions. As a result, Infrabel has been able to greatly reduce the need for manual interventions, which in turn has helped build support for the new tool. With this system in place, users at Infrabel can access the tool as needed, map the topological network and generate error reports.
A crucial step towards the future
This project is part of a broader, long-term strategy that Infrabel’s GIS team will continue to refine over the years to come. ‘We are building a topology for the future,’ explains Kurt Decock. ‘Right now, we’re mapping the current situation – but our goal is to look ahead.’
The new topological network will be instrumental in improving the planning of future railway works. ‘We often schedule these infrastructure projects years in advance. This helps us allocate the necessary budget and materials in good time – not just for track-related work, but also for catenaries, signalling systems and more. At present, each stakeholder works with their own set of plans and data. Our goal is to adopt a more forward-thinking approach, where we bring together all the stakeholders and their data into one central platform with a single source of information. The new topology is another important step in that direction.’
Challenges
- Develop an FME application to optimise the schematic plans of Infrabel’s rail network and integrate them into a comprehensive topological network.
Results
- The FME application automatically filters out the majority of errors from the schematic plans.
- Reduced manual effort due to advanced process automation.
Solutions
- FME tool for error filtering and resolution
- Automation of weekly checks for updates in AutoCAD drawings, with automatic database updates
- A complete and reliable topological network of high quality
Technologies
- FME
- AutoCAD
