CEN European Reference Data Model for
Public Transport Information

Transmodel provides an abstract model of common public transport concepts and data structures that can be used to build many different kinds of public transport information system, including timetabling, fares, operational management, real time data, journey planning etc.
Transmodel v6 is covering multimodal CONVENTIONAL Public Transport, including flexible transport and thus also Demand Responsive Transport: most of the needs of bus, tramway, light-rail, metro, coach, long distance rail are taken into account.
NEW: it has been extended to cover ALTERNATIVE MODES of transport, in particular vehicle sharing, vehicle pooling, vehicle rental, taxi (see CEN TS 17413:2019).

Overview

Overview

“Transmodel” is the short name for the European Standard “Public Transport Reference Data Model” (EN 12896). It contributes to improving a number of features of public transport information and service management: in particular, the standard facilitates interoperability between information processing systems of the transport operators and agencies.

Purpose

Purpose

Public transport services rely increasingly on information systems to ensure reliable, efficient operation and widely accessible, accurate passenger information. These systems are used for a range of specific purposes: setting schedules and timetables, managing vehicle fleets, issuing tickets and receipts, providing real time information on service running, and so on.

EU regulatory context

EU regulatory context

Transmodel has an important strategic role for European Public Transport data. Under the  ITS Directive (Priority Action A ), by  2019 all EC member states must make their data available under Transmodel based standard formats such as NeTEx and SIRI. Transmodel is also being used to harmonise the TAP TSI rail standards into a uniform pan-European model, so is of direct relevance  to rail carriers.

Public transport services rely increasingly on information systems to ensure reliable, efficient operation and widely accessible, accurate passenger information.

These systems are used for a range of specific purposes: setting schedules and timetables, managing vehicle fleets, issuing tickets and receipts, providing real time information on service running, and so on.

 

What is Transmodel?

Transmodel is the European Reference Data Model for public transport and constitutes an offer to public transport companies and other providers of services related to the process of passenger transportation (planning, operation and information), to suppliers of software products supporting these processes, and to consultants and other experts acting in the field of public transport in the widest sense.

The reference data model, developed at conceptual level, can support the development of software applications, their interaction or combination in an integrated information system, and the system's organisation and information management which rules the utilisation of the existing telematics environment in a company (or group of companies) running computer applications supporting the different functional areas of public transport.

As a reference standard, it is not necessary for individual systems or specifications to implement Transmodel as a whole. It is possible to describe for those elements of systems, interfaces and specifications which fall within the scope of Transmodel:

  • the aspects of Transmodel that they have adopted;
  • the aspects of Transmodel that they have chosen NOT to adopt.

Transmodel may be applied to any framework for information systems within the public transport industry, but there are three circumstances to which it is particularly suited:

  • specification of an organisation’s ‘information architecture’;
  • specification of a database;
  • specification of a data exchange interface.

The Reference Data Model (Transmodel v6) covers the following data domains:

  • Network Description: routes, lines, journey patterns, timing patterns, service patterns, scheduled stop points and stop places: this part corresponds to the network description as in Transmodel V5.1 extended by the relevant parts of IFOPT (EN28701);
  • Timing Information and Vehicle Scheduling: runtimes, vehicle journeys, day type-related vehicle schedules;
  • Passenger Information: planned and real-time;
  • Operations Monitoring and Control: operating day-related data, vehicle follow-up, control actions;
  • Fare Management: fare structure and access rights definition, sales, validation, control of access rights and/or travel documents;
  • Management Information and Statistics including data dedicated to service performance indicators;
  • Driver Management:
    • Driver Scheduling: definition of day-type related driver schedules,
    • Rostering: ordering of driver duties into sequences according to some chosen methods,
    • Driving Personnel Disposition: assignment of logical drivers to physical drivers and recording of driver performance.
NeTEx is an implementation of Transmodel. More explanations concerning model semantics is here.

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Common Concepts

Concepts shared by the different functional domains covered by the model

Timing Information and Vehicle Scheduling

Runtimes, vehicle journeys and day type-related vehicle schedules

Fare Management

Fare structure definition, sales, validation and control of access rights

Driver Management

Definition of day-type schedules, order of driver duties and recording of driver performance

Public Transport Network

Routes, lines, patterns and scheduled stop points and places

Operations Monitoring and Control

Operating day-related data, vehicle follow-up and control actions

Passenger information

Relevant information on the planned and real-time service

Management Information and Statistics

Additional descriptions in the sub-models, including data dedicated to service performance indicators

  • Transmodel version EN 12896: 2006 (Transmodel V5.1) has been approved as the European Standard. It has been developed by a European team within which various levels of end users were represented.
  • Transmodel has been presented at many conferences and discussed within seminars open to transport and information modelling experts for years. It has received, and still receives feedback from a wide audience to incorporate a variety of new points of view.
  • NeTEx and SIRI have extracted parts of Transmodel and extended them. These parts concern mainly the domain of Network Topology, Timing Information (timetables), Vehicle Scheduling, Operations Monitoring and Control.

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