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Rail Facilities Portal under the umbrella of RNE’s Rail Infrastructure System

10 September 2024

     RNE Applications     RIS     Rail Facilities Portal under the umbrella of RNE’s Rail Infrastructure System

The integration of RFP into RIS marks a significant milestone in 2024 the digitalisation of rail operations.

These developments fulfil modern business needs of the sector and support Service Facilities Operators to meet their obligations under Directives (EU) 2012/34/EU and (EU) 2177/2017.

Since 5 August, the RNE Rail Facilities Portal (RFP) has been integrated into the RNE Railway Infrastructure System (RIS).

The first goal by RailNetEurope in cooperation with UIRR was to increase the quantity of the facilities. More than 19,400 Service Facilities are displayed, over 716,000 map interactions and more than 56,000 visitors are recorded.

RFP and RIS

The Rail Facilities Portal (RFP) is a common European web portal that provides quick access to information on all kinds of rail facilities, particularly rail freight facilities, for the planning of rail services. Users can gather all necessary information to optimise their transport and logistics chains.

On the other hand, the Railway Infrastructure System (RIS) is a consolidated digital platform that merges various existing railway infrastructure databases, aiming to provide a central source of digital railway infrastructure data.

With the recent integration of the RFP into RIS, the topology database became even more comprehensive, and the RFP has strengthened its value as compliance and business tool.

The updated Rail Facilities Portal layout under the RIS umbrella addresses current business needs of the sector and supports Service Facilities Operators in fulfilling their obligations under Directives (EU) 2012/34/EU and (EU) 2177/2017.

Recent Developments and Additional Functionalities

In collaboration with the International Union of Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) RNE has expanded the number of facilities listed in the RFP.

Currently, more than 19,400 Service Facilities (SF) are displayed, with over 716,000 map interactions and more than 56,000 visitors recorded.

In 2024, RNE focused on further improving integrated data quality. The integration of the RFP into RIS will lead to the following new functionalities:

  • Rail facilities are now incorporated into the European Railway Network.
  • Existing tools can now be used for routing.
  • The portal is available in multiple languages.
  • Register of Infrastructure (RINF) data is now accessible.
  • Additional import/export options, such as railML interface, are available.

In the future, additional functionalities could be proposed to improve the usage of RFP, once the data quality of data has improved and alignment with RINF is achieved.

Access to the Rail Facilities Portal (RFP)

The Rail Facilities Portal remains publicly accessible through this link: https:\\railfacilitiesportal.eu

Access the RFP here

RFP data is now managed alongside the rest of RNE infrastructure data within the Rail Information System (RIS).

Mandatory Fields

To enhance the quality and customer orientation of the Rail Facilities Portal, the RFP Governance Board has approved a stepwise approach to expanding the list of mandatory technical fields, also known as ‘minimum RFP datafields’.

Mandatory fields must be completed for Service Facilities (SFs) to be displayed on the RFP map, ensuring users relevant information.

New technical mandatory fields have been introduced:

  • Facility type, facility name, longitude, latitude, and
  • at least one basic service depending on the facility type, CRD Primary Location and/or RINF Operational Point, Operator Contact and/or Operator-E-Mail and/or Operator Website

Create your Organisation Code

Following the migration, all the registered users must provide an Organisation Code. This code will be assigned by the European Union Agency for Railways.

Request or modify your Organisation Code now

Connection between the RFP and the Train Information System (TIS)

To broaden the benefits of the newly enhanced RFP, a connection has been established with the RNE Train Information System (TIS).

With this connection, so far 8,000 active TIS users can click on locations with unique Service Facilities (SFs), be redirected to the RFP, and instantly access to data portal.

Closing Remarks of Gratitude

The close involvement of stakeholders is of paramount importance.

Therefore, we extend our sincere thanks all the stakeholders and RFP Governance Board members for their commitment and continued support in enhancing the Rail Facilities Portal.

The necessity for a common European web portal that provides quick access to information on all types of railway facilities, particularly rail freight facilities, for planning rail services, is clearly recognised.