UIC has awarded Hit Rail B.V., the European rail industry’s IT specialist, a contract for the provision of its Real Time Mobility Data Exchange service (RTMDE). The new service will vastly improve the ability of railway companies to provide high-quality integrated real-time passenger information for all European trains. European train travellers will benefit by having accurate information at all times, for an improved travel experience. The contract is awarded to Hit Rail for a period of up to five years.
Important pillar for implementation CER Ticketing Roadmap
UIC RTMDE will become a one-stop-shop providing real-time status active passenger train services, and any possible disruptions occurring during the journey. In doing so, UIC RTMDE provides a path for railways to meet their commitments and obligations, with respect to travel information, arising from the CER Ticketing Roadmap and the EU’s Passenger Rights Regulation PRR.
François Davenne, UIC Director General, said: "After an open call for tenders with a deep analysis of the proposal shared with our members, we are happy that HitRail was chosen to work together on this breakthrough innovation that will give a full door-to-door experience. This also proves UIC’s capacity to deliver common suitable solutions for better railway services to customers."
Antonio López, General Manager of Hit Rail, said: “Hit Rail is very proud to have been selected for the implementation of the UIC RTMDE service. This contract will further strengthen the fruitful collaboration between UIC and Hit Rail in the passenger domain. The RTMDE service, along with the DRTF and eTCD services, also supported by Hit Rail, form three important pillars for the implementation of the CER Ticketing Roadmap."
Real Time Mobility Data Exchange service (RTMDE)
Using RTMDE, any railway or ticket selling organisation will have access to real-time information regarding all active train services. This will enable organisations to efficiently provide that information to their own travelling customers via their own IT services and travel apps. Travellers will benefit by having accurate information at all times, for an improved travel experience.
UIC RTMDE implements IRS 90918-11, UIC’s open standard to exchange Real Time data between Data Providers and Data Consumers. The RTMDE service is provided by Hit Rail in a Software as a Service (SaaS) mode and leverages cloud technologies that have already been used for eTCD and DRTF, which provide the high level of availability, reliability and scalability required by UIC for RTMDE.
The architecture supporting the service leverages powerful cloud technologies. The technical components of the solution are deployed in a fully virtualised, leading edge, enterprise-grade cloud environment, for a high degree of flexibility in response to varying loads and future changes. RTMDE provides a common and central service to allow all stakeholders to participate in Real Time data exchange with more efficiency and reliability, and at lower costs, than multiple bilateral exchanges.
About Hit Rail
Hit Rail B.V. is a private Dutch company created in 1990, based in Utrecht and owned by European railway companies. Its purpose is to help European railway companies to carry out international projects in the related fields of data communications and information technology of which RTMDE is now one .
Hit Rail provides advanced IT services adopting common and open standards to the growing and rapidly changing European Railways community. It also connects more than 50 railway companies from 25 countries through its secure IP-based Hermes virtual private network (VPN). For more information, see http://www.hitrail.com/
