The project aims are better land resource administration, and improving the interaction between static and mobile objects.
There is a great number of large and small objects in the countrywide infrastructure of a typical railway company. A lot of geographic challenges need to be addressed, for example industrial surveys and inspection, 3D modelling and land management tracking. But the major task is to enable to generate and export CAD objects to the enterprise GIS in real time, to obtain information on the railway objects according to the required level of specification, and to reduce additional costs.
The export of CAD objects is complicated when it comes to getting information on the technological processes the object involved in, and their interaction with the habitat.
The national railway operator for whom this system was developed wanted to find a way to manage the infrastructure (with the help of CAD tools), to have real time integration, and have the necessary tools to update information. The company needed a unified system that would allow the creation of a tracking server for various interactions and information analysis. Finally, they wanted to better manage the working process via an object management system.
We created a kind of spatial intelligence, i.e. a geographic database. We have taught objects to “see”, interact and mutually influence one another, during technological processes.
Solution
The most obvious solution in this case was the creation of an infrastructure management system and the development of relevant GIS applications. One of them is named the Railway GIS Atlas. The functionality of this solution allows users to import/export Spatial, Geographical data, and other GIS information with CAD. The key feature of the Railway GIS Atlas is that is being continuously improved. It can be integrated into any Enterprise Resource Planning system that uses geodata in its technological processes.
The Railway GIS Atlas also allows the possibility of chance creating a geographic model of underground utilities, route curves, branches, and other infrastructure units. If this system is used together with GPS tools it is possible to correct critical defects during the excavation process and shorten working hours.
Technological web apps provide users with geodata, adequate and productivity-focused tools.
The Tracking Server coordinates teams and rolling stock, determines their location in relation to infrastructure objects, and transfers this information to other systems.
It can be deployed in the Emergency Management App based on the Railway GIS Atlas. Geospatial data can enhance evacuation planning, route detouring, achieve the overall success and safety, and facilitate emergency response efforts.
Results
Now the Railway GIS Atlas is used at the Railway Company as a basis for different applied enterprise systems. The company has significantly accelerated its business processes and reduced costs. It has received interactive topographic plans that have become the main source of understanding and defining spatial data.
The project was developed using open source software: GeoServer, PostgreSQL, and PostGis.