IS:electrificationSection

Introduction

<electrificationSection> is a localization of <electrificationSystem> on the railway network. Base parameters of electrification system are given at <electrificationSystem>. In depot of Dresden Hauptbahnof track 38 Gbf is partially electrified (Figure 1) which can be modelled with <electrificationSection>.

The percentage of electrification of <lines> varies between countries of Europa (Figure 2). Likewise, the <electrificationSystem>s of <lines> varies between countries^[1].

On the Figure 3 there is a real world example of overhead lines.


Figure 1 - Dresden Hauptbahnhof depot	Figure 2 - Electrification systems in Europa	Figure 3 - `overhead` lines in Latvia

Documentation

Syntax

Autoexport from the XML-Schema for element IS:electrificationSection of railML^® version 3.3 UML-visualization of IS
Description	locates part of a track where a given system of electric power for the propulsion of railway transport is applied
Subschema	infrastructure
Parents^*	electrifications
Children	areaLocation (0..), designator* (0..), electrificationSystemRef* (0..1), elementState (0..), energyCatenary* (0..1), energyPantograph (0..1), energyRollingstock (0..1), etcsElectrification (0..1), gmlLocation (0..), hasContactWire* (0..1), isValid (0..), linearLocation* (0..), name* (0..), networkLocation* (0..), pantographSpacing* (0..), phaseSeparationSection* (0..), spotLocation* (0..), systemSeparationSection* (0..), typeDesignator* (0..*)
Attributes: belongsToParent: reference to the (one and only) parent electrification section - if some information exists in parent and child, then information in child overwrites it in child - if some information exists only in parent, then child inherits this information from parent (optional; `xs:IDREF`), isInsulatedSection: set true if the described electrification section is an insulated section (optional; `xs:boolean`), id: the identifier of the object; this can be either of type xs:ID or UUID (obligatory; `xs:ID`); compare: Dev:Identities
^*Notice: Elements may have different parent elements. As a consequence they may be used in different contexts. Please, consider this as well as a user of this Wiki as when developing this documentation further. Aspects that are only relevant with respect to one of several parents should be explained exclusively in the documentation of the respective parent element.

Autoexport from the XML-Schema for element IS:electrificationSection of railML^® version 3.2 UML-visualization of IS
Description	locates part of a track where given system of electric power for the propulsion of railway transport is applied
Subschema	infrastructure
Parents^*	electrifications
Children	areaLocation (0..), designator* (0..), electrificationSystemRef* (0..1), energyCatenary (0..1), energyPantograph (0..1), energyRollingstock (0..1), etcsElectrification (0..1), external (0..), gmlLocations* (0..), hasContactWire* (0..1), isValid (0..), linearLocation* (0..), name* (0..), networkLocation* (0..), pantographSpacing* (0..), phaseSeparationSection* (0..), spotLocation* (0..), systemSeparationSection* (0..), typeDesignator* (0..*)
Attributes: belongsToParent: reference to the (one and only) parent electrification section - if some information exists in parent and child, then information in child overwrites it in child - if some information exists only in parent, then child inherits this information from parent (optional; `xs:string`; patterns: (urn:uuid:)?[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}\|{[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}}), contactLineType: type of the installed contact line (most common: overhead) (obligatory; `xs:string`) Possible values: 3rdRailBottom: Contact shoes are positioned below the third rail [Wikipedia], e.g. Berlin 3rdRailSide: Contact shoes can be positioned beside the third rail [Wikipedia], e.g. Hamburg 3rdRailTop: Contact shoes can be positioned above the third rail [Wikipedia], e.g. London none: not electrified overhead: catenary sideRail: definition is not clear. Please do not use., isInsulatedSection: set true if the described electrification section is an insulated section (optional; `xs:boolean`), id: the identifier of the object; this can be either of type xs:ID or UUID (obligatory; `xs:string`; patterns: (urn:uuid:)?[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}\|{[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}}); compare: Dev:Identities
^*Notice: Elements may have different parent elements. As a consequence they may be used in different contexts. Please, consider this as well as a user of this Wiki as when developing this documentation further. Aspects that are only relevant with respect to one of several parents should be explained exclusively in the documentation of the respective parent element.

Autoexport from the XML-Schema for element IS:electrificationSection of railML^® version 3.1 UML-visualization of IS
Description	This element is not documented in the schema!
Subschema	infrastructure
Parents^*	electrifications
Children	any (0..), areaLocation* (0..), designator* (0..), electrificationSystemRef* (0..1), energyCatenary (0..1), energyPantograph (0..1), energyRollingstock (0..1), external (0..), gmlLocations* (0..), hasContactWire* (0..1), isValid (0..), linearLocation* (0..), name* (0..), networkLocation* (0..), pantographSpacing* (0..), phaseSeparationSection* (0..), spotLocation* (0..), systemSeparationSection* (0..*)
Attributes: contactLineType: type of the installed contact line (most common: overhead) (obligatory; `xs:string`) Possible values: 3rdRailTop 3rdRailSide 3rdRailBottom sideRail overhead none, isInsulatedSection: set true if the described electrification section is an insulated section (optional; `xs:boolean`), belongsToParent: reference to the (one and only) parent electrification section (optional; `xs:IDREF`; patterns: (urn:uuid:)?[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}\|{[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}}), id: the identifier of the object; this can be either of type xs:ID or UUID (obligatory; `xs:ID`; patterns: (urn:uuid:)?[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}\|{[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}}); compare: Dev:Identities
^*Notice: Elements may have different parent elements. As a consequence they may be used in different contexts. Please, consider this as well as a user of this Wiki as when developing this documentation further. Aspects that are only relevant with respect to one of several parents should be explained exclusively in the documentation of the respective parent element.

Changes 3.1→3.2

There exists an overview of all changes between railML^® 3.1 and railML^® 3.2 on page Dev:Changes/3.2.

The element documentation has been changed.

The children have been changed.

The attributes have been changed.

Changes 3.2→3.3

There exists an overview of all changes between railML^® 3.2 and railML^® 3.3 on page Dev:Changes/3.3.

The element documentation has been changed.

The children have been changed.

The attributes have been changed.

Semantics

Best Practice / Examples

2025-09-12 railML electrificationSection.png

railML.org Advanced example (link to the railML^® website)

On the figure <electrificationSection> with @voltage = "25000" V and @frequency = "50" Hz is highlighted on the <functionalInfrastructure> and <topology> levels. Below the example XML data is given for the same <electrificationSection>.

<electrificationSystem id="ass" voltage="25000" frequency="50" />
...
<electrificationSection id="es01" contactLineType="overhead">
  <areaLocation id="al01">
    <associatedNetElement netElementRef="a11" intrinsicCoordBegin="0" intrinsicCoordEnd="1" keepsOrientation="true"/>
    <associatedNetElement netElementRef="x11" intrinsicCoordBegin="0" intrinsicCoordEnd="1" keepsOrientation="true"/>
    <associatedNetElement netElementRef="c11" intrinsicCoordBegin="0" intrinsicCoordEnd="1" keepsOrientation="true"/>
    <associatedNetElement netElementRef="x12" intrinsicCoordBegin="0" intrinsicCoordEnd="1" keepsOrientation="true"/>
    <associatedNetElement netElementRef="d11" intrinsicCoordBegin="0" intrinsicCoordEnd="1" keepsOrientation="true"/>
    <associatedNetElement netElementRef="x13" keepsOrientation="true">
      <linearCoordinateBegin positioningSystemRef="lps1" measure="7850"/>
      <linearCoordinateEnd positioningSystemRef="lps1" measure="12915"/>
    </associatedNetElement>
  </areaLocation>
  <electrificationSystemRef ref="ess01"/>
</electrificationSection>

Additional Information

Below further real world examples of one type of electrifications, overhead, are given.

overhead lines
overhead lines

Notes

Example was reviewed by the coordinator (link to the railML^® website) of the Infrastructure subschema on 2025-09-05

Open Issues

References

↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Europe#Electrification_system

[1] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Europe#Electrification_system

[1]

IS:electrificationSection

Contents

Introduction