IS:operationalPoint

Introduction

		<operationalPoints> are needed to organise railway operations. An <operationalPoint> is a grouping of <infrastructure> elements sharing traffic or operational (<interlocking>) functions. They may sometimes fit to what is commonly known as a station, other types are block, stoppingPoint etc. An <operationalPoint> typically owns one or more <signalBoxes> and/or <platforms>.
station in Wrocław, Poland	stoppingPoint on Berlin_outer_ring (), Germany

An <operationalPoint> also is a time measurement point, i.e. a reference point from the <timetable> to the <infrastructure>. <operationalPoint> may also be an access point for customers using railway system.

Documentation

Syntax

Autoexport from the XML-Schema for element IS:operationalPoint of railML® version 3.3      UML-visualization of IS
Documentation	The OperationalPoint defines a point in the railway network that is essential for railway operation. Typical examples for railway operational points are stations, block signals or stopping points. Operational points allow an interaction between the railway operator and the train driver.
Subschema	infrastructure
Parents*	operationalPoints
Children	areaLocation (0..*), connectedToLine (0..*), designator (0..*), elementState (0..*), gmlLocation (0..*), infrastructureManagerRef (0..*), isValid (0..*), limitedByBorder (0..*), linearLocation (0..*), name (0..*), networkLocation (0..*), opEquipment (0..1), opOperations (0..1), spotLocation (0..*), typeDesignator (0..*)
Attributes: basedOnTemplate: references a generic operational point (optional; xs:IDREF), belongsToParent: references the one and only parent operational point of this operational point - 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), timezone: the time zone of the operational point as defined in the time zone database, e.g. "Europe/Berlin"; Please refer to tz database (). Bitte, informieren Sie sich unter Zeitzonen-Datenbank ( 🇩🇪) (optional; xs:string), 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:operationalPoint of railML® version 3.2      UML-visualization of IS
Documentation	The OperationalPoint defines a point in the railway network that is essential for railway operation. Typical examples for railway operational points are stations, block signals or stopping points. Operational points allow an interaction between the railway operator and the train driver.
Subschema	infrastructure
Parents*	operationalPoints
Children	areaLocation (0..*), connectedToLine (0..*), designator (0..*), external (0..*), gmlLocations (0..*), infrastructureManagerRef (0..*), isValid (0..*), limitedByBorder (0..*), linearLocation (0..*), name (0..*), networkLocation (0..*), opEquipment (0..1), opOperations (0..1), spotLocation (0..*), typeDesignator (0..*)
Attributes: basedOnTemplate: references a generic operational point (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}}), belongsToParent: references the one and only parent operational point of this operational point - 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}}), timezone: the timezone of the operational point as defined in the tz database, e.g. "Europe/Berlin"; Please refer to tz database (). Bitte, informieren Sie sich unter Zeitzonen-Datenbank ( 🇩🇪) (optional; xs:string), 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:operationalPoint of railML® version 3.1      UML-visualization of IS
Documentation	The OperationalPoint defines a point in the railway network that is essential for railway operation. Typical examples for railway operational points are stations, block signals or stopping points. Operational points allow an interaction between the railway operator and the train driver.
Subschema	infrastructure
Parents*	operationalPoints
Children	any (0..*), areaLocation (0..*), connectedToLine (0..*), designator (0..*), external (0..*), gmlLocations (0..*), infrastructureManagerRef (0..*), isValid (0..*), limitedByBorder (0..*), linearLocation (0..*), name (0..*), networkLocation (0..*), opEquipment (0..1), opOperations (0..1), spotLocation (0..*)
Attributes: belongsToParent: references the one and only parent operational point of this operational point (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}}), basedOnTemplate: references a generic operational point (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}}), timezone: the timezone of the operational point as defined in the tz database, e.g. "Europe/Berlin"; Please refer to tz database (). Bitte, informieren Sie sich unter Zeitzonen-Datenbank ( 🇩🇪) (optional; xs:string), 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 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 children have been changed.

The attributes have been changed.

Best Practice / Examples

            <operationalPoint id="_7D41696E-2373-420D-9625-D0BC090C31DD">
               <name name="Bevern (Bremervoerde)" language="en"/>
               <spotLocation id="a2b5634a-d560-403e-88b0-957a8f433865"
                              netElementRef="b2c25c81-a49d-44ce-8d3e-409668b95278"
                              pos="4889.0">
                  <geometricCoordinate positioningSystemRef="xxx"
                                        x="11.111"
                                        y="22.222"
                                        z="33.333"/>
               </spotLocation>
               <designator register="RL100" entry="ABEV"/>
               <designator register="UOPID" entry="DE-ABEV"/>
            </operationalPoint>

Modeling borders of a station

If using <border>/@type=”station” and <operationalPoint>, then <operationalPoint>/<limitedByBorder> should be used for a clear explicit reference.

Additional Information

🗒️ This segment provides background information that is not relevant for the certification process.

Best practice was suggested 2025-03-07 by railML.org e.V. partner Jernbanedirektoratet (link to the railML^® website) on the workshop devoted to the development of railML Advanced example (link to the railML^® website). Approved by the coordinator (link to the railML^® website) of the Infrastructure subschema on 2025-03-21.