MOBILE DATA
Mapping the future
In a boost for efficiency, Ordnance Survey has made crucial data available to the rail industry, reports Richard Mackillican
T
he old saying that ‘knowledge is power’ is especially true when working in and around the railway infrastructure in Britain. Whether it is as an engineer who needs to know exactly where they are in relation to a problem on the line or emergency services attending an accident, having the correct data is crucial to execute your role effectively.
To this end, Ordnance Survey has made available to the rail industry a number of different datasets, which have the potential to allow for more effective and efficient working.
“Most people have heard of us with regards to the walking maps we produce, but that only accounts for about six per cent of our business now and so is a very small part of what we do,” says Chris Pearson, account manager for central government at Ordnance Survey.
“Our large-scale data, which is extremely detailed, is a suite of data sets called OS MasterMap. The rail industry tends to concentrate on our OS MasterMap Imagery Layer and OS MasterMap Topography Layer.
“An example of this is how engineers use the imagery data to investigate where vegetation and trees are overgrowing on the line so engineers can observe rates of growth and where they need to trim vegetation back. This obviously helps to keep the dreaded leaves off the line.”
The topographical data used by
add information, such as when that asset was last inspected or any other information which could be useful to others using the data. Engineers can also share that information with other people, such as train operating companies or perhaps regulatory authorities, which means they are all ‘reading off the same page’, so to speak.”
“This has implications in terms of safety because if there is an incident somewhere along the network, then by referring to the Ordnance Survey reference number, everyone knows what they’re talking about. Obviously, there are a lot of features along the rail network and therefore a lot of potential for confusion.
“The use of our data can go some way in dealing with that issue and so everyone knows what they are talking about.
“Again, in the case of a major incident, our data can also tell engineers and emergency crews exactly how steep a particular area is, along with a number of other physical characteristics. This can have an effect on a variety of things such as the type of equipment which needs to be used at the scene.
the rail industry has a number of features which help to ensure accuracy, along with adding functionality to the data being provided.
“Every single one of the approximately 29 million features we have recorded on the ground is given a unique sixteen digit code to act as an identifier. This function is known as the TOID, or topographical ID, a digital identifier Ordnance
36 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 11
Survey attaches to every piece of data in OS MasterMap. Any agency, government or commercial, which licenses OS MasterMap can use these TOIDS for their own purposes, as the rail industry does.
“Rail engineers can annotate the data when they use it, to have their own markers on these identifiers, for example marking out exactly where a particular gantry is located. They can also
“If the incident has happened in a rural area, crews can also use our data to determine how far they can use the road network to get specialist equipment to the scene and the types of ground they will have to cover once travelling off-road.
“Our data is also used for asset management, because if engineers need to replace a piece of track, they need to notify everyone which particular section of track will be closed and this can be communicated using the reference points mentioned earlier.”
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