Infrabel, the manager of the Belgian railway infrastructure, is responsible for the maintenance, renewal and development of the Belgian railway network.

The challenge

For efficient management, accurate data regarding the location and features of objects or installations, such as switches, lights or beacons, is vital. It ensures the smooth exchange of information and the efficient management of the auxiliary services.

In order to unify the data effectively, and ensure it is usable, various asset management systems must be linked to uniform CAD plans. This is the only way to create an intelligent database in which the information about the 'building blocks of the railway network' can remain unique, uniform and always up-to-date.

The solution

In order to tackle this enormous task, Infrabel is using the powerful ETL tool, FME. The fact that this software can easily read and write to various data formats is an invaluable feature.

After validation of the schematic inventory plans with FME, draughtsmen can modify any errors and create uniform plans. FME Server then automatically converts the unified data into multiple data formats. These serve as input for the various asset management systems.

The result

Thanks to the integration with FME software, Infrabel is improving not only data quality, but also simplifying its management and exchange.

"With this solution, we are achieving results far quicker", confirms Kurt Decock, project leader for Infrabel. "Changes to inventory plans automatically trigger a process on the FME Server that keeps the various output formats up-to-date. Changes in the railway network are immediately detected and communicated to the parties concerned and the asset management systems."