CU1805

SOFTWARE focus
OpenRail
Bentley's Rail and Transit
Infrastructure Lifecycle
Solution provides a
comprehensive, concept to
completion and operation
solution for the rail industry
I'm sitting here writing about Bentley's
OpenRail on a warm summer
afternoon and I can hear a steam
engine whistling and chugging as it
winds through the valley. Absolute bliss,
but also ample evidence that rail
systems have a life that extends beyond
that of their planners, builders and
operators, and that we finally have the
means to manage and maintain its
efficiency throughout its entire lifecycle -
however long that may be.
When you think about it that's pretty
amazing, as rail and transit infrastructure
comprises a wide range of technologies,
from the design of the track, tunnels,
bridges, cuttings and associated assets,
such as stations, signalling, power
(electrification) through to its operation
and maintenance. It combines many
different digital components, contexts
and workflows that require enhanced
collaboration and coordination, whilst
adhering to exacting standards and
regulations that govern the many
disciplines involved.
We have a steam engine workshop in
the next village which has enthusiasts
poring over 100 year-old drawings, or
knocking up replacement parts from
worn out components - a whole world
away from the demands placed on
today's designers and operators, who
need to share information between
different technologies and evolving
computer hardware and software
solutions, and to ensure that asset
maintenance information is available far
into the future.
The most effective emerging solutions
are those that are capable of
encompassing all aspects of rail and
transit infrastructure within a single
platform, and with a connected data
environment like the one that Bentley
currently uses - Microsoft's Azure Cloud.
BIM AND THE CDE
Like the OpenRoads solution released in
2016, Bentley Systems' OpenRail
provides a concept to completion
solution for road systems. The backbone
to Bentley's OpenRail solution is BIM,
with its CDE (Connected Data
Environment) that facilitates the sharing
of information that allows teams to
organise and manage projects and
asset workflows, and to adhere to
industry standards such as PAS 1192.
OpenRail provides information mobility
throughout organisations using data
from multiple sources and in different
formats, and even from third-party
software. Information is available to be
shared between multi-discipline design
teams, during construction phases, and
up to and after project delivery.
Information collated throughout all
cycles is available to owner-operators to
facilitate maintenance decisions through
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May/June 2018