A UK based tech start-up, DataWharf, has become the first company to publish on the Rail Data Marketplace under a commercial subscription licence model.
The company currently offers six products, with additional products to be introduced at a later date. Unique early releases include:
- Comprehensive datasets for all GB National Rail station assets, including passenger facilities, staffing, bike and car parking, usage statistics, and more.
- Operating company details for all GB National Rail passenger operators, including branding, logos and contact details.
- Train service look up tool that cross-references the major unique identities for each passenger train services (ie. UID, headcode, RSID etc.).
DataWharf Chief Product Officer, Liam Henderson, said: “We recognise the complexity of the railway system and wanted to consolidate the inconsistent and sometimes missing information, into simple data feeds that can be used by transport and mobility providers to improve travel experience for the railway customers.”
Highlighting an application, he added, “The GB Rail Stations: Full Details dataset allows third-party retailers and journey planners to curate routes based on traveller preferences and accessibility requirements. For instance, is a customer cycling to the station and seeking facilities to freshen up before boarding? Or are they keen on understanding their onward journey to a cross-channel ferry?”
Clare Morrissey, Commercial Lead, Rail Data Marketplace, said: “we’re excited to partner with DataWharf to deliver new information that can improve the quality of the rail experience.”
Under the Plan for Rail White Paper, and the DfT Transport Data Strategy, the Government has committed to “open by default” data sharing, to better inform journeys, unlock new technology, drive efficiencies and enable low-cost solutions for improvements at a time of financial constraint. The Department for Transport has provided £5m of matched funding to build a new platform for open data – the Rail Data Marketplace to share industry data with innovators and enable new products and services for rail users.
Currently in its Public Beta phase, the Rail Data Marketplace platform supports a variety of data formats, including Application Programme Interfaces (APIs) and flat files. Publishers are given the flexibility to choose their preferred data sharing method, be it via an open feed or a commercial subscription licensing model.
For more information, visit https://raildata.org.uk/ https://www.datawharf.io/
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