OpenRailwayMap
 OpenRailwayMap section of northeastern US and southeastern Canada | |
Type of site | Collaborative mapping |
|---|---|
| Owner | Community-owned |
| Products | Geographic data |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Required for contributors, not required for viewing |
| Launched | 2013[1] |
| Current status | Active |
Content license | Various |
OpenRailwayMap (ORM) is an online collaborative mapping project developing a worldwide railway map using technology based on the OpenStreetMap project. The project is part of the OpenStreetMap database, and acts as a renderer for the existing OpenStreetMap database to include additional information for railroad lines worldwide.[2] The project was launched in 2013.[3]
History
The project was started in 2011.[4] The OpenRailwayMap website was launched in mid 2013.[3] The map originally supported both raster tiles and vector tiles, but support for the latter was dropped in 2017 due to poor performance.[5] A fork of OpenRailwayMap with a more modern vector tile implementation was announced in 2025.[6]
Contents
OpenRailwayMap contains data for railway line positions, as well as the following information about them: track type (i.e. bridge, tunnel, regular line); track line type and current use (i.e. main, branch, yard; construction, disused, abandoned); max rail speeds; train protection; track electrification and track voltage if applicable; and track gauge.[7]
Applications
Some of the uses for OpenRailwayMap are as follows: scientific models/simulations, data for model train enthusiasts, track information for trainspotters, and routing/public transport. [4][8]
As well as the project website there is also a mobile app available for Android devices.[9]
API
OpenRailwayMap has a public and free (albeit limited-use) API. It is designed for small-scale applications. Users can query for information such as rail locations and data related to the rail.[10][11]
Contributing
OpenRailwayMap allows anyone to contribute in many ways, such as:
- Creating data using photography or GPS trackers and sending it to experienced project editors
- Using the JOSM desktop editing tool to expand the database (Registration required with a verified email address, no registration required to view data)
- Contributing to the project's open source code
Internationalization
OpenRailwayMap is available to users in around 22 languages.[4]
References
- ^ "Whois openrailwaymap.org". www.whois.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ "Where to find railroad maps online". Trains. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ a b "Whois openrailwaymap.org". www.whois.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ a b c "OpenRailwayMap - OpenStreetMap Wiki". wiki.openstreetmap.org. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ Matheisen, Alexander (2 April 2017). "Removing vector tile support". openrailwaymap (Mailing list). Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ Wieringa, Hidde (6 March 2025). "OpenRailwayMap-vector announcement". openrailwaymap (Mailing list). Retrieved 7 April 2025.
- ^ Brebbia, C.A.; Mera, J.M.; Tomii, N.; Tzieropoulos, P., eds. (2016). Computers in Railways XV: Railway Engineering Design and Operation. Great Britain: WIT Press. pp. 119–120. eISSN 1743-3509. ISBN 978-1-78466-123-6.
- ^ Blumenschein, Mattias; Babilon, Katherina; Schmidt, Bernd D.; Pfaff, Raphael (2021). "Use cases in autonomous shunting" (PDF). RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY. Aachen, Germany. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Railmap for OpenRailwayMap - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ "OpenRailwayMap/API - OpenStreetMap Wiki". wiki.openstreetmap.org. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
- ^ Gaffuri, Julien (2018). "Generalising OpenRailwayMap to 1:10k and 1:50k" (PDF). TU Dresden. Luxembourg city, Luxembourg. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
External links
- Official website
- OpenRailwayMap documentation on the OpenStreetMap Wiki
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