UIC, the worldwide railway organisation, within its policy of openness, transparency and promotion of rail sector activities, is pleased to announce that the MERITS (Multiple East-West Railways Integrated Timetable Storage) Integrated Timetable Data are now available to all kinds of users, including non-UIC members.
UIC has developed a relevant set of purchasable MERITS products. Access to MERITS Integrated Timetable Data to third parties was approved by the UIC members in April 2017 and is applicable as of 1 March 2019.
The commercialisation of MERITS represents a major evolution for the whole rail passenger sector. Opening MERITS Integrated Timetable Data will enable to:
- Respond to the stakeholder and customer expectations in terms of sharing information by showing that conditions are in place for realising quick time-to-market solutions
- Show the railway sector’s willingness to be an active member of the multimodal transport system
- Enable the railway sector to be a main actor of the digital revolution
- Deliver the best possible quality integrated rail timetable data at an attractive price and under certain usage conditions, ensuring that the railway services are properly and neutrally presented in non-railway journey planners and websites, in compliance with EU legislation
The MERITS Integrated Timetable Data consist of:
- Schedules of trains, a significant number of (inter) regional and long-distance buses or trams and some ship services, including service brands (e.g. Eurostar), generic service mode (e.g. high-speed train, intercity, bus, ship etc.), and service attributes (first and second class, advised/mandatory reservation, restaurant car etc.). It contains about 600,000 services. Some RUs deliver the departure and arrival platform numbers with their timetable data.
- Location database, containing about 67,680 railway stations and stops, including geo-coordinates and UIC location codes
- MCTs (Minimum Connection Time) per location in minutes. Also: pedestrian links and connections between locations
- Timetable Data are mainly provided by railway undertakings from large Europe (including Russia and Turkey)
UIC Director General Jean-Pierre Loubinoux said: “In our new big data world, collection and connectivity of data are key factors to improve productivity of our processes and services for our customers.
This is particularly important for interurban international passenger trains.
This opening of the MERITS database is undoubtedly an improvement for our collective customers and in turn for our ticketing and sales.
UIC is happy to have been the driving coordinator for our members in this collaborative achievement”.
For Railway Data Providers:
MERITS Integrated Timetable Data enable a maximum exposure of European railway products in journey planners of rail ticket issuers, including railways, OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) and GDSs (Global Distribution Systems). As modern rail distribution systems are itinerary-driven, providing data to MERITS will enhance the opportunity to sell tickets.
Railway undertakings wishing to provide their timetable data are kindly invited to contact UIC (merits@uic.org).
For Data Users:
MERITS products are commercially attractive. They offer a rapid access to all timetable and location data. They operate with one single source of data, thereby doing away with large volumes of multilateral data exchanges.
Please note that companies who are interested in using MERITS Integrated Timetable or Locations Data are able to purchase a user licence and accept the General Terms and Conditions that are available on the UIC ETF web-shop (https://www.shop-etf.com/en/merits).
Please visit the dedicated MERITS web page: https://uic.org/merits-database for more information.