The OpenRail Association provides a neutral space for collaborative development of Open Source software in the railway sector.
It is incorporated as a non-profit organisation according to Belgian law as AISBL.
And by the way, our members will participate in the #Hack4Rail Hackathon next week, this time in Berne, Switzerland. We are happy to provide #OpenSource infrastructure for all 200 participants:
โ
#Nextcloud for hosting data, results and presentations
โ
#Matrix / #Element for instant messaging
โ
User management via #Authentik
We will be on-site to also support with open-sourcing the challenge results.
๐ Read the full report with a detailed presentation of the diverse projects, our members and the directors
๐ https://openrailassociation.org/documents/OpenRail-Association-Annual-Report-2024.pdf
๐ The first year of real Open Source collaboration in the railway sector - let's look back!
OK, actually it's been more than a year already, but we've finished our first actual report which was exciting for us. We had high hopes when we started #OpenRail, but onboarding 5 projects and enlarging the membership to 8 organisations from 2 continents has been nothing but a blast ๐ฅ
The hardest part is yet to come: establishing collaboration by #OpenSource as the default in the #railway industry ๐ช
"Putting the Railway Industry on the Open Source Track" - this is what Cornelius Schumacher is talking right now about at #FOSSbackstage.
He explains why #OpenRail Association has been founded, shares experiences of the first year in operation with the crowd, and presents our projects and opportunities for collaboration.
https://25.foss-backstage.de/session/putting-the-railway-industry-on-the-open-source-track/
@openrail @fosdem
Watch the Railways and Open Transport track at #FOSDEM live here ๐๐ผ https://live.fosdem.org/watch/k4601
For an overview of the talks happening in this devroom today, see here ๐๐ผ https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/track/railways/
Last call for submissions for the #railway and open #transportation devroom at #FOSDEM ๐ข
We are looking forward to interesting proposals and a great lineup. You will find all required info here: https://github.com/OpenRailAssociation/FOSDEM/blob/main/2025-cfp.md
See you in Brussels!
๐ค ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ!
Once again, we will organise a half-day track at Europe's largest #OpenSource conference #FOSDEM. We welcome you to give a talk about anything open* in the wide space of #railway and #transportation.
๐
Deadline for submissions: 1 December 2024
โน๏ธ All information and links for submissions: https://github.com/OpenRailAssociation/FOSDEM/blob/main/2025-cfp.md
We are looking forward to interesting proposals and meeting you in Brussels next year!
@maren It is awesome that many projects directly started as #OpenSource. This makes further development and learning from these innovative approaches much easier.
I'm very excited to be part of the #DreiLรคnderHack, a hackathon that brings together European railway companies for working on shared solutions that improve the European railway system and experience. Involved are the Austrian รBB, the Swiss SBB, the French SNCF, and the German DB. I'm also very happy to see that @openrail is involved, an initiative for #opensource software in the railway sector. ๐คฉ
@apeignier We will definitely submit an application for the devroom. Whether it will be accepted is up to the @fosdem organisation team who has the challenge of choosing from dozens of proposals. Let's hope for the best :)
The Open Source movement within the railway sector grows ๐
Three organisations joined the OpenRail Association: Infrabel from Belgium, Entur from Norway, and Flatland Association from Switzerland. They will contribute to the #OpenSource ecosystem and culture of collaboration we are creating together for the whole #railway and #transportation sector.
Curious about the details? Find the member organisations at #InnoTrans and check out the news: https://openrailassociation.org/news/2024/three-new-members-have-joined-openrail-association/
@geeeero Oh indeed, thanks for the report. Just pushed the fix.
@gerry There hasn't been a submission covering Ada. Also, for the devroom we're quite indifferent of the used programming languages.
Whoever thinks that #OpenSource doesn't play a vital role in railways and transportation, has been proven wrong at FOSDEM.
For the second time, team members of the OpenRail Association have coordinated the Railways and Open Transport devroom at #FOSDEM. 4 hours, 10 talks, constantly 100+ participants ๐
โก Have a look at the program and the recordings which we have listed in our report: https://openrailassociation.org/news/2024/recordings-of-the-fosdem-railways-and-open-transport-devroom-available/
@RensBloom @mxmehl That was unfortunate and we will give this feedback to the organisers.
The cool #FOSDEM volunteers making sure to get at least some fresh air into the room. Thank you for the support!
"The #FLOSS ecosystem for public transport is growing, but it would be great to unify some approaches" - #Transportr developer calls for more collaboration and contributions by the wider community!
We're approaching the end of the #Railways and #OpenTransport devroom at #FOSDEM. Now in the stage is Mikolai from the #transportr app. Next up: Nils talking about heritage railways and a call to the software community.
Make sure to be there a few minutes earlier, the room is still fully crowded!
Great start into the day! The #Railways and #OpenTransport devroom was already full before the programme started. We kick off the devroom with a talk about the open standards and open data in the transportation sector.
The upcoming talks will have a closer look at passenger simulation and long- and short-term planning before we go into the daily operations from different perspectives, especially the community.
Are you going to attend #FOSDEM this weekend? Then make sure to visit the *Railways and Open Transport* devroom on Saturday morning!
Some #OpenRail community members organise the second edition of this track at Europe's largest #OpenSource conference. It's an honour to welcome many great speakers and we are looking forward to a fruitful exchange among the wider ecosystem.
Have a look at the full schedule: https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/track/railways-and-open-transport/
