Poster presentation at RailDresden2025 ­- Validation and verification of engineering data sets in command-control and safety systems of railways

At RailDresden2025, our colleague, Dipl.-Ing. Susanne Wunsch, presented the framework for a systematic mapping study in the field of validation and verification of engineering data sets for trackside command-control and safety systems (CCS) in her poster presentation. CCS forms the backbone of reliable railway operations and faces major challenges in view of the pressure to modernize interlockings and train control systems. The approaches presented aim to make quality assurance more efficient through digital transformation.

An interoperable approach based on DB InfraGO's PlanPro XML format and the plausibility and admissibility check (PlaZ) is to be developed based on the findings of the study. This methodology takes into account different data formats and national specifics and addresses challenges such as performance with large data sets and the requirements for programming skills. The central question is: "Which methods best support sustainable validation and verification of engineering datasets in the domain of CCS?"

In the systematic mapping study, various methods for knowledge and rule representation will be analyzed, including formal methods, business process modeling (BPM), ontologies and controlled natural language (CNL). Criteria such as maintainability, scalability and performance are to be examined. Validation processes from other initiatives such as EULYNX-DataPrep, IFC-Road (BIM) and AIXM (aviation) will also included be included in the analysis.

The poster presentation was met with great interest and stimulated intensive discussions among the participants. The methods and criteria identified offer promising approaches that are to be examined in detail and tested in practice in further studies. The research thus makes an important contribution to the further development of digital transformation in control and safety technology.