BPLAN data structure

About

The Public Interface Format (PIF) file is a tab-separated, variable record length ASCII file containing the following sets of data:

• Reference codes as used in CIF schedule files
• Timing Loads used in train planning
• Location codes (TIPLOCs), their type (TRUST, Mandatory or Optional) and, for many records, the geographical location in Eastings/Northings
• Platform data, including platform number, length, power supply type
• Network Links between TIPLOCs, including distances
• Timing Links between TIPLOCs, including traction type, entry and exit speeds

See BPLAN Geography for the download link for this data, which is updated frequently.

Format

The format of the file is straightforward:

• The first field on a record is a 3-character field identifying the record type
• The second field is the Action Code, which will always be 'A' - Add. The action codes 'C' and 'D' should not be seen in PIF files from the Data Feeds platform, as they are extracted as reference data, and not updates to the existing data
• The subsequent fields are tab-separated and variable-length
• Records are terminated by CRLF characters (ASCII carriage return and newline characters, DOS-style line terminators)
• The character encoding is, or may contain characters from Windows-1252.
• A single trailer record reports the number of records of each type in the file, and indicates the end of the file

Within each record, the 'type' column indicates whether the field is part of a record key, mandatory or optional:

• P: Primary key - a field, or set of fields, that uniquely identify an entity instance
• A: Alternate key - an alternate set of fields that also uniquely identify an entity
• M: Mandatory field
• O: Optional field

Data will be provided for P, A and M fields, but not necessarily for O fields. However, the field will still be present and will be empty, i.e. the file will have two TAB characters.

Field formats

The following field formats are used:

• Date: DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM:SS
• Time: HH:MM:SS
• Duration: MM'SS
• SRT: MMM'SS

All measurements are in metric units. Times use the 24 hour clock, with midnight as 00:00:00.

A single final trailer record defines the number of records of each type in the file.

Control (PIF) record

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record type	Text	3	'PIF'
M	File version	Text	3	Interface specification version
M	Source system	Text	30	Database from which the file was extracted
M	TOC ID	Text	2	TOC identifier
M	Timetable start date	Date		Start date of the timetable period to which this data applies
M	Timetable end date	Date		End date of the timetable period to which this data applies
M	Cycle type	Text	1	I - Iterative, or S - Supplemental
M	Cycle stage	Text	1	0 - Base data from Network Rail
M	File creation date	Date
M	File sequence number	Number	4	Unused

Reference (REF) records

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record type	Text	3	REF
M	Action code	Text	1	A
P	Reference code type	Text	3	See below
P	Reference code	Text	3	Up to 3 characters long - may be blank
M	Description	Text	64	Free-format text

The reference code types are themselves defined in the REF record section under the REF code type. For convenience, they are extracted from there as follows:

Code type	ID
Accommodation	ACC
Activities at a location	ACT
Bank Holidays Excepted codes	BHX
Service brands	BRA
Business sector	BUS
Catering codes	CAT
Operating characteristics codes	OPC
Power supply type	PWR
Reservation codes	RES
Service codes	SER
Sleeper codes	SLE
Train class	TCL
Train category	TCT
Train Operator codes	TOC
Train status	TRS
Train publication status	TST
Reference code types	REF
Network Rail zones	ZNE

Timing Loads (TLD)

There are several point-to-point timings (Timing links) across a Network Link. When timing a train across a network link, the timing link to use depends on the train formation, as well as its entry and exit speeds.

Point-to-point timings are not needed for every train formation, as many have effectively the same timings. Timings across a network link are defined for a variety of timing loads, each applicable to a number of train formations. The timing load to use for a train may depend on its class/subclass, planned load, planned maximum speed and RA number.

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record Type	Text	3	TLD
M	Action Code	Text	1	A
P	Traction type	Code	6	Type of traction, e.g. 321, 153, 2x86, EMU
P	Trailing Load	Code	5	Tonnes (up to 4 digits) plus an empty/loaded character for freight. Blank for trains with a standard trailing load
P	Speed	Code	3	Maximum permitted speed for the timing load
P	RA/Gauge	Code	3	First digit is the RA number, then two characters for gauge - may be blank
M	Description	Text	64	Free-format text
M	ITPS Power Type	Text	3	The power type as shown in ITPS
M	ITPS Load	Text	4	The load as shown in ITPS
M	Limiting Speed	Text	3	The limiting speed as shown in ITPS

Location (LOC) records

Some geography items may be dated, i.e. they may have a start or end date.

NOTE: The Easting and Northing values for locations are not guaranteed to be accurate

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record type	Text	3	LOC
M	Action Code	Text	1	A
P	Location Code	Text	7	TIPLOC
M	Location name	Text	32	Free text
M	Start date	Date
O	End date	Date
O	OS Easting	Number	6	Ordnance Survey reference
O	OS Northing	Number	6	Ordnance Survey reference
M	Timing point type	T/M/O		TRUST, Mandatory or Optional
M	Zone	Code		Zone responsible for maintaining the record
O	STANOX code	Number	5	Station Number code
M	Off-Network indicator	Y/N	1	Y if the location is off the Network Rail network, or N if it is on-network
O	Force LPB	L/P/B/space	1	L if the running line code should appear in the timetable when approaching the location, P if the path should appear in the timetable when leaving the location, B for both, or space for neither

Platforms and Sidings (PLT) records

NOTE: The Platform/Siding Length values for locations are not guaranteed to be accurate

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record Type	Text	3	PLT
M	Action Code	Text	1	A
P	Location code	Text	7	TIPLOC
P	Platform ID	Text	3	UID for the platform at the location
M	Start date	Date
O	End date	Date
O	Platform/Siding length	Num	4	Maximum usable length in metres
M	Power supply type	Code		A valid power supply type code
O	DOO (Passenger)	Y/N		Driver-Only Operation allowed for passenger trains?
O	DOO (Non-Passenger)	Y/N		Driver-Only Operation allowed for non-passenger trains?

Network Link (NWK) records

NOTE: The distance values for are not guaranteed to be accurate

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record Type	Text	3	NWK
M	Action Code	Text	1	A
P	Origin location	Text	7	TIPLOC
P	Destination location	Text	7	TIPLOC
P	Running line code	Code	3	e.g. FL, SL to distinguish parallel running lines
O	Running line description	Text	20	A description for a non-standard running line code
M	Start date	Date
O	End date	Date
M	Initial direction	U/D		Up/Down direction indicator - used for timetables and junction reports rather than physical line descriptions
O	Final direction	U/D		May differ from the initial direction, e.g. where an up link merges in to a down link
O	Distance	Number	5	Distance in metres
O	DOO (Passenger)	Y/N		Driver-Only Operation allowed for passenger trains?
O	DOO (Non-Passenger)	Y/N		Driver-Only Operation allowed for non-passenger trains?
O	RETB	Y/N		Is Radio Electric Token Block in use at this location?
M	Zone	Code		Zone responsible for maintaining the record
M	Reversible line	B/R/N		B - Bi-directional, R - Reversible, or N - Neither
M	Power supply type	Code		A valid power supply type code
P	RA	Code	2	Route Availability number
O	Maximum train length	Num	4	Maximum length of train that can use this network link, in metres

Timing Link (TLK) records

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record Type	Text	3	TLK
M	Action Code	Text	1	A
P	Origin location	Text	7	TIPLOC
P	Destination location	Text	7	TIPLOC
P	Running line code	Code	3	e.g. FL, SL to distinguish parallel running lines
P	Traction type	Code	6	Type of traction, e.g. 321, 153, 2x86, EMU
P	Trailing Load	Code	5	Tonnes (up to 4 digits) plus an empty/loaded character for freight. Blank for trains with a standard trailing load
P	Speed	Code	3	Maximum permitted speed for the timing load
P	RA/Gauge	Code	3	First digit is the RA number, then two characters for gauge - may be blank
P	Entry speed	Number	3	0 for starting or -1 for passing at maximum appropriate speed
P	Exit speed	Number	3	0 for stopping or -1 for passing at maximum appropriate speed
P	Start date	Date
O	End date	Date
M	Sectional Running Time	SRT		mmm'ss
O	Description	Text	64

Footer (PIT) record

The final record in the file which contains counts of the records in the file to ensure correct transfer and parsing.

Type	Field	Format	Length	Values
M	Record Type	Text	3	PIT
M	Record Type code	Text	3	Any record type code
M	Addition count	Number	N/A	Number of addition (A) records
M	Change count	Number	N/A	Number of change (C) records
M	Delete count	Number	N/A	Number of delete (D) records

The last four fields are repeated for each instance of a record type. For snapshots, the number of change and delete records will always be zero.