Software Solutions and Services for Rail
PTV. The Mind of Movement.
PTV Group provides software solutions and services that integrate all aspects of transport and logistics planning and optimisation to create and promote a smarter and more sustainable future. Customers in over 120 countries and 2,500 cities rely on state-of-the-art PTV software that enables planners, engineers and decision-makers to improve transport networks and spaces, reduce congestion and emissions, improve safety and protect the environment.
PTV Visum – Strategic Transport Planning
We develop trusted products for transport planning and optimisation that are used across the industry to support critical decisions. Our world-leading software suite PTV Visum – for strategic transport planning – is used by cities and authorities to assess the performance of networks, optimise schedules, and improve operations. Visum is a powerful tool that allows for the full representation of transport networks, with the ability to integrate road, rail, bus and many other modes. The integration of these systems enables planners to assess passenger demand across modes and answer key questions, such as ‘what is the likely impact on road traffic if a new rail service is added?’. Our rail planning tools can therefore be used to understand both network supply and potential demand, giving users the whole transport and mobility picture in their region.
Our Visum software is a powerful GIS and database, allowing for fast simulations and compelling 2D or 3D visual outputs. All data within the model can be stored and queried in a relational manner. Visum can integrate with other tools and has importing capabilities for a range of data types, including GTFS – for easy-to-import of public transport networks and timetables – shapefiles, GPX and more.
As well as being a key tool for assessing strategic infrastructure decisions, Visum can also provide detailed operational functionality. Using comprehensive representations of the transport network, timetables can be analysed and developed to help provide an efficient service and make best use of the available rolling stock. Detailed fare structures can be integrated along with operational costs allowing cost benefit and revenue calculations to be made. The operational benefits of rail modelling in PTV Visum are used by many clients to plan their network efficiently, including Deutsche Bahn (the German national rail company), Austrian Rail, Dutch Rail and Swiss Rail.
PTV Vissim/Viswalk – Micro-Simulation Tools
Our micro-simulation tools, Vissim and Viswalk allow for detailed assessments of train and passenger flows within stations reproducing a realistic virtual environment to help evaluate capacities and bottlenecks. These tools can help assess station design, pedestrian safety, surface access strategies, traffic impacts, construction planning, evacuation measures, large events or crowd management, and help understand boarding, alighting, and transfer wait time patterns, pedestrian levels of density and comfort and much more. The extensive quantitative data and powerful 2D/3D visualisation output make them powerful tools for rail project engineering and consultations with decision makers, stakeholders and the public.
With headquarters in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany, PTV Group has been innovating globally since its foundation in 1979 as a Karlsruhe University of Technology (KIT) spin-off. PTV support clients across the world with key offices in London and Birmingham in the UK and many other locations throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. With 900 employees worldwide working on powerful, future-oriented solutions, the latest developments in science, technology and research are continuously incorporated into PTV software development.
Our clients include: Network Rail, Department for Transport, Transport for London, Transport for West Midlands, City of York & other UK authorities, and international rail operators such as Deutsche Bahn, Austrian Railways (ÖBB), Swiss Federal Railways, Dutch Pro-Rail, Danish Rail and PKP Polish State Railways, among others.
