Transmodel — Reference Data Model for Public Transport (EN 12896 series)

Scope

Transmodel (EN 12896) is CEN's reference conceptual data model for public transport: a semantic model of common PT concepts and data structures — network topology, timetables, vehicle scheduling, fares, passenger information, operations and driver management — that underpins the sector's data-exchange standards. It does not itself define an exchange format; it supplies the shared vocabulary and structure that NeTEx (static data) and SIRI (real-time data) implement, and that national access points may fall back on when no dedicated exchange protocol exists.

Transmodel is what makes 'stop', 'service journey' and 'vehicle journey' mean the same thing across a hundred incompatible legacy IT systems: a UML-modelled reference data model spanning ten functional parts — common concepts, network, timing and vehicle scheduling, operations monitoring, fare management, passenger information, driver management, management information and statistics, and alternative modes — plus an informative documentation part (CEN/TR 12896-9). It is designed for multimodality, covering conventional scheduled and flexible public transport alongside alternative modes such as vehicle sharing. Under the EU's Multimodal Travel Information Services Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1926, as amended by (EU) 2024/490, national access points must publish static and dynamic public transport data using NeTEx (CEN/TS 16614) or, for legacy rail, the TAP TSI technical documents, and fall back on Transmodel (EN 12896) itself only where no dedicated exchange protocol is specified. In practice Transmodel is therefore implemented indirectly, through NeTEx for planned data, SIRI for real-time data, OJP for trip-planning APIs and OpRa for observed operational data. It is voluntary as a CEN standard (not OJ-cited under the Interoperability Directive), and is used by public-transport authorities, IT suppliers and national access-point operators as the common semantic backbone of their data architecture.