RSSB, the independent research and innovation organisation for the rail industry, has announced the publication of a new standard for the use, interpretation, and formatting of time and date information across the rail network.
This move echoes a significant historical precedent. In the early 1800s, timekeeping across Great Britain varied significantly, with local times differing by up to 25 minutes from London time. The Great Western Railway pioneered time standardisation in 1840 by synchronizing clocks across its network.
Currently, the rail industry utilises a diverse range of time sources, including satellite-based clocks, radio clocks, and networked clocks. Furthermore, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) exhibits minor discrepancies with atomic clock time and GPS time, complicating the comparison of timestamps across different systems.
RSSB’s new standard addresses these challenges by providing clear guidance on how to interpret time data, which can be influenced by various factors. This will facilitate data integration, analysis, and the specification of new systems while enhancing cybersecurity measures.
The standard promotes the widespread adoption of UTC and the consistent formatting of date, time, and UTC time offset values, aligning with international standards.
RSSB’s Director of Standards, Tom Lee, said:
“RSSB’s closest predecessor, the Railway Clearing House, led the standardisation of time across the country, publishing its first standard, about time, on the 22nd of September 1847.
“A 21st century digital railway is built on consistent and accurate time data, and our new standard supports this, helping to synchronise systems, improving real-time and post-event analysis, and enabling more effective incident investigations.”
