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GeoFurlong: Practical applications of railway geospatial analysis
05/10/2023 @ 17:30 - 19:30
Alan Morrison, Independent Railway Consultant
Edinburgh Section in person meeting
Synopsis: The presentation will start with a brief introductory section on the practical challenges associated with locating linear railway features in a geospatial context. Details will be shared about the design goals of the GeoFurlong software system and how it aims to remove the burden associated with establishing railway positions, assisting both those new to the railway environment and existing staff, whilst taking into account the vagaries associated with long / short milepost sections. A summary will be given on the computational techniques used to perform the robust high-performance algorithms allowing geocoding (mileage on an ELR converted to geographical position) and corresponding reverse geocoding at a rate of many thousand mileage points per second.
The next section will be a live demonstration of the upcoming GeoFurlong web site, which offers a free-to-use resource containing all (1,500+) Network Rail owned lines. For each line (ELR), geospatial analysis has been undertaken against railway and Ordnance Survey datasets, providing rich location-aware information. The available information, per ELR, includes the nearest populated place over the route by mileage extent, interactive map of the route with yardage markers at regular intervals, and a hyperlinked atlas feature connecting proximal routes.
The final section will showcase some practical applications of geocoding with an interactive session using the GeoFurlong Dynamic Mapping System. This web-based system takes user-defined input in simple spreadsheet form, geocodes to latitude / longitude position, then displays on an interactive map in virtually real-time. A variety of real datasets will be mapped during the presentation to highlight potential use-cases, including Asset Management (Track Quality categorisation, Earthworks scoring), Operations, multi-discipline design, safety, and environmental assessment. Subject to available time, brief demonstrations may be given on other in-development products, including a mobile app and live railway weather mapper.
Members and guests are invited to attend and contribute to the live demonstrations by requesting specific railway locations for use during the session or in advance, via email to geofurlong@outlook.com
Meeting from 17:30 for a 18:00 start
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