GIS and BIM Integration Approaches for Early Railway Planning Phases

Abstract: While there have been developments to integrate both domains of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM), approaches on GIS-to-BIM conversion operations do not address earlymodelling scenarios. Furthermore, current approaches are often limited to or around buildings, given their nature as the classic common denominator between both systems. Railway projects, however, have different constraints from those of building projects, given their extensive nature and complex conditions. In this paper, the authors summarise available and open data approaches on the topic of context modelling and conversion between GIS and BIM systems in order to give an overview of promising developments for the field of early-modelling railway planning. The authors propose a process for consecutive data use including early pre-planning surveys in GIS and bringing them to the BIM domain for railway planning. A case study shows a lowthreshold context modelling using open geographic data and open GIS and BIM formats, creating a much needed planning basis for BIM-based railway planning.