TMC Data

Contents

• TMC/ALERT-C location data
  • Downloadable content
  • Api-content
• Event list
• Location Table
  • Preconditions
  • Fields in spreadsheet version of location table
  • Types and subtypes
  • Important aspects
  • Examples of RDS-TMC messages

This note describes the Finnish location and event tables including which decisions have been made concerning items, which are not part of the Location referencing standards. It also includes recommendations for the composition of messages.

TMC/ALERT-C location data

RDS-TMC is a traffic message channel, which relays traffic information through analog FM radio’s RDS channel. Traffic information includes useful and real time data about road works, accidents, traffic jams and weather. The TMC/ALERT-C material is necessary when using the traffic information. Fintraffic is responsible for administration and distribution of the Finnish TMC data. TMC is developed by the TISA.

The Finnish TMC location database is constantly updated and certified yearly by TISA. For incident broadcasting Fintraffic uses more frequently exported versions of the database. Both certified and these intermediate non-certified versions are downloadable via Digitraffic.

Downloadable content

• The latest certified version

• Non-certified versions

The structure of the non-certified data differs slightly from that of certified version. These differences between versions are described in Table_format_differences.zip document.

Api-content

Non-certified location content is available also via API-calls:

• Locations https://tie.digitraffic.fi/api/traffic-message/v1/locations

• Content versions https://tie.digitraffic.fi/api/traffic-message/v1/locations/versions

• Location types https://tie.digitraffic.fi/api/traffic-message/v1/locations/types

Full API description is located in Swagger-documentation https://tie.digitraffic.fi/swagger/#/Traffic message V1

Event list

The Finnish event list has expanded from one column to three columns compared to the CEN-English version. One column is for events without attached quantifier, one is for events with attached quantifier = 1 and one for events with attached quantifier > 1. The background for this is that we want the texts to appear as normal as possible for the users of RDS-TMC equipment. Due to the grammatical circumstances in the Finnish language it is not indifferent if the quantifier is singular or plural.

First column (no quantifier): Each event has been examined and it has been decided if the sentence is in singular or plural (which of the versions is most likely to be the right one).

Second column (quantifier = 1): For all events where the quantifiers are numbers without a unit (type 0 and 1 - see Alert C standard) the sentences are finished - either using or not using the number.

If the Finnish words in the sentence signalises the number (=1) then no number is included in the sen-tence (E.g. “Q lane(s) blocked” transformed into Finnish is “kaista suljettu” - “Q kaistaa suljettu “ in plural).

For all other quantifier types the Q is maintained in the event list (E.g. “closed for heavy vehicles (over Q)”).

Third column (quantifier > 1): For all events with quantifiers the Q is maintained.

Comment: Some events do not make any sense without quantifier or with quantifier = 1 (E.g. “next departure Q”). In these cases the cells representing “without quantifier” and “with quantifier = 1” are left empty.

Further examples:

Location Table

All location types are based on the CEN document concerning “Location Referencing for Alert C” (Draft prENV 12313-3).

Preconditions

The location table has been constructed under the following preconditions:

• That all point names should be unique on one road. A point name consists of a type/subtype (from Loctype), the description (from Firstname) and the number of crossing road (from Secondname) if it exists (it does not yet exist for all points).

• Finland has a number of domestic ferry routes. These are all included in the location table. For each the Road_number is indicated.

• It is presumed that for presentation purposes the type/subtype of the locations is taken from the appropriate column in the location table – meaning that the equivalent information is in most cases not included in the Firstname column.

Fields in spreadsheet version of location table

Types and subtypes

The following types and subtypes are used in the Finnish location table:

Important aspects

Some Finnish roads change road type (e.g. Motorway to 1st class road). The fact that it is not in the cur-rent standard possible to indicate the road type on segment level (there is no subtypes for segments) means that it is not possible to indicate where the road type changes for a road.

Examples of RDS-TMC messages

In the examples below are shown the messages as the Finnish Road Administration would like them to be presented. In the road and segment level there are two possibilities depending on the fact that the event is only affecting one direction or both directions.

Example from motorway, two points, one direction

Route: Tie 1 eli Turunväylä

Segment: Helsinki-Salo

Direction: Haittaa ajosuunnassa Salo

Location(s): Paikasta Veikkola suuntaan Palojärvi, tie 2:n liittymä

Event: Queuing traffic due to accident

Tie FINroadnumber eli Roadname SegmentRef FirstName SegmentRef SecondName Haittaa ajosuunnassa SegmentRef SecondName Paikasta SecondaryPointFirstName, tie SecondaryPointSecondname:n liittymä suuntaan Prima-ryPointFirstName, tie PrimaryPointSecondName:n liittymä

Example from motorway, one point, both directions

Route: Tie 1 eli Turunväylä

Segment: Helsinki-Salo

Direction: Haittaa molemmissa ajosuunnissa

Location(s): Palojärvi, tie 2:n liittymä

Event: Accident

Tie FINroadnumber eli Roadname SegmentRef FirstName SegmentRef SecondName Haittaa molemmissa ajosuunnissa PrimaryPointFirstName, tie PrimaryPointSecondName:n liittymä

In the table below the central words (which are not already in the type/subtype-list) for presentation are translated.