Service Calendar Frame

In this chapter:

• ServiceCalendarFrame
• AvailabilityCondition
• ServiceCalendar
• DayType
• Timeband
• DayTypeAssignment

ServiceCalendarFrame

→ Glossary definition

Purpose

Groups calendar definitions that describe when services operate. We do this with AvailabilityConditions stored in this frame. We also have DayTypes and DayTypeAssignments for the holidays.

See the following class diagram for the most important objects of the ServiceCalendarFrame and their relationships to the other frames.

classDiagram
    %% Styles
    classDef frame fill:#FFF8E1,stroke:#FFB300;
    classDef contained fill:#E8F4FF,stroke:#1E90FF;
    classDef external fill:#F6F6F6,stroke:#AAAAAA;

    %% Frame
    class ServiceCalendarFrame {
        - validityConditions : AvailabilityCondition[]
    }
    class ServiceCalendarFrame frame

    %% Contained elements
    class AvailabilityCondition {
        FromDate
        ToDate
        ValidDayBits
    }

    class DayType {

    }

    class DayTypeAssignment {
    }


    class ServiceCalendar {

    }
    class Timeband {

    }

    %% External elements (not in the frame)
    class ServiceJourney {
        
    }

    class CheckConstraint {
    }

    class FacilitySet {
    }

    class StopAssignment {
    }

    class NoticeAssignment {
         }

    %% Containment relations (only contained elements)
    ServiceCalendarFrame "1" o-- "0..*" AvailabilityCondition : contains
    ServiceCalendarFrame "1" o-- "0..*" DayType : contains
    ServiceCalendarFrame "1" o-- "0..*" DayTypeAssignment : contains
    ServiceCalendarFrame "1" o-- "0..1*" ServiceCalendar : contains
    ServiceCalendarFrame "1" o-- "0..*" Timeband : contains

    %% Usage relations from external elements to AvailabilityCondition
    ServiceJourney ..> AvailabilityCondition : uses
    CheckConstraint ..> AvailabilityCondition : uses
    FacilitySet ..> AvailabilityCondition : uses
    StopAssignment ..> AvailabilityCondition : uses
    NoticeAssignment ..> AvailabilityCondition : uses

    %% Other internal links
    DayTypeAssignment --> DayType : assigns

Figure: Elements of ServiceCalendar and elements with AvailabilityCondition

Table

A minimal ServiceCalendarFrame must be present in all timetable files.

Table: ServiceCalendarFrame

→ General NeTEx definition

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ServiceCalendarFrame id="ch:1:ServiceCalendarFrame" version="1">
  <!-- A minimal ServiceCalendarFrame must be present in all timetable files. -->
  <validityConditions>
    <AvailabilityCondition id="ch:1:AvailabilityCondition:b7" version="1">
      <!-- Our main mechanism for validity and operating days -->
    </AvailabilityCondition>
  </validityConditions>
  <ServiceCalendar id="ch:1:ServiceCalendar:j23" version="1">
    <!-- We only have one ServiceCalendar for the whole timetable year. It is not referenced. -->
  </ServiceCalendar>
  <dayTypes>
    <DayType id="ch:1:DayType:ycy10_1" version="1">
      <!-- Used for holidays only -->
    </DayType>
  </dayTypes>
  <timebands>
    <Timeband id="ch:1:Timeband:1140:1260" version="1">
      <!-- Mainly used for frequency-based lines. -->
    </Timeband>
  </timebands>
  <dayTypeAssignments>
    <DayTypeAssignment id="none" version="not">
      <!-- Used for holidays only -->
      <OperatingPeriodRef ref="generated" version="1"/>
      <DayTypeRef ref="ch:1:DayType:ycy10_1" version="1"/>
    </DayTypeAssignment>
  </dayTypeAssignments>
</ServiceCalendarFrame>

→ Template

Usage Notes

• Note that AvailabilityConditions can be combined and ANDed (all the conditions must be fulfilled at the same time). Allowed elements to specify constraints are FromDate/ ToDate, ValidDayBits, and timebands. See the detailed explanation under AvailabilityCondition below.

AvailabilityCondition

→ Glossary definition

Purpose

Temporal availability in terms of Dates, Timebands, ValidDayBits.

How AvailabilityCondition/ValidDayBits work: an AvailabilityCondition defines a validity period (FromDate/ToDate) together with a day-by-day pattern (ValidDayBits) indicating on which individual days within that period the condition applies. ValidDayBits is a bit string with exactly one bit per calendar day of the period — 1 means the day is valid, 0 means it is not (directly equivalent to an HRDF bitfield). A ServiceJourney (or any other element that needs temporal validity) references one AvailabilityCondition via AvailabilityConditionRef; the referenced object itself is always defined centrally in this frame, never inline.

Table

Table: AvailabilityCondition

→ General NeTEx definition

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<AvailabilityCondition id="generated" version="1">
  <FromDate>2026-05-17T00:00:00Z
    <!-- Is equal to the start date of the timetable year or, more generally, the period in which the ValidDayBits apply. -->
  </FromDate>
  <ToDate>2026-05-17T23:59:59Z
    <!-- Is equal to the end date of the timetable year or, more generally, the period in which the ValidDayBits apply. -->
  </ToDate>
  <ValidDayBits>01010010111</ValidDayBits>
  <timebands>
    <!-- Can also be referenced -->
    <Timeband id="ch:1:Timeband:4937" version="1">
      <StartTime>06:00:00</StartTime>
      <EndTime>06:20:00</EndTime>
    </Timeband>
    <TimebandRef ref="ch:1:Timeband:4937-2" version="1"/>
  </timebands>
</AvailabilityCondition>

→ Template

Usage Notes

• Examples of use of AvailabilityCondition include ServiceJourney, TemplateServiceJourney, facilities.
• AvailabilityCondition replaces OperatingDay and OperatingPeriod. Whenever a reference to a VP (“Verkehrsperiode” or “operating period” in english) is needed, we use an AvailabilityConditionRef:
• The referenced AvailabilityConditions are centrally stored in the ServiceCalendarFrame.
• The element ValidDayBits directly indicates the days on which some service is provided or not. They are similar to the HRDF bitfields.
• ValidDayBits is expected whenever the AvailabilityCondition expresses a recurring day-by-day pattern, which is the case for most AvailabilityConditions in practice. Examples include:
  • ServiceJourney
  • NoticeAssignment
  • ServiceFacilitySet
  • ServiceJourneyInterchange
• AvailabilityConditions can be combined and ANDed (all the conditions must be fulfilled at the same time). Allowed elements to specify constraints are FromDate/ToDate, ValidDayBits, and timebands — none of these is mandatory on its own; an AvailabilityCondition may consist of only one of them (e.g. only FromDate/ToDate for “summer only”, only timebands for “school holiday period”, or only ValidDayBits for “Sundays only”). Concrete use case we already have: every AvailabilityCondition in our examples combines FromDate/ToDate (the overall timetable period, e.g. one Fahrplanjahr) with ValidDayBits (the day-by-day pattern within that period) — this is the everyday case of the ANDing mechanism, directly equivalent to an HRDF “Verkehrsperiode + Bitfeld” combination. We do not currently have a use case that additionally combines timebands with the other two — see the note under Timeband below.
• Note: the frames TimetableFrame, ServiceFrame and ServiceCalendarFrame and their elements must have the same validity.
• @id does not need to be kept stable between exports.

ServiceCalendar

→ Glossary definition

Purpose

Long-term planning uses calendar days that are classified as specific DayTypes (example: weekday in school holidays). In the general NeTEx model, a ServiceCalendar can itself contain dayTypes/dayTypeAssignments; in the Swiss profile this nested usage is not used. ServiceCalendar is used only as a label for the overall timetable year (Name, FromDate, ToDate — e.g. “Fahrplan 2026” / “Horaire 2026”). DayTypes and DayTypeAssignments are declared as siblings of ServiceCalendar directly within ServiceCalendarFrame, not nested inside it.

Table

Table: ServiceCalendar

→ General NeTEx definition

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ServiceCalendar id="ch:1:ServiceCalendar:j23" version="1">
  <Name>Fahrplan 2018
    <!-- timetable year -->
  </Name>
  <FromDate>2017-12-10
    <!-- Beginning of timetable year -->
  </FromDate>
  <ToDate>2018-12-08
    <!-- End of timetable year -->
  </ToDate>
</ServiceCalendar>

→ Template

Usage Note

• @id should to be kept stable between exports.

DayType

→ Glossary definition

Purpose

A classification of days on which a specific set of transport services operates (e.g., Weekdays, Saturdays, Public Holidays). The DayTypes of the Swiss profile represent national holidays.

Table

In Switzerland only used for holidays and the like

Table: DayType

→ General NeTEx definition

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<DayType id="ch:1:DayType:Bundesfeier" version="1">
  <!-- In Switzerland only used for holidays and the like -->
  <Name lang="de">Bundesfeier
    <!-- German or default text -->
    <Text lang="it">Festa nazionale
      <!-- Italian -->
    </Text>
    <Text lang="fr">Fête nationale
      <!-- French -->
    </Text>
    <Text lang="en">National Day
      <!-- English -->
    </Text>
  </Name>
  <properties>
    <PropertyOfDay>
      <!-- Holidays only -->
      <HolidayTypes>NationalHoliday</HolidayTypes>
      <DayEvent>normalDay</DayEvent>
    </PropertyOfDay>
  </properties>
</DayType>

→ Template

Usage Note

• @id needs to be kept stable between exports.
• As we only use DayType for holidays we have strict restrictions on PropertyOfDay: HolidayTypes is only nationalHoliday and DayEvent only anyDay or normalDay.

Timeband

→ Glossary definition

Purpose

A period of time within a day, defined by a StartTime and an EndTime (e.g. 09:00:00–17:00:00). The general NeTEx/Transmodel model defines it as a period in a day that is significant for some aspect of public transport, such as similar traffic conditions or a fare category.

Use in the Swiss profile — frequency-based lines: Timeband is primarily used to express the daily operating window of a frequency-based service. Typical cases are services that run continuously within fixed daily hours rather than on individually timetabled departures — for example a chairlift or a shuttle operating daily from 09:00 to 17:00 during a winter season. Within an AvailabilityCondition, the timebands constraint is ANDed with the FromDate/ToDate period and the ValidDayBits day pattern (see AvailabilityCondition above), so the three together express: “during this season, on these days, between these hours”.

Timebands are defined centrally in the ServiceCalendarFrame and referenced from an AvailabilityCondition via TimebandRef, so the same daily window can be reused by several services instead of being repeated per journey.

Note on the relation to HeadwayJourneyGroup: TemplateServiceJourney/HeadwayJourneyGroup also carries FirstDepartureTime and LastDepartureTime (see uc14 Frequencies), which bound the departures of one specific frequency group. Timeband is the reusable, calendar-level counterpart: it belongs to the validity of a service rather than to the departure pattern of a single TemplateServiceJourney. Where both could apply, HeadwayJourneyGroup is used for the departure bounds of that journey group, and Timeband for an operating window that is part of the service’s temporal validity.

Table

Table: Timeband

→ General NeTEx definition

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Timeband id="ch:1:Timeband:4937" version="1">
  <StartTime>06:00:00
    <!-- Local time (not Zulu), i.e., without “Z” or “hh:mm:ss” suffix. Seconds are not used. -->
  </StartTime>
  <EndTime>06:01:00
    <!-- Local time (not Zulu), i.e., without “Z” or “hh:mm:ss” suffix. Seconds are not used. -->
  </EndTime>
</Timeband>

→ Template

Usage Notes

• Timeband is mainly used for frequency-based lines, to express the daily operating window of the service.
• The Swiss profile uses only StartTime and EndTime for Timeband; the alternatives available in the general NeTEx model — StartEvent/EndEvent (e.g. dusk, dawn) and Duration — are not used.
• StartTime and EndTime are given in local time, i.e. without any timezone indication (no Z, no ±hh:mm offset). The format is hh:mm:ss as required by xsd:time; the seconds component carries no meaning and is always given as 00.
• Timebands are declared in the ServiceCalendarFrame and referenced from AvailabilityCondition/timebands via TimebandRef. Defining a Timeband inline inside an AvailabilityCondition is possible but should be avoided where the window is reusable.
• Timeband is not used inside DayType — see DayType.
• Timeband was used in RG 1.0 for InterchangeRuleTimings. This is not applicable in RG 2.0, since InterchangeRule is not used (see uc03 Transfers).
• @id should be kept stable between exports.

DayTypeAssignment

→ Glossary definition

Purpose

Assignment of a date to DayType. The DayTypes of the Swiss profile represent national holidays.

Table

We currently use DayType to store the national holidays.

Table: DayTypeAssignment

→ General NeTEx definition

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<DayTypeAssignment id="BundesfeierAssignment" version="1">
  <!-- We currently use DayType to store the national holidays. -->
  <Date>2023-08-01</Date>
  <DayTypeRef ref="ch:1:DayType:Bundesfeier" version="1"/>
</DayTypeAssignment>

→ Template

Usage Notes

• We currently use DayTypeAssignment only for the national holidays.
• @id should be kept stable between exports.