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OpenRail Designer

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OpenRail Designer

Rail network design software

Detailed Rail Track Design and Analysis in One Application

One software application for all your metro, light rail, commuter rail, or high-speed rail design project needs. Save time on the design and maintenance of track, station, and yard assets while significantly increasing productivity.

What is OpenRail Designer?

OpenRail Designer introduces a new, comprehensive modeling environment for streamlined project delivery of rail network assets. This environment unifies design and construction from concept through commissioning and completion.

  • Support BIM Workflows
  • OpenRail Designer screen analyzing rail track regressions

    Advance Your BIM Workflows

    OpenRail Designer enables you to easily export digital deliverables, including IFC, to support industry BIM workflows. You can use Item Types to include component attribution for a more efficient, data-rich BIM deliverable. Easily advance your BIM workflows in a digital twin authoring environment while supporting the creation of all traditional and digital design deliverables.

    Capabilities

    • Add real-world digital context
      You can bring real-world settings to your project by gathering context data quickly from a variety of sources, such as point clouds, 3D reality meshes, terrain data, images, and geospatial information. Clearly understand existing conditions and accelerate design modeling workflows and integrate geospatial information to ensure that models are precisely geospatially located.
    • Streamline collaboration across teams
      Enable project information sharing across teams, locations, and disciplines with precision and security.
    • Visualize designs
      Experience your designs in real time with constraint-driven templates, a context sensitive intuitive interface, and dynamic 3D modeling. Visualize the design at any time and on demand within the modeling workflow. No translations, software, or special workflow process is needed. And share realistic visualizations with the public and stakeholders to gather feedback, improve public engagements, and speed project approvals.
  • Design and Analyze Your Rail Networks
  • OpenRail Designer screen displaying corridor design

    Design in a high performance, immersive, 3D modeling environment

    The software delivers a high performance, immersive, 3D modeling environment that enables instantaneous and interactive parametric modeling of rail corridors. Improve asset quality and reduce rework with a fully localized application.

    Capabilities

    • Rail and sleeper placement
      Rail placement capabilities ensure calculation of precise rail coordinates and joints with track widening tables and cant data. You can also create simple and long sleepers based on your geometry and turnout locations.
    • Analyze rail track regressions
      ​Convert surveys of track data into full alignments using regression analysis. Determine the best fit geometry alignment of your track from a range of survey data types, including transition types and cant. 
    • Automate rail drawing production
      Automate the production of high-quality drawings, including multi-discipline documentation sets that are consistent across the entire project. Get a live view of the project in sheet orientation. As the design changes, so will the sheets. Make edits directly in the sheets and OpenRail Designer will update the source geometry.
    • Design and analyze corridors, signals, drainage systems, geometry, yard, station, and siding
      Use immersive corridor modeling capabilities that support complex modeling and file federation demands required by BIM Level 2 and beyond. Configure and place signals within a rail model. Ensure appropriate drainage is included within rail designs. ​Combine survey, design rules, and operational requirements to generate optimal geometry for your track. With easy-to-use geometry capabilities and a comprehensive turnout library, you can create yard, station, and siding designs. Rule-based track elements ensure easy adaptation to design changes.
    • Reuse common design layouts
      Use civil cells to ensure standards are implemented, increase design quality, and eliminate the need to repeatedly design common configurations. If you can design it, a civil cell can handle it. There is no limit to the simplicity or complexity of a civil cell.
    • Create profiles and cross sections
      ​Create profiles and cross sections from any point within the design. View updates on the fly as the design is modified with dynamic cross sections. You can see the ground changing to reflect design edits. Include surface features, corridor components, and notations such as construction limits or stationing.
OpenRail Designer screen analyzing rail track regressions

Advance Your BIM Workflows

OpenRail Designer enables you to easily export digital deliverables, including IFC, to support industry BIM workflows. You can use Item Types to include component attribution for a more efficient, data-rich BIM deliverable. Easily advance your BIM workflows in a digital twin authoring environment while supporting the creation of all traditional and digital design deliverables.

Capabilities

  • Add real-world digital context
    You can bring real-world settings to your project by gathering context data quickly from a variety of sources, such as point clouds, 3D reality meshes, terrain data, images, and geospatial information. Clearly understand existing conditions and accelerate design modeling workflows and integrate geospatial information to ensure that models are precisely geospatially located.
  • Streamline collaboration across teams
    Enable project information sharing across teams, locations, and disciplines with precision and security.
  • Visualize designs
    Experience your designs in real time with constraint-driven templates, a context sensitive intuitive interface, and dynamic 3D modeling. Visualize the design at any time and on demand within the modeling workflow. No translations, software, or special workflow process is needed. And share realistic visualizations with the public and stakeholders to gather feedback, improve public engagements, and speed project approvals.
OpenRail Designer screen displaying corridor design

Design in a high performance, immersive, 3D modeling environment

The software delivers a high performance, immersive, 3D modeling environment that enables instantaneous and interactive parametric modeling of rail corridors. Improve asset quality and reduce rework with a fully localized application.

Capabilities

  • Rail and sleeper placement
    Rail placement capabilities ensure calculation of precise rail coordinates and joints with track widening tables and cant data. You can also create simple and long sleepers based on your geometry and turnout locations.
  • Analyze rail track regressions
    ​Convert surveys of track data into full alignments using regression analysis. Determine the best fit geometry alignment of your track from a range of survey data types, including transition types and cant. 
  • Automate rail drawing production
    Automate the production of high-quality drawings, including multi-discipline documentation sets that are consistent across the entire project. Get a live view of the project in sheet orientation. As the design changes, so will the sheets. Make edits directly in the sheets and OpenRail Designer will update the source geometry.
  • Design and analyze corridors, signals, drainage systems, geometry, yard, station, and siding
    Use immersive corridor modeling capabilities that support complex modeling and file federation demands required by BIM Level 2 and beyond. Configure and place signals within a rail model. Ensure appropriate drainage is included within rail designs. ​Combine survey, design rules, and operational requirements to generate optimal geometry for your track. With easy-to-use geometry capabilities and a comprehensive turnout library, you can create yard, station, and siding designs. Rule-based track elements ensure easy adaptation to design changes.
  • Reuse common design layouts
    Use civil cells to ensure standards are implemented, increase design quality, and eliminate the need to repeatedly design common configurations. If you can design it, a civil cell can handle it. There is no limit to the simplicity or complexity of a civil cell.
  • Create profiles and cross sections
    ​Create profiles and cross sections from any point within the design. View updates on the fly as the design is modified with dynamic cross sections. You can see the ground changing to reflect design edits. Include surface features, corridor components, and notations such as construction limits or stationing.
OpenRail Designer screen showing visualization of design

OpenRail Designer

  • Design and analyze rail corridors
  • Design and place rail signals
  • Outline rail track drainage systems
  • Automate drawing production

*Prices vary per region. For more options, see licensing and subscriptions section.

User Quote

“Bentley’s applications translate into inevitable efficiency in the design phase, as well as significant savings in time for review and coordination between disciplines.”

— Daniela Aprea, BIM Manager, Italferr S.p.A.

FEATURED USER STORIES

OpenRail Software Resources

Licensing and Subscription options

Choose What is Right for You

One-year license with training

Virtuoso Subscription – A popular choice for small and medium-sized businesses

Get access to software that comes with training – fast! Bentley’s eStore, Virtuosity, offers a convenient way to lease a 12-month license of Bentley software for a low, upfront cost. Every online purchase through Virtuosity comes as a Virtuoso Subscription that includes training and auto-renewals.

With no contract required, it’s easy to get started quickly.

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One-time purchase with support

Perpetual License with SELECT

A perpetual license of Bentley software is a one-time purchase, with a yearly maintenance subscription, called SELECT. This includes 24/7/365 technical support, learning resources, and the ability to exchange licenses for other software once a year. With SELECT, you will benefit from:

  • License pooling, so you can access your software from multiple computers.
  • Access additional Bentley software with Term Licenses, which allow you to pay for what you use without the upfront cost of purchasing a perpetual license.

Annual renewal quotes are delivered directly to your inbox, and our experienced Renewal Representatives are available to answer your questions and guide you through any changes you’d like to make.

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Enterprise Organizations

We’ve got your back

For larger organizations with in-depth requirements, we offer plans to provide global pricing and access to our comprehensive portfolio of solutions and success plan services. Contact us about how to get access to software, global best practices, implementation services, training, and technical support to help your organization realize its full potential while addressing your unique needs.

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Design your next rail project in an immersive, 3D modeling environment