byRail

byRail

Record stations, lines, trains, and vehicles in one log.

Record Your Ride Sections

You can record the departure and arrival stations, boarding date, and departure/arrival times for each section.

Select Stations, Trains, and Vehicles

• Display lines and operators in station candidates.
• Record operational information, vehicle operators, types, and formations.
• Scroll through the candidate list and narrow down by text input.
• Selected content is reflected in the input field and the candidate list closes.

Manage Multi-Section Itineraries

• Record itineraries including transfers section by section, and merge or separate them.

National Railway Data

• Includes station and line data along with vehicle type and formation data organized by operator.

Detailed Explanation

byRail is an app for recording your railway rides along with stations, lines, trains, and vehicles. You register a ride section from departure to arrival station and can record information about the train and vehicle you rode.

Select Stations and Lines from Candidates

When you enter a station name, you can confirm and select it along with the line name and operator name. Even when the same station name exists on multiple lines or with different operators, you can distinguish between candidates. The operator and line of your selected station are reflected in the itinerary input.

The station and line data contains 11,303 relationships between stations, operators, and lines. There are 8,470 unique station names, 161 operators, and 634 combinations of operators and lines. Even when station names are the same, relationships with different lines and operators are handled distinctly.

Record Operational and Vehicle Information

You can record operational information such as operator, line, train type, and train number. For vehicle information, you select the operator, type, and formation to record which vehicle you rode. Types and formations are narrowed down based on the operator they belong to, and you can search and select from candidates.

The vehicle type and formation data by operator covers 216 operators with 11,524 records. Records include status information, and those selectable in the app are displayed as candidates.

Manage Itineraries from Ride Sections

An itinerary consists of records organized by section. Multiple sections can be grouped together as one itinerary or separated as needed. The merged state and ride information for each section are saved and can be edited later.

Station names are displayed vertically as departure station, arrow, and arrival station, making it easy to follow itineraries even with long station names. Line names are normally displayed on one line, and when abbreviated, you can tap to confirm the full text in the same location.

Organize Data into Candidates

The Station DB was created by carefully organizing the relationships between stations, lines, and operators across the nation one by one. The Type/Formation DB cross-references types, formations, and statuses for each operator and manages source information. Rather than grouping similar-named candidates in bulk, we prioritize maintaining the relationships between station name, operator, and line, and between operator, type, and formation.

byRail is a record-keeping app for looking back on the railways you actually rode. From stations to trains and vehicles, you can keep a record of your ride section by section.

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# How "byRail," the Ride-Recording App Connecting Stations and Formations Nationwide, Came to Be

byRail is an app that records the railways you rode section by section from departure to arrival station and keeps that information together with details about the train and vehicle. At the heart of the app is each individual section you rode. Even when multiple sections are grouped into one itinerary, the information about each station, time, and train is preserved.

Built from Candidate Data, Not Just the Screen

A large portion of development was devoted to data preparation alongside screen design. If you simply line up station candidates by station name alone, it becomes difficult to distinguish between lines and operators when using stations with the same name. So we created a Station DB that separates the relationships between station name, operator, and line, allowing users to see line names and operator names when selecting.

The completed Station DB contains 11,303 relationships. This is not simply a count of stations, but rather a count of combinations of station names, operators, and lines. There are 8,470 unique station names, 161 operators, and 634 operator-line combinations recorded. Even when the same station name appears on multiple lines, we preserve the relationships rather than consolidating them into one.

Next, to allow users to select vehicle types and formations by operator, we organized the Type/Formation DB. We verified all 216 operators, resulting in 11,524 records of types and formations. Operators without target data are also managed as confirmed with 0 records. Vehicle status is also recorded, and data determines whether it can be selected as a candidate.

Connect Station Selection to Vehicles

On the input screen, selecting a station candidate confirms not just the station name but also the relationships of the line and operator. That operator is linked as an initial value for operational and vehicle information, and when you select a vehicle operator, candidates are narrowed down to that operator's types and the formations of the selected type. When a user selects a candidate, the display name is reflected in the input field and saved in the itinerary along with corresponding identification information.