IF articles

Summary - Building Information Modelling is now rec- ognized the suitable methodology to undertake building and infrastructure projects. Far more developed for “traditional” construction, BIM is gaining momentum in the infrastructure field. The most significant differences when confronted with traditional building projects are the data structure, the project size (usually far more expansive than traditional building pro- jects), the necessity for a more mature asset management and maintenance processes and the focus on non-graphical data and respective connection into the model. The present paper offers an overview of BIM applied to Railway projects, high- lighting some relevant projects in the field, accenting the inher- ent advantages of its application, clarifying the representation levels that such models achieve and focusing on the interoper- ability, which as Information (core of BIM) is one of the key concepts that still requires research and attention from all spe- cialists involved. The paper finishes with a brief overview of software tools specific to this area, being that technology and its natural development has a major role in allowing the great- est quality on the way information is input (in quantity and quality), retrieved and used by all stakeholders.