Mission & Background

The TSGA was set up in December 2016 by DB, Trenitalia and SNCF Voyageurs and has successively been joined by CFL, DSB, MÁV-START, NS, ÖBB and SBB with the goal to build the TAP TSI regulatory services and make them available for all the stakeholders, as required by the TAP TSI regulation (EU) 454/2011. Essentially, it is an enabler that provides regulatory services which are needed for railways to meet their obligations and for third parties and railways to enjoy their rights under the regulation:

• Registry Service (indicates where to find all types of resources requested by TAP such as timetables, fares, reservation system, public keys) and it helps all actors to be notified of any changes for those resources)
• Reference Data Service (provides standardised location information and code lists)
• Data Quality Management Service (tool to control the quality of data formats)
• Reporting and Notification Services (needed to provide the above services and to manage them efficiently and effectively)

In this context, the TSGA was shaped in collaboration with the European Commission and the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), while leaving the governance and operations to the rail sector. The TSGA therefore meets the requirements of the European institutions and offers the sector a leading-edge service including additional, non-regulation driven location related elements that are needed for railways and ticket vendors to advance their business.

The TSGA is a not-for-profit legal entity (a Belgian “aisbl”). It has very limited overhead, no permanent staff and is domiciled at the CER premises in Brussels. To deliver its services, TSGA works closely with its member railways, RINF, the UIC and others.