Key:uic_ref
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Description |
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The UIC reference is used to identify railway stations. ![]() |
Group: railways |
Used on these elements |
Useful combination |
Status: in use![]() |
Tools for this tag |
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UIC stands for Union Internationale des Chemins de fer, i.e. International Union of Railways. The UIC reference is used to identify railway stations in Asia, Europe and northern Africa. It is similar to the ICAO and IATA reference tag for airports.
The UIC station reference always consists of 7 digits, beginning with a 2-digit UIC country code.
In France the UIC station code is accompanied by an addtional 8th "control" digit, in which case a separate attribute may be used: ref:FR:uic8=*
, see Liste des références nationales, while keeping the 7-digit uic_ref=*
.
Important Clarification
In the past, the uic_ref
tag has often been mistakenly used to store IBNR (Interne Bahnhofsnummer) codes from the Deutsche Bahn european timetable center (Europäisches Fahrplan Zentrum), which serves its timetable to many systems of partner railways. Due to the similar format (both starting with a two-digit country code) IBNR and UIC station codes are easy to confuse. However, UIC codes and IBNR codes are identifiers for separate systems and are not interchangeable.
Example:
- Hamburg Hbf UIC code:
8001071
- Hamburg Hbf IBNR code:
8002549
These are two distinct identifiers for the same station.
Validation Sources
- IBNR: Can be verified via Deutsche Bahn (bahn.de) or ÖBB (fahrplan.oebb.at) journey planners.
- UIC: Can be checked against the Eurail timetable search or datasets from Trainline (where labeled as
uic
ordb_id
).
If you know of any additional authoritative sources for UIC codes, please contribute them.
If an uic_ref=*
can be identified as IBNR it should be mapped as ref:ibnr=*
.
How to map
This tag is used in combination with either:
if non of the above is present tagging with public_transport=stop_area
or public_transport=stop_position
is advised.