MATSim Data format (XML)
In this section of the manual we discuss the MATSim XML network and public transport format. The MATSim writer requires a PLANit network/zoning memory model as input to be able to persist in MATSim XML format.
| Data Format | File type | Status | Network | Zoning | Demands | Python support | Java support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MATSim | XML |
Supported | Write | Write | N/A | YES | YES |
- The MATsim network output is based on http://www.matsim.org/files/dtd/network_v2.dtd
- The MATsim (partially supported) public transport output is based on http://www.matsim.org/files/dtd/transitSchedule_v2.dtd
More information on MATSim can be found on their website: www.matsim.org. MATSim has no official user manual, but a good starting point is a book that has bundled a number of (white) papers on this open-source agent based platform, see https://www.matsim.org/docs/userguide/
MATSim and PLANit
Any PLANit network/zoning memory model can be converted into a MATSim network/transit (schedule) using the available writers (network/intermodal).
While MATSim supports complete transit schedules (frequency, schedule, pt vehicle fleet), PLANit does not (yet). Therefore only partof the transit schedule can be populated when persisting a PLANit network/zoning as a MATSim (intermodal) network.
Examples on how to perform a network conversion from PLANit or another input format to MATSim are provided in the respective PLANit-Python and PLANit-Java reference sections of this manual.
Outline
MATSim Basics
MATSim is a Java based open-source traffic simulator that uses agents for its vehicles. It is multi-modal and has various extensions that can be added to the core functionality. Its data format for its network and public transport schedule is straightforward and somewhat simplified compared to PLANit’s features, making it possible to convert any PLANit network to a MATsim network without loss of information (on the MATsim side).
MATSim Improved Geometry generation
MATSim links only carry two geo locations - for both extreme nodes - but it lacks any shaping internally. In larger networks and for longer links visualisation of MATSim networks is therefore somewhat confusing and chaotic because the shape of the road is largely lost. To overcome this problem the VIA visualiser (that supports MATSim) has defined an additional data format that provides the internal geometry of all MATsim links. This format can be found here:
https://docs.simunto.com/via/layers/network.html
The MATSim writer has a feature to support the persistence of such detailed geometry alongside the MATSim network. this makes visualising networks (in VIA) much nicer. It is recommended to switch this on via the settings when relevant.