timetable_stop_order.txt
This is an optional, non-standard file called timetable_stop_order.txt which can be included in an agency's GTFS. It is used to specify stop order for a particular timetable. It is useful when generating combined timetables for multiple overlapping routes, or exerting fine-grained control on stop order.
This file is often not needed. If all trips for a route serve the same set of stops, or all trips stop order is topologically sortable, there is no need to use timetable_stop_order.txt for that route. timetable_stop_order.txt is only needed for routes where some trips serve completely different stops than other trips and where the order can not be determined using a directed graph.
GTFS-to-HTML uses toposort to sort stops for each trip topologically iin a directed graph to determine a valid stop order for use in a timetable. If stop order across trips is cyclic or disjointed (i.e. not all trips have a common stop) then the stop order from trip with most number of stops is used as a fallback.
| column name | description |
|---|---|
timetable_id | The ID of the timetable from timetables.txt |
stop_id | The ID of the stop from stops.txt. |
stop_sequence | An assigned integer identifying the order of stops to be presented in the timetable. The values for stop_sequence must be non-negative integers, and they must increase along the trip. This value does not need to match the stop_sequence found in stop_times.txt. |
Example
Route 1, trip 1 stops:
___/‾‾‾_ A B C D E H I
Route 2, trip 2 stops:
‾‾‾‾‾___/‾‾‾ A B C F G H I
The timetable_stop_order.txt for this route would be:
timetable_id,stop_id,stop_sequence
1,A,0
1,B,1
1,C,2
1,D,3
1,E,4
1,F,5
1,G,6
1,H,7
1,I,8
Or, if you'd like to show stops F and G before stops D and E on the timetable:
timetable_id,stop_id,stop_sequence
1,A,0
1,B,1
1,C,2
1,F,3
1,G,4
1,D,5
1,E,6
1,H,7
1,I,8
An example of this file is located in examples/timetable_stop_order.txt.
Stops with different arrival and departure times
Stoptimes with different arrival and departure times will be shown twice in a row and labeled as "(arrival)" and "(departure)". There is no need to put the same stop in timetable_stop_order twice in a row.