Some empty XML files in the Datastore zip file

Open Data
1

Just to note that the following four files from the downloaded Datastore Journey Planner files have zero size.

tfl_64-236-_-y05-55552.xml
tfl_64-262-_-y05-55917.xml
tfl_64-308-_-y05-55683.xml
tfl_64-308-_-y05-55684.xml

The four are listed consecutively inn the zip file, which may or may not be significant!

2

Hi @mjcarchive - we’re looking into this and will get back to you.
Thanks,
James

3

A different error on tfl_61-139-_-y05-53752.xml.

This is not empty but Excel throws a wobbly (whether opened as XML table or as workbook) because several tags have not been closed.

I don’t think there is anything else to report (so it is doing better than the Working Timetables - if anybody is looking into that they are keeping very quiet about it).

4

Apologies - there appears to have been some error during file generation. We have uploaded a fresh file now.

5

Thanks. It is not at the place I go to, though, which is

https://tfl.gov.uk/tfl/syndication/feeds/journey-planner-timetables.zip

That still shows as created on the 11th. Happy to try later but just thought it possible that one location had been updated and not another.

Michael

6

There seems to be some caching issues - here is our direct link to the timetables:

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/tfl.pub/JPTimetables/journey-planner-timetables.zip

7

Thanks. Is that a better link to use for future downloads?

What I see in the revised “Part Four” file is that the five rogue files have not actually been recreated afresh. Last week’s version has simply replaced the dodgy versions created earlier this week, so their creation dates are 3rd or 4th August.

It is an interesting “feature” of this system that usually every file is re-created each time (*). As the file creation date is included within the file as metadata and the service start date is typically incremented by a week, this means that software designed to identify unchanged/duplicate files cannot help quickly identify files with substantive changes. But there you go - open data piggyback on what exists for TfL’s internal purposes, not the other way round!

Michael

(*)The same applies to the WTTs, though in that case new and old pdf files should be identical.