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This page explains the conceptual model of policies and roles. To create and manage roles in practice, use the Admin Portal Roles page.

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What is a policy?

Policies attach to resources and bind members to roles, with optional conditions. 
{
  "bindings": [
    { "role": "roles/inventory.equipmentAdmin", "members": ["group:cedxadmins"] },
    {
      "role": "roles/inventory.equipmentViewer",
      "members": ["user:nancy@cedx.rail", "user:steven@cedx.rail"],
      "condition": {
        "description": "Only can view BNSF cars",
        "expression": "resource.equipmentInitial == 'BNSF'"
      }
    }
  ]
}
IAM policy

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Roles

  • Predefined roles (examples):
    • roles/inventory.equipmentViewer
    • roles/inventory.equipmentAdmin
    • roles/inventory.equipmentOrderer
  • Custom roles: create a role with the exact permissions your org needs

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Inheritance

Grant at an organization/site/operator level → inherited by terminals, groups/tracks, and resources beneath. Grant at a terminal/group/track or a specific resource for fine‑grained control.

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Manage in the Admin Portal

Roles

View built-in roles and create custom roles

Bindings

Connect groups to roles (this is how policies are created)

User Groups

Organize users to assign roles at scale

Glossary

Quick reference for all terms