UK National Rail in your terminal. Built for AI agents, still pleasant for humans.
rail departures KGX # Next trains from King's Cross
rail arrivals "leeds" # What's arriving at Leeds?
rail departures "edinburgh" --to "york" # Edinburgh trains calling at York
rail search "waterloo" # Find stations by name
printf "waterloo\nvictoria\n" | rail search --stdin
rail search "waterloo" --select crs # Return CRS codes onlynpm install -g @shan8851/rail-cliOr from source:
git clone https://github.com/shan8851/rail-cli.git
cd rail-cli
npm install && npm run build
npm linkA free Darwin access token is required for departure and arrival data. Station search works without one.
Register (instant, free): https://realtime.nationalrail.co.uk/OpenLDBWSRegistration/Registration
export DARWIN_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_token
# or add to .env in your project directoryOptionally override the Huxley2 instance URL:
export RAIL_API_URL=https://your-huxley-instance.example.com| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
rail departures <station> |
Live departure board for any UK station |
rail arrivals <station> |
Live arrivals with delays and platforms |
rail search <query> |
Find stations by name, get CRS codes |
Supports station names ("kings cross", "leeds") and CRS codes (KGX, LDS, EDB).
rail departures KGX --to EDB # Filter to a destination
rail arrivals "leeds" --from "london" # Filter from an origin
rail departures KGX --expand # Include calling points
rail departures KGX --limit 5 # Limit results
rail search "waterloo" --select crs # Return one field per candidate
printf "waterloo\nvictoria\n" | rail search --stdinThe CLI defaults to text in a TTY and JSON when piped — no flag needed.
rail departures KGX --json # Explicit JSON
rail search "waterloo" | jq # Auto-JSON when piped
printf "waterloo\nvictoria\n" | rail search --stdin --jsonEvery response uses a stable envelope:
{
"ok": true,
"schemaVersion": "1",
"command": "departures",
"requestedAt": "2026-03-24T12:00:00.000Z",
"data": { ... }
}Errors return ok: false with structured error.code, error.message, and error.retryable fields. Exit codes: 0 success, 2 bad input/ambiguity, 3 upstream failure, 4 internal error.
Works with OpenClaw, Claude Desktop MCP, or any agent that can shell out.
rail search supports a small projection mode for agents that only need one field:
rail search "waterloo" --select crs
rail search "waterloo" --select name,crsIt also supports newline-delimited batch queries from stdin:
printf "waterloo\nvictoria\n" | rail search --stdin
printf "waterloo\nvictoria\n" | rail search --stdin --json# Departures from King's Cross
$ rail departures KGX --limit 5
London Kings Cross
13:00 Sunderland Grand Central ⚠️ Exp 13:50
13:03 Aberdeen LNER 🔴 Delayed
13:10 Leeds LNER ✅ On time
13:15 Cambridge Great Northern Plat 8 ✅ On time
13:30 Edinburgh LNER Plat 5 ✅ On time
# Find a station
$ rail search "waterloo"
London Waterloo (WAT)
London Waterloo East (WAE)
Waterloo (Merseyside) (WLO)
# Return just CRS codes
$ rail search "waterloo" --select crs
WAT
WAE
WLO
# Batch station search from stdin
$ printf "waterloo\nvictoria\n" | rail search --stdin
Query: waterloo
London Waterloo (WAT)
London Waterloo East (WAE)
Waterloo (Merseyside) (WLO)
Query: victoria
London Victoria (VIC)
Manchester Victoria (MCV)
# Filter departures to a destination
$ rail departures leeds --to london
Leeds
14:00 London Kings Cross LNER Plat 11 ✅ On time
14:33 London Kings Cross LNER ⚠️ Exp 14:40
15:00 London Kings Cross LNER Plat 11 ✅ On timePowered by National Rail Darwin via Huxley2. Real-time data covering every National Rail station in Great Britain.
MIT