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National Rail

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An MCP server to retrieve train schedules from National Rail using the Realtime Trains API, providing tools for live departures and arrivals.

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About

An MCP server to retrieve train schedules from National Rail using the Realtime Trains API, providing tools for live departures and arrivals.

README

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mcp-national-rail

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to retrieve train schedules from National Rail.

Overview

This project implements a server using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) that allows AI agents to retrieve train information on National Rail trains using the Realtime Trains API.

It provides tools for:

  • get_live_departures
  • get_live_arrivals
  • get_departures_by_date
  • get_arrivals_by_date

Installation

Real Time Trains API account can be created from here: https://api.rtt.io/

You will need to note down your API Auth credentials

Installing via Smithery

To install mcp-national-rail for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @lucygoodchild/mcp-national-rail --client claude

Manual Installation for Claude Desktop

Prerequisites

  • Node.js

Setup

  1. Clone this repository
  2. Install dependencies
npm install
  1. Build and start the project
npm run build
npm run start
  1. Add the following to your MCP client configuration (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-national-rail": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/mcp-national-rail/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "RTT_API_USERNAME": "your_rtt_api_username",
        "RTT_API_PASSWORD": "your_rtt_api_password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Make sure to replace "/path/to/mcp-national-rail/dist/index.js" with the actual path and add your RTT API username and password which can be created from here: https://api.rtt.io/

  1. Restart Claude

Development

  • Create .env file based on the example file
RTT_API_USERNAME=your_rtt_api_username
RTT_API_PASSWORD=your_rtt_api_password

Run the inspector with the following command:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js

from github.com/lucygoodchild/mcp-national-rail

Installing National Rail

This server has no published package — it is built from source. Open the repository and follow its README.

▸ github.com/lucygoodchild/mcp-national-rail

FAQ

Is National Rail MCP free?

Yes, National Rail MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.

Does National Rail need an API key?

No, National Rail runs without API keys or environment variables.

Is National Rail hosted or self-hosted?

Self-hosted: the server runs locally on your machine via the install command above.

How do I install National Rail in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?

Open National Rail on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.

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