Train Departure Board

A Python-based digital train departure board that displays real-time train information for a specific platform at a railway station. The application uses the National Rail Data Feeds API to fetch live departure information and presents it in a visually appealing digital display format.

Features

• Real-time train departure information
• Platform-specific display
• Scrolling text for calling points
• Digital clock display
• Configurable display settings
• Support for multiple platforms
• Weather information integration (optional)

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Pygame
• Zeep (SOAP client for Python)
• National Rail Data Feeds API key https://realtime.nationalrail.co.uk/OpenLDBWSRegistration

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/jennybuni/departure_board.git
cd departure_board

2. Install the required dependencies:

pip install pygame zeep

3. Configure the application:

   First copy the config-template.json to config.json

mv config-template.json config.json

The config.json file allows you to customize various aspects of the display:

• API_KEY: Your National Rail Data Feeds API key
• STATION_CODE: The station CRS code (e.g., "WAT" for London Waterloo)
• TARGET_PLATFORMS: Array of platform numbers to display
• UPDATE_INTERVAL: Time between API updates (in seconds) advised to keep between 45 & 60 seconds to not overload the api
• ROTATE_DISPLAY: Enable/disable display rotation 180deg
• SCROLL_SPEED: Speed of scrolling text
• CLOCK_FONT_SIZE: Size of the clock display
• TRAIN_FONT_SIZE: Size of train information text
• STATUS_FONT_SIZE: Size of status text
• LATITUDE: Latitude for temp weather API Queried every 10 minutes
• LONGITUDE: Longitude for temp

Usage

Run the main application:

python3 departure_board.py

The display will show:

• Current time
• Train departures for the specified platform
• Destination and scheduled departure time
• Calling points (scrolling text)
• Service status
• temperature of the location set in the config.json

Controls

• Press ESC to exit the application
• Close the window to quit

This program has been written for use on a raspbery pi zero W
so it is lightweight and outputs to HDMI.
Outputting to spi is in the works.