iRail MCP Server

Disclaimer: This project was vibe coded and is not affiliated with or supported by iRail vzw. Train data may be inaccurate or outdated. Always verify with official sources (belgiantrain.be or the NMBS/SNCB app) before making travel decisions.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides Belgian railway travel information via the iRail API.

Features

• Search Stations - Find Belgian railway stations by name
• Live Departures/Arrivals - Real-time departure and arrival boards
• Find Connections - Route planning between stations with transfers
• Train Information - Detailed stops, delays, and platforms for a specific train
• Network Disturbances - Current disruptions and planned maintenance

Installation

Requires Python 3.11+ and uv.

git clone https://github.com/HansF/irail-mcp.git
cd irail-mcp
uv venv && source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install -e .

Usage with Claude Code

Add to your project's .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "irail": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["irail-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Then ask Claude things like:

• "What trains leave Brussels Central in the next hour?"
• "Find a route from Antwerp to Bruges at 2:30 PM tomorrow"
• "Are there any disruptions on the Belgian rail network?"
• "Show me details for train IC2240"

Tools

search_stations

Search for stations by name.

• query (required) - Station name or partial name
• lang (optional) - Language: en, nl, fr, de, it

get_liveboard

Real-time departures or arrivals from a station.

• station (required) - Station name
• date (optional) - YYYY-MM-DD, "today", "tomorrow", "+2 days"
• time (optional) - HH:MM (24h)
• arrival (optional) - Show arrivals instead of departures
• lang (optional)

find_connections

Find routes between two stations.

• from_station (required) - Departure station
• to_station (required) - Destination station
• date, time, lang (optional)
• arrival_time (optional) - If true, time is desired arrival time

get_train_info

Detailed information about a specific train.

• train_id (required) - e.g. "IC1234" or "BE.NMBS.IC1234"
• date, lang (optional)

get_disturbances

Current network disruptions and planned works.

• lang (optional)

Running Tests

uv pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -m pytest tests/ -v

API Compliance

• Rate limited to 3 requests/second per iRail guidelines
• Proper User-Agent header set
• 30-second timeout for slow responses

License

MIT

References

• iRail API - Documentation
• Model Context Protocol
• NMBS/SNCB