trains
Query UK National Rail live departure boards, arrivals, delays, and train services. Use when asked about train times, departures, arrivals, delays, platforms, or "when is the next train" for UK railways. Supports all GB stations via Darwin/Huxley2 API.
Why use this skill?
Get real-time UK rail departure boards, delay alerts, and platform info directly in OpenClaw. Powered by the National Rail Darwin API.
Install via CLI (Recommended)
clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/jabbslad/uk-trainsWhat This Skill Does
The trains skill provides real-time access to the UK National Rail network via the Darwin/Huxley2 API. It serves as a powerful utility for travelers, allowing users to query live departure boards, check train arrivals, identify platform numbers, and monitor service delays. Whether you are commuting to London or traveling between major cities like Manchester and Edinburgh, this agent provides accurate, up-to-the-minute data to ensure you are never caught off guard by cancellations or schedule changes.
Installation
To integrate this skill, ensure you have the OpenClaw framework installed. Run the following command in your terminal:
clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/jabbslad/uk-trains
After installation, you must obtain a free Darwin API token by registering at the National Rail OpenLDBWS portal. Once acquired, configure your environment variable NATIONAL_RAIL_TOKEN or update the skills.entries.uk-trains.apiKey setting to enable data retrieval.
Use Cases
This skill is ideal for commuters, travelers, and rail enthusiasts. Use it to:
- Check if your morning train to work is on time.
- Find out which platform a connecting service arrives at.
- Identify if there are severe service disruptions or track maintenance issues.
- Plan your route by comparing multiple upcoming departure times.
- Quickly look up 3-letter station codes (CRS codes) for any UK station.
Example Prompts
- "When is the next train from London Paddington to Oxford, and is it on time?"
- "Show me the live departures for Manchester Piccadilly. Are there any delays today?"
- "Check if the 18:30 from Leeds to London Kings Cross has a platform yet and if it's running behind schedule."
Tips & Limitations
- Precision: Always use the 3-letter CRS codes (e.g., PAD, KGX, EUS) for the most accurate results when querying specific stations.
- Arrival Data: To get specific arrival times for a trip, combine a departure query from the origin with an arrival query at the destination, matching service IDs for accuracy.
- Status Icons: The skill generates highly readable status updates using emojis (✅, ⚠️, ❌, 🔄). For delays, the output explicitly states the expected time, which is crucial for decision-making.
- Network Dependency: This skill requires an active internet connection as it performs live lookups against the external National Rail Darwin API. If the API is down or the token is invalid, service data will not be available.
Metadata
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Find the right skillPaste this into your clawhub.json to enable this plugin.
{
"plugins": {
"official-jabbslad-uk-trains": {
"enabled": true,
"auto_update": true
}
}
}Tags(AI)
Flags: external-api, network-access