Websites and Apps?

[camperdown9]

Hi

There are apps that show were aircraft and ships are around world in realtime. Is there something similar for trains?

Also is there an app or website that lets you search for a traction unit by using its number. (example an app or website that lets you type in the number and it then shows the type of train, maybe some history or ownership, when it entered services etc?)

Thanks

Alex

 

[JN114]

No, unit allocations aren't made public through any official channels.

 

[ABB125]

I've always thought that something like this would be very useful. How difficult would it be to create one that is publicly available?

 

[camperdown9]

I've always thought that something like this would be very useful. How difficult would it be to create one that is publicly available?

The airline industry seams to have no issue with the public knowing the hight, position, route, speed, aircraft type and registration. As well as origin and destination. However this information is transmitted by radio from the aircraft so I guess is just a case of some systems on the ground being able to get hold of the signal and decode it and redisplay it on an app.

 

[Domh245]

The airline industry seams to have no issue with the public knowing the height, position, route, speed, aircraft type and registration. As well as origin and destination. However this information is transmitted by radio from the aircraft so I guess is just a case of some systems on the ground being able to get hold of the signal and decode it and redisplay it on an app.

It was discussed on here recently, and all of that information is available internally to the railway. However Network rail chooses what it wants to make publicly available and what it keeps internal. For them, it is a fairly simple case of amount of money spent maintaining the servers required to host the information v usefulness of the information. Running times are very useful for everyone which makes the cost worth swallowing, but the number of the locos/units involved only benefits a far smaller number of people.

As for the airline industry, there has to be a standard for transmitting information from the aircraft to whoever needs to access it (controllers, airlines, military, etc) which makes it easy for anyone with a receiver to interpret it, which is why there are plenty of sights like flight radar 24. That is then combined with information released by the airports and airlines to give you the full picture.

 

[trainmania100]

Freightlocate was developing a loco tracker however dev seems to have stopped on that for the time being (along with everything else on that site for that matter, sms alerts forum etc)
If you want a specific loco , always try the TOPS request thread

 

[Churchill012]

Hi

There are apps that show were aircraft and ships are around world in realtime. Is there something similar for trains?

Also is there an app or website that lets you search for a traction unit by using its number. (example an app or website that lets you type in the number and it then shows the type of train, maybe some history or ownership, when it entered services etc?)

Thanks

Alex

Raildar.co.uk is a map showing approximate locations of trains and gives a small amount of information. Not sure how accurate it is.

 

[PermitToTravel]

http://traintimes.org.uk/map attempts this too around certain major stations

 

[DarloRich]

I've always thought that something like this would be very useful. How difficult would it be to create one that is publicly available?

interesting to whom? The spotter or the normal passenger? I doubt the normal passenger cares if 350123 or 350124 is operating their service.

That is the key - usefulness to the general public v cost/benefit of providing the service. You will never convince me that providing detailed information of this type to the general public is of any benefit.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Hi

There are apps that show were aircraft and ships are around world in realtime. Is there something similar for trains?

Also is there an app or website that lets you search for a traction unit by using its number. (example an app or website that lets you type in the number and it then shows the type of train, maybe some history or ownership, when it entered services etc?)

Thanks

Alex

ABrail / BRDatabase gives you history of a loco or unit. It doesn't tell you where they are.

 

[ABB125]

interesting to whom? The spotter or the normal passenger? I doubt the normal passenger cares if 350123 or 350124 is operating their service.

That is the key - usefulness to the general public v cost/benefit of providing the service. You will never convince me that providing detailed information of this type to the general public is of any benefit.

It could be done as a paid for service.

 

[E_Reeves]

I think this would be a great idea, or to even know what class it is would be good as well, especially for freight.

 

[infobleep]

What would be useful is whether a train has loos; WiFi; cateeing; plug sockets; tables etc.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[Freightmaster]

I think this would be a great idea, or to even know what class it is would be good as well, especially for freight.

Would enough people be prepared to pay for it though??


MARK

 

[theblackwatch]

Would enough people be prepared to pay for it though??

Probably not.... you only have to look on here and other forums when someone is asking for information - if you point them in the direction of a book they can buy with it all in, they tend to go silent!

 

[route:oxford]

There are probably just enough people out there who would be keen to know the exact position of, say the "Tesco Train", in order to slip down the embankments and cut the sides open for the bounty to make sure that it never happens for freight.

As for passenger services. There's probably a way to do it by "pinging" the onboard Wi-Fi.

 

[yorkie]

interesting to whom? The spotter or the normal passenger? I doubt the normal passenger cares if 350123 or 350124 is operating their service.

That is the key - usefulness to the general public v cost/benefit of providing the service. You will never convince me that providing detailed information of this type to the general public is of any benefit.

I knew this argument would be rolled out as soon as I read the thread

Redact the numbers to thwart spotters if you want (it doesn't bother me in the slightest what the number is!) but many passengers would like to know how their train is formed.

It is particularly the case if you have a cycle reservation (HST vs 91+Mk4s - if both in right formation, couldn't be further apart) or if you wish to avoid overcrowded trains (e.g. 4 car Voyager vs 5 car Super Voyager, or HST on CrossCountry), or simply to be in the right position for their coach.

At present, the screens do not provide sufficient information to cater for all these requirements, and any information displayed is not always accurate.

Back in April 2014, I wrote:

We've already had threads about this, and some examples of why it could be useful to identify a train formation can be found in this post by DaveNewcastle for example.

..an here is that post of August 2012 referred to above:

As someone who wouldn't know the difference between one class and another, I do still have a very real need to know . . . .

When I take my bike on East Coast trains, I need to know which end of the platform to be standing at when boarding at an intermediate station. It can even come as a surprise to dispatch staff to find that an electric set has been substituted for a booked HST or vice versa, and if that happens, then running along 200 meters of platform full of passengers with a bike can be quite hazardous.
But to be helpful, then the information would have to reflect the actual running set, and not just the 'booked' set. It would be enough if the information was available to platform staff (via radio to the Station Management Office), but I've known that information to come back to them with the class of the 'booked' set, and not the running set.
A similar need to know applies to sets running in reverse formation. I've known that information to be communicated to a station if the Guard has notified the station by phone while en route, and not otherwise communicated by any on-line systems being used by Station staff. (FGW seem to be more effective at identifying reverse formation HSTs than EC, in my experience, but whether that is because they use another layer of procedures and comms., or they use available data more effectively, I couldn't tell)

Hope that helps.

I suspect we will be having the same discussion again in another 2 years time, with people desperately trying to think of reasons why this shouldn't happen.

 

[infobleep]

I knew this argument would be rolled out as soon as I read the thread [emoji38]

Redact the numbers to thwart spotters if you want (it doesn't bother me in the slightest what the number is!) but many passengers would like to know how their train is formed.

It is particularly the case if you have a cycle reservation (HST vs 91+Mk4s - if both in right formation, couldn't be further apart) or if you wish to avoid overcrowded trains (e.g. 4 car Voyager vs 5 car Super Voyager, or HST on CrossCountry), or simply to be in the right position for their coach.

At present, the screens do not provide sufficient information to cater for all these requirements, and any information displayed is not always accurate.

Back in April 2014, I wrote:

..an here is that post of August 2012 referred to above:

I suspect we will be having the same discussion again in another 2 years time, with people desperately trying to think of reasons why this shouldn't happen.

It's irrelevant what people think on why it shouldn't happen if they are not the ones in power.

Personally I think if the prospect of additional information is anything like the prospect of decent development of the National Rail Enquiries App, you'll be out of luck.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[FordFocus]

From someone who drives trains, I wouldn't see the obvious benefit to seeing if 350101 or 350210 formed a train or other TOPS information. On the other hand, I do like sites like flightradar though for the ability to give out various information including the origin and destination.

Aircraft are different to trains though as they have to transmit more information to the ground which can be received from a receiver that's readily available. See: https://www.flightradar24.com/how-it-works .. with trains there isn't a similar system as it can be a 1960s loco or 2016 IEP just simply sat on a track circuit with a headcode. The head code holds the key but can be hit and miss with apps like opentraintimes maps. It wouldn't be possible to show speeds in real time unless it was fitted was aircraft style ADS-B as in the link. No chance of that happening unless ERTMS transmitted live information.

I like yorkies idea on the train been able to give information on the formation and other information such as where first class is located, catering and any other information that's readily available on station PIS screens or journeycheck. I suppose it shouldn't take heaven and earth to integrate it even to something like LDB.