About the data
Everything on this site comes from three open data sources. This page says exactly what they are, how often they update, and where the limits sit.
Live departures and arrivals: Darwin
Darwin is the rail industry's real-time train-running engine, operated by Rail Delivery Group on behalf of the network. It merges the working timetable with signalling data and updates from train operators, and it feeds the departure screens you see at stations. Darwin has been available to developers under an open licence since 2014.
Our boards query Darwin through the National Rail OpenLDBWS interface each time you load or refresh a page, and re-poll every 30 seconds while a board is open. We apply a short cache (under a minute) so heavy traffic on one station doesn't hammer the feed. What you see is the same expected time and platform data the station screens show, give or take that cache window.
Station reference data
Station names, three-letter CRS codes and coordinates come from openly licensed industry reference data. We cover the 2,608 National Rail stations in England, Scotland and Wales. Distances between stations are straight-line calculations from those coordinates, so treat them as a rough guide rather than a walking route.
Passenger numbers
The annual passenger figures, national rank and most common origin/destination shown on station pages are the Office of Rail and Road's station usage estimates for the year April 2024 to March 2025, published under the Open Government Licence. They are estimates built mainly from ticket sales, and the ORR notes their limitations; we show them unmodified. Stations opened after that survey year have no figures yet.
What we don't show (yet)
- London Underground, trams and metro systems that sit outside the National Rail network. TfL-run Elizabeth line and Overground stations with National Rail codes are included.
- Fares. Our off-peak guide explains fare time restrictions, but we don't sell or price tickets.
Accuracy and verification
Live times are only as good as Darwin itself, which occasionally lags a fast-moving disruption. During major incidents, treat the operator's own alerts as the final word. Each page on this site shows a "last verified" date for its static details, and we re-check the station reference data against the source when it publishes updates.
Who runs this site
LiveTrainDepartures.co.uk is an independent site built and run by SEOBurf Ltd. It is unofficial: we are not affiliated with National Rail, Rail Delivery Group, Network Rail or any train operating company. Names of stations and operators are used to describe the services shown, and their trade marks stay with their owners.
Spotted something wrong? Email hello@livetraindepartures.co.uk and we'll check it against the source data.
Sources: Darwin via National Rail OpenLDBWS (Open Government Licence); open station reference data. Page last verified 7 September 2026.