Share live location & ETA from the train

Today we’ve launched a new feature of Signalbox API that lets users share the live location and estimated time of arrival (ETA) for trains on the British rail network. 

The innovation builds upon our existing journey-detection technology that ​​identifies the train service a smartphone is on. Using GPS, real-time data feeds, and machine-learning algorithms, Signalbox can geolocate and plot live train locations across Great Britain.

With the latest update to the API, users of Signalbox-enabled apps can automatically identify their train, track its progress on a real-time map and share the live location, schedule, and estimated arrival time at their destination. The ability to share live tracking information from a train saves travellers time spent sending messages to friends and family and arranging onward travel by taxi. This capability is particularly useful during delays and disruptions because the ETA updates in real-time. 

Many people have come to expect ETA sharing as standard - you can share a live location from WhatsApp, or share journey tracking from urban transport apps like CityMapper and Uber. Rail should be no exception. The new functionality within Signalbox API means users can share their train’s arrival time to coordinate station pickup, arrange onward travel or simply put somebody’s mind at ease.  

Users of Signalbox API can access the new functionality via the detect endpoint, submitting the destination station alongside a burst of geospatial information from a user’s device. Signalbox API uses this as a constraint to identify the train and return live data including its arrival time.

ETA sharing is also currently available as a customer-facing showcase app, Share my Train. From the train, simply enter your destination from your smartphone and tap to share. We’ll automatically populate a message for you to send, with a link to real-time updates for your train. 

This feature was developed as part of a project​ ​to create new tools that use personalised live train maps. The project was funded by the Department for Transport through the First of a Kind competition, delivered by InnovateUK, to fund the development of pioneering tech and new ideas to deliver cleaner, greener, and more passenger-friendly railways. We’ll be launching more new features over the coming weeks.