Bart vs Irail

In-depth architectural comparison of the Bart and Irail MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Bart when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Travel & Transportation domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: bart_departures, bart_stations, bart_trip_planner.

Explore Bart Details

Choose Irail when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Travel & Transportation domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: irail_liveboard, irail_journey, irail_train.

Explore Irail Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Bart Travel & Transportation	Irail Travel & Transportation
Summary	BART MCP — San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit real-time data (api.bart.gov)	iRail MCP — Belgian rail (SNCB/NMBS) real-time via the community iRail API
Category & Scope	Travel & Transportation	Travel & Transportation
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bart": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-bart"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "irail": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-irail"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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