Irail

What the Irail MCP server does

The Irail MCP server gives MCP clients access to Belgian railway information from the community iRail API. Its tools cover station boards, route planning, train status, and network disruptions for SNCB/NMBS services and related Infrabel incidents.

irail_liveboard returns departures or arrivals for a station. Results can include train number, destination, scheduled time, delay, platform, and cancellation status. Station input supports common names and fuzzy forms such as Brussels-South, Antwerp-Central, and Liège-Guillemins.

irail_journey plans a route between two Belgian stations. It can return journey legs, transfers, live delays, and platforms for each leg. Optional departure or arrival times can be provided as Belgian-local ISO datetimes or times.

irail_train follows a specific train and reports its stops, scheduled and actual times, delays, platforms, current delay, and live position. irail_disturbances lists current incidents and planned works, including strikes, track works, and line closures, with a title, summary, type, link, and update time.

How it works

The Irail MCP server is available in two connection modes. A remote MCP endpoint is provided through Pipeworx at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/irail/mcp. That scoped endpoint lists the Irail tools alongside shared Pipeworx meta-tools. The full Pipeworx endpoint, https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp, exposes the broader catalog directly.

The gateway can also run tool calls over HTTP. For example, a client can send a POST request to the corresponding /v1/tools/irail_liveboard endpoint with a station in the JSON body. The gateway documentation also provides endpoints for inspecting and searching tools.

For local use, the package communicates over standard input and output. The local process exposes only the Irail tools and does not include the gateway’s shared meta-tools or cross-catalog routing.

Setup and configuration

Add the remote endpoint to an MCP client using its URL, or configure the local package with the command npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-irail. The local mode does not require a Pipeworx account or a gateway round trip.

A typical remote configuration is:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "irail": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/irail/mcp"
    }
  }
}

A local configuration uses the npx command with -y and @pipeworx/mcp-irail as its argument. No environment variables are documented for either mode.

Tools and capabilities

• Query departures or arrivals for a Belgian station.
• Plan routes with optional departure or arrival times.
• Track a train using identifiers such as IC 1832, IC1832, or BE.NMBS.IC1832.
• Inspect scheduled versus actual stop times, delays, and platforms.
• Check planned works and active rail disturbances.
• Ask the Pipeworx gateway to route a natural-language question when using a gateway connection.

Train identifiers can come from the liveboard or journey results, making those tools useful starting points for train tracking.

Limitations and notes

The data scope is Belgian rail. The gateway pack endpoint includes shared Pipeworx tools in addition to the four Irail tools, so its reported tool count is larger than the pack’s own list. The local package avoids those shared tools and provides only this pack’s capabilities.

Journey time parameters are interpreted in Belgian local time. The liveboard supports an arrival type for arrivals; otherwise it provides departures. The project is licensed under MIT.