MCP National Rail vs Travel Agent MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the MCP National Rail and Travel Agent MCP 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 MCP National Rail when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Travel & Transportation domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
• You have access to required keys: RTT_API_USERNAME, RTT_API_PASSWORD.
• Primary tools included: Live departure lookups, Live arrival lookups, Date-based departure queries.

Explore MCP National Rail Details

Choose Travel Agent MCP when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Travel & Transportation domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: other (Freemium).
• Primary tools included: list_travel_categories, plan_flight_route, get_airport_details.

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	MCP National Rail lucygoodchild Travel & Transportation	Travel Agent MCP forgemeshlabs Travel & Transportation
Summary	An MCP server for UK National Rail trains service, providing train schedules and live travel information, intergrating the Realtime Trains API	Free travel utilities plus live x402 travel intelligence: $0.01 Travel Pulse disruption and emergency-awareness checks, day trips, weekend getaways, creator experiences, weather-aware planning, mobility options, currency conversion, airport checks, and timing guidance.
Category & Scope

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": {
    "lucygoodchild-mcp-national-rail": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "lucygoodchild-mcp-national-rail"
      ],
      "env": {
        "RTT_API_USERNAME": "YOUR_RTT_API_USERNAME_HERE",
        "RTT_API_PASSWORD": "YOUR_RTT_API_PASSWORD_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "forgemeshlabs-travel-agent-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@forgemeshlabs/travel-agent-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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