Why are the most delayed trains listed first?

The saver sorts by lateness, so it highlights disruption instead of typical on-time running.

Are all the positions exact?

Not always. SEPTA states that status for trains starting in Newark, Delaware, Trenton, New Jersey and Thorndale is estimated, since the Control Center cannot see their movement on Amtrak territory.

SEPTA Live Trains Screensaver

The SEPTA Live Trains screensaver shows philadelphia regional rail services in motion, gathered key-less by the pipeline and sorted by how late each one is running, with its next stop. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the SEPTA Live Trains screensaver works

The background pipeline reads this from SEPTA and saves a snapshot the saver loads.

Philadelphia regional rail services in motion, gathered key-less by the pipeline and sorted by how late each one is running, with its next stop..

It refreshes on a schedule, so what you see stays current.

Colours can be changed in settings; nothing is stored beyond your own browser.

Reading Regional Rail from a live feed

SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, runs buses, subway and trolley lines and a commuter railway called Regional Rail that serves Philadelphia and its suburbs. Its public TrainView data lists the Regional Rail trains currently running, with each train's ID, starting location, destination and whether it is late.

SEPTA says its Regional Rail Control Center can see all trains on SEPTA territory in real time, so TrainView status is real time there. For trains starting in Newark, Delaware, Trenton, New Jersey and Thorndale, status is estimated, because the Control Center cannot see their actual movement on Amtrak territory.

Because the saver sorts from the latest down, the top of the board shows the worst delays, which is the opposite of what a passenger would normally want to find first and makes the screen a picture of disruption, not of typical service. Treat any implausibly large lateness figure with suspicion: it may be bad data and not a real delay. The feed is a snapshot of what the system recorded, and the operator's own app handles actual journey planning.

A worked example

Philadelphia regional rail services in motion, gathered key-less by the pipeline and sorted by how late each one is running, with its next stop.

Settings & tips

Accent and Background recolour the display.
Run automation/run.py septa to refresh the feed.
Press ESC to leave fullscreen.

Frequently asked questions

Is this real data?: Yes — it comes from SEPTA and is refreshed on a schedule.
Is a key needed?: No. This source is fully key-less.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
Why are the most delayed trains listed first?: The saver sorts by lateness, so it highlights disruption instead of typical on-time running.
Are all the positions exact?: Not always. SEPTA states that status for trains starting in Newark, Delaware, Trenton, New Jersey and Thorndale is estimated, since the Control Center cannot see their movement on Amtrak territory.

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