The Next Trains Out Screensaver
The The Next Trains Out screensaver shows a live Swiss departure board from transport.opendata.ch, key-less. Platform is shown as published, sector ranges and all — the detail that tells a passenger which third of a long platform to stand on, and which most departure APIs throw away. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
Live preview
Press ESC to leave fullscreen. Settings are saved in your browser only.
How the The Next Trains Out screensaver works
The saver reads the source described above and draws it on a canvas — no account, no tracking.
A live Swiss departure board from transport.opendata.ch, key-less. Platform is shown as published, sector ranges and all — the detail that tells a passenger which third of a long platform to stand on, and which most departure APIs throw away.
It refreshes on a schedule, so what you see stays current.
Colours and any options can be changed in settings; nothing is stored beyond your own browser.
A station board from open data
The departures come from transport.opendata.ch, an unofficial public API powered by Opendata.ch that offers developers Swiss public transport timetable data. It answers from the national timetable and its real-time data, published as open data on opentransportdata.swiss. Its endpoints include locations, for finding stations, connections, and stationboard, which returns the next departures from a station.
Each departure on a board carries details such as the line, the destination, the departure time and the platform. Platforms are shown as published, and at larger stations they can include sector letters or ranges that tell a boarding passenger which part of a long platform to stand on, a detail that is easy to overlook.
The delay column is often blank. Real-time delays depend on what operators report, so a blank is not a promise that a train is on time. Boards describe what the data says at the moment of loading, and cancellations, platform changes and short-notice rerouting may appear later. For travel decisions use the operator's own app.
A worked example
A live Swiss departure board from transport.opendata.ch, key-less. Platform is shown as published, sector ranges and all — the detail that tells a passenger which third of a long platform to stand on, and which most departure APIs throw away.
Settings & tips
- Station changes what the saver shows.
- Accent and Background recolour the display.
- Every value on screen comes from the live source — nothing is simulated.
- Press ESC to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this real data?
- Yes — it comes from the source named on this page and is refreshed on a schedule.
- Is a key needed?
- No. This source is fully key-less.
- Is it free?
- Yes, and it runs entirely in your browser.
- What do the letters after a platform number mean?
- They are sectors, which divide a long platform into sections so passengers know where on it to wait.
- Does an empty delay mean the train is on time?
- Not necessarily. Delays depend on what operators report, so an empty field means none was reported in the data, not that punctuality is guaranteed.