Train Crossing FAQ
What is this?
The various pages show the times at which trains are expected through that particular crossing. New data is pulled from the excellent Real time Trains website once every 10 minutes. The closer to the present time, the more accurate the prediction.
How do I use it?
If you live nearby a busy crossing and want to maximise your chance of getting through without having to stop, identify one of the green times (i.e. those with at least 5 minutes between trains) and aim to get to the crossing about a minute or so after the train.
Worst case, if you do get caught, at least you'll have a sense of how long you'll need to wait. You'll also look like a psychic when you know which direction the train is coming from and can win family games of 'guess how many cars there are on the next one'.
How accurate is it?
In my experience, reasonably - I've found they tend the trains near the top of the page tend to arrive within about 1-2mins of the estimated time. Remember that if it's a freight rain with a lot of cars, it might take longer to get through than normal. On any day, for any reason, any train can run a bit late (or early, I've found).
Can you add CROSSING X?
Maybe. I wanted to add Greatford and Peakirk, but RealTime Trains don't have data for those crossings in their system. It wouldn't be hard to add any other crossing in the country though - I just chose the ones I use from time to time.
Why does the site look so basic?
I wanted it to be lightning-fast and to be compatible with absolutely everything. This page would load immediately on a PC running Windows '95. Besides... I made it as a little mini-project for friends and family over the space of a few hours after I got caught at Tallington for 15 minutes, and swore... 'never again'.
Could I get this data for myself?
Absolutely... Just visit the RealTime Trains website, search for the crossing of your choice, set the date, set the time, hit 'search' and then pick through the table to get the bits you want. It's a really great site.
What's next?
Got a few ideas. Wondering about doing a pretty full-screen UI for mobile that goes green/red with a big friendly countdown to the next (approximate) opening/closing at some point. Also wondered about updating more often than every 10 mins. A lot of the times are to the nearest quarter of a minute - I'm just rounding to the nearest at the moment, so I could grab those fractions and get a bit better accuracy... For now, this meets my needs.
This is really handy. Can I buy you a coffee?
You don't have to do that - I'm not running a commercial enterprise but if it's helped you, that'd be a thoughtful gesture!
Home | Updated: 23/2/22