mcp-deutsche-bahn 0.1.0

MCP server exposing live Deutsche Bahn data: journeys, delays, disruptions, strikes, and alternative routes.

mcp-deutsche-bahn

An MCP server that gives any MCP-compatible AI assistant (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) live access to Deutsche Bahn data: journey planning, real-time delays, disruptions, construction works, strikes, and alternative routes.

Status: v0.1.0 — alpha. Backed by the open transport.rest API — no API key required.

What it does

Six tools, available to your LLM:

Tool	Answers
search_journeys	"How do I get from Berlin Hbf to München Hbf tomorrow at 9am?"
station_departures	"What's leaving Hamburg Hbf in the next hour?"
journey_status	"Has my booked journey been delayed?"
get_disruptions	"Any construction on the Köln–Frankfurt corridor?"
detect_strike	"Is there a strike going on right now?"
find_alternatives	"Route me around Hannover Hbf if it's blocked."

---

Quickstart (3 steps, ~2 min)

You need Python 3.10+ and uv (one-line install: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh).

# 1. Clone & install
git clone https://github.com/heykay/mcp-deutsche-bahn.git
cd mcp-deutsche-bahn
uv sync

# 2. Sanity-check the server starts
uv run mcp-deutsche-bahn --help 2>&1 | head -1 || echo "server module loaded ✓"

# 3. Note the full path — you'll paste it into the config below
pwd

Then wire it into your MCP client (pick one):

Claude Desktop

Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows). Add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "deutsche-bahn": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/FROM/STEP-3",
        "run",
        "mcp-deutsche-bahn"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. A tool icon appears in the input bar → click → confirm deutsche-bahn is listed.

Claude Code

claude mcp add deutsche-bahn -- uv --directory /ABSOLUTE/PATH/FROM/STEP-3 run mcp-deutsche-bahn

Cursor / other MCP clients

Same shape — command: uv, args: ["--directory", "<path>", "run", "mcp-deutsche-bahn"].

---

Try it

Ask your assistant:

What are my options getting from Berlin Hbf to Munich tomorrow at 8am, and is there any construction on that route?

It will call search_journeys and get_disruptions and stitch a human answer.

---

Optional: standalone CLI agent

If you want a plain-English REPL without Claude Desktop, the project also ships an anthropic-powered front-end that drives the MCP server directly:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
uv run mcp-deutsche-bahn-agent                              # interactive
uv run mcp-deutsche-bahn-agent "next trains out of Hamburg" # one-shot

---

Configuration

Env var	Default	Purpose
DB_TRANSPORT_API	https://v6.db.transport.rest	Point at a self-hosted transport.rest for reliability.
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	(unset)	Only needed for the optional CLI agent above.

---

Local development

uv sync --extra dev
uv run pytest -m live   # smoke tests, hit the real API
uv run ruff check .

Run the server in inspector mode to poke individual tools without an MCP client:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv run mcp-deutsche-bahn

---

Known limits

• Community backend. transport.rest is an open wrapper around DB data, not an official DB product. The public instance has no uptime SLA and rate-limits. For reliability, self-host (Docker image available) and point DB_TRANSPORT_API at it.
• Strike detection is heuristic. There is no machine-readable "is there a strike?" API. The tool stacks signals from route remarks and DB's construction RSS feed and returns a confidence score. Confirm via bahn.de/service/aktuell, GDL, or EVG before acting.
• Read-only. Tells you about journeys; doesn't buy tickets.
• Station resolution is best-effort. "Berlin Hbf" is reliable; "berlin" picks the first match. Be specific for edge cases.

Roadmap

• v0.2: hosted/remote MCP variant (HTTP + SSE) for non-CLI users
• v0.2: richer strike signal — wire to a real news API
• v0.3: ticket-price comparison via DB API Marketplace

Contributing

PRs welcome. File issues with the query that broke and the JSON the tool returned.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.