Yes—you can build a dedicated arrivals board with a Raspberry Pi. The Pi runs a full-screen display application, obtains scheduled or predicted services from a transit feed, and renders the next departures on a monitor or compact panel. The difficult part is not drawing the timetable; it is finding a permitted, sufficiently fresh feed for the exact operator and stops you want to show.
What the board actually does
A Pi departures board is a small networked computer rather than a self-contained timetable appliance. At startup it launches a display program, commonly in kiosk mode, so a web page or application fills the screen without the normal desktop. The program requests data from a transit provider, selects the relevant stop or station, and redraws upcoming services, destinations, times, platform information or disruption messages when the source supplies them.
Raspberry Pi’s official train-timetable tutorial describes this kiosk-style approach and uses a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W as its example. The tutorial says the project can run on any Raspberry Pi computer; the Zero 2 W is therefore an example, not a mandatory model. A GTFS hardware resource also documents a Raspberry Pi Zero miniature railway departure display, confirming that the concept works for compact layouts as well as full-size screens.
Parts you need
For the basic build, Raspberry Pi’s tutorial lists the following items:
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- 7 inches, 800x480 pixels, IPS type, wide viewing angle, capacitive touchscreen, enjoy smooth touch response and excellent clarity for all your Raspberry Pi projects.
- Specially designed, simply connect to your raspberry pi's MIPI DSI interface. (No additional connections required.)
- Fully Compatible with Raspberry Pi 5/ 4B / 3B+ / 3B / 3A+ / 2B. (No HDMI port, not compatible with any other device.)
- Supports for Raspbian OS 2 points to zoom the page(old version), for Ubuntu/Kali/Win10 IoT (single-touch only). Support backlight brightness adjustment.
- Easy to use, no configuration required, plug and play (for new and configuration unchanged raspberry pi systems). Instructions was provided.
- A Raspberry Pi computer. A Pi Zero 2 W is the tutorial’s example, while another Pi model may be appropriate if your display driver or application needs more performance.
- A suitable power supply for the selected Pi.
- A microSD card for the operating system and application.
- A microSD adapter so the card can be prepared using another computer.
- A monitor or compatible display.
- A display cable that matches both the Pi and the screen.
- Network access, normally through Wi-Fi or Ethernet, so the application can obtain current feed data.
Compatibility matters. A monitor, cable, power supply and panel are not interchangeable across every Pi model. Check the board’s video output, the panel’s interface and driver support, the current requirements, and the physical dimensions before designing an enclosure.
Compact-panel option
If the board will sit beside a model railway or on a desk, a small custom panel can be more suitable than a television. One Raspberry Pi Magazine project used a Raspberry Pi 3B+ with a 256×64 SSD1322 OLED. That is a documented design choice, not a required component. Before choosing a similar OLED, confirm that your software supports its controller, that text is readable from the intended distance, and that its power and enclosure requirements fit the project.
Choose the transit data before writing the display
Your location determines whether the project is practical. Identify the agency or provider serving the intended stops and establish four things:
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- 5-inch 800*480 resolution capacitive touch screen, IPS type, good viewing angle.
- The MIPI DSI interface directly outputs, plug and play, no driver installation required.
- As a touchscreen monitor, compatible with Raspberry Pi 5 / 4B / 3B+ / 3B / 3A+ / 2B / 1B+ / 1A+. (No HDMI. Not compatible with any other devices.)
- Supports for Raspbian OS 2 points to zoom the page(old version), for Ubuntu/Kali/Win10 IoT (single-touch only). Support PWM backlight brightness adjustment.
- Easy to use -> No configuration required (for new and configuration unchanged systems). Provide detailed usage documentation.
- Whether the feed covers your operator, route and exact stop or station.
- Whether it provides predictions, static schedules, or both.
- Whether access requires an account, API key, rate limits or a particular protocol.
- What attribution, branding and reuse terms apply.
A UK rail Raspberry Pi project reported using TransportAPI. Transport for London separately documents an API offering arrival and departure predictions, including instant and websocket data. These are examples of different provider arrangements, not evidence that either service covers every city or operator.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchDo not start by assuming that a feed described as “live” contains every field your screen needs. A source may omit platforms, cancellations, accessibility information or disruption notices. Design the layout around the fields the provider actually returns.
What “real-time” means here
On a home-built board, “real-time” means that the application displays predictions delivered by an upstream feed. It does not guarantee that a vehicle is physically at the predicted location or that the displayed time is continuously current.
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- 3.5 inch, 320×480 resolution, TFT LCD resistive touch screen, clear display effect and using easily with a touch pen.
- No external power supply required.Just plug it into the Raspberry Pi board correctly and install the driver to use it. (Driver installation tutorial is provided)
- This 3.5 inch touch screen is specially designed for Raspberry Pi, perfectly suitable for Pi5, Pi4B, Pi3B+, Pi3B, Pi2B, Pi1B (directly-pluggable).
- Compatible with a variety of systems, such as for Raspbian system, ubuntu system, kali Linux system and so on.
- You can get one 3.5 inch raspberry pi touch screen and one touch pen, what the important things is that the project introduction, code and tutorial is provided.We provide technical support, If you encounter any difficulties during use, please contact us first to help you solve it.
Transport for London warns that some of its time-sensitive bus and rail arrival datasets can be out of date within 30 seconds. That is TfL’s qualification for certain datasets, not a universal freshness standard and not the refresh interval of every Raspberry Pi project. Other providers may update more slowly, experience outages or publish predictions that change as operations change.
Make freshness visible. A practical implementation can show the feed’s last-updated time, mark the screen as stale after a chosen timeout, and display a service-unavailable message instead of leaving old departures on screen. If the feed supports alerts and cancellations, reserve space for them; otherwise, do not imply that an apparently normal list includes all disruptions.
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Build the software in layers
1. Prepare the Pi
Install the operating system on the microSD card, connect the display and network, and apply the provider’s required credentials or configuration. Give the Pi a stable power source and place it where Wi-Fi or Ethernet remains reliable.
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- 7inch capacitive touch screen, 1024x600 resolution, IPS full angle display, with the characteristics of real and vivid color display and excellent dynamic image quality. tempered glass touch panel, supports five -point touch.
- Perfectly adapt to the Raspberry Pi. The packaging comes with the Raspberry Pi 3B/4B adapters, making the screen and the motherboard connect more convenient. Also you can use it with other mainstream development boards such as Banana Pi, BB BLACK etc.
- Support audio output, with portable stereo dual speakers and 3.5 mm headphone jacks, which provides excellent audio experience. In addition you can easily adjust the volume and brightness settings by the dial switch.
- Plug and use without driving. It can not only be used as a game console monitor, but also can be used as a computer split screen display and supports Win10/Win8/Win7 system.DIY by yourself.
- HDMI cables and USB power cables are provided, especially the HDMI adapters on the Raspberry Pi board so that you can easily connect without additional cables, and use with a stand to make your desk cleaner and easier to operate!
2. Fetch and normalize feed data
The application should periodically request the provider’s permitted endpoint, handle authentication securely, and convert the response into a common internal record: stop, route, destination, scheduled time, predicted time, status and alert text where available. Keep the provider-specific parsing separate from the screen code so that changing agencies does not require rebuilding the whole interface.
3. Select the services to show
Filter records to the chosen station or stop, remove services that have departed, sort by predicted time when available, and fall back to scheduled time only when the provider documents that this is appropriate. Clearly label an estimate as scheduled or predicted; never present a timetable-only value as a live observation.
4. Render a readable board
Use large type, high contrast and a fixed number of rows appropriate to the viewing distance. A monitor supports richer layouts and alert banners, while a 256×64-class panel may require abbreviated destinations and a scrolling or page-switched design. Avoid filling a tiny panel with fields that cannot be read from across the room.
5. Run it in kiosk mode
Configure the Pi to launch the display application automatically after boot and keep it full-screen. Raspberry Pi’s tutorial defines kiosk mode as opening a full-screen web page or application without using the desktop environment. Add automatic recovery if the display process exits, and ensure the application can restart after a network interruption.
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Display choices compared
| Approach | Strengths | Trade-offs to check |
|---|---|---|
| Pi with a monitor in kiosk mode | Readable at longer distances; easiest way to show multiple rows, alerts and explanatory labels. | Consumes more space and power; requires a compatible video connection and a suitable mounting location. |
| Pi with a small OLED panel | Compact, distinctive and suitable for a custom enclosure or model railway. | Limited resolution and viewing distance; controller drivers, wiring, brightness and power must match the chosen panel. |
| Different microcontroller-based board | May reduce size or power use for a narrowly defined display. | Different programming, networking and display constraints; an ESP32 transit example is a separate implementation, not a Raspberry Pi build. |
Choose based on screen size and viewing distance, display interface and driver support, power and enclosure constraints, software flexibility, local feed access, and whether the platform can show stale-data states and disruptions.
Data-use, attribution and branding
Read the provider’s current terms before publishing or installing the board. Confirm credential requirements, request limits, caching rules, commercial-use conditions and required attribution. Terms can differ between endpoints from the same agency.
For TfL applications, the open-data guidance says not to imply TfL endorsement and not to use TfL branding in a way that makes the application appear official. The guidance gives “Powered by the Transport for London Journey Planner API” as attribution for the Journey Planner API. Use that wording only when your application actually uses the applicable Journey Planner API, and verify the attribution required by the specific endpoint you select.
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- No departures appear: check that the stop identifier, operator and mode match the provider’s data, then verify credentials and rate limits.
- Times remain unchanged: show a last-updated value and inspect network connectivity, response timestamps and application logs.
- The board shows old services after an outage: implement a stale threshold that replaces the list with a clear warning.
- Text is unreadable: reduce the number of columns, increase type size and test from the actual viewing distance.
- The screen works on a desk but not in the enclosure: recheck cable clearance, ventilation, panel depth and power delivery.
- Predictions look wrong: distinguish scheduled times from predictions and remember that an agency’s freshness caveat applies only to its stated datasets.
Is this project right for your location?
It is a good fit when your transit provider offers an accessible feed covering the stops you care about, permits your intended use, and supplies predictions often enough for the display’s purpose. It is less suitable when the provider publishes only a static timetable, blocks unattended clients, requires credentials you cannot obtain, or provides no reliable way to signal cancellations and stale data.
Plan the feed and screen together: a large monitor is wasted if the provider exposes only a few fields, while a tiny OLED becomes frustrating if riders need platform changes and disruption details. Prototype with one stop and a visible stale-data indicator before committing to an enclosure.
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