Caltrain MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that promises to tell you _exactly_ when the next Caltrain will arrive... and then be 10 minutes late anyway.

Local serverstdioPython

What is the Caltrain MCP MCP server?

Caltrain mcp mcp server connects Caltrain MCP to AI assistants that speak the Model Context Protocol. A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that promises to tell you exactly when the next Caltrain will arrive... and then be 10 minutes late anyway. Uses real GTFS data, so at least the disappointment is official!.

What Caltrain MCP does

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that promises to tell you exactly when the next Caltrain will arrive... and then be 10 minutes late anyway. Uses real GTFS data, so at least the disappointment is official!

Key capabilities

  • 🚆 "Real-time" train schedules - Get the next departures between any two stations (actual arrival times may vary by +/- infinity)
  • 📍 Station lookup - Because apparently 31 stations is too many to memorize 🤷‍♀️
  • 🕐 Time-specific queries - Plan your commute with surgical precision, then watch it all fall apart
  • Smart search - Type 'sf' instead of the full name because we're all lazy here
  • 📊 GTFS-based - We use the same data Caltrain does, so when things go wrong, we can blame them together

Installing the caltrain mcp mcp server

The server is distributed via PyPI as caltrain-mcp, so most clients can run it without a manual build step. Add it to your MCP client's configuration and restart the client to pick it up — the copy-paste configs for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are on this page.

Where it fits

Developer-tool servers are usually the first ones people connect, because they turn "help me with this code" into an assistant that can actually read the repo and act on it. Caltrain MCP sits in that group. Worth comparing against the other developer tools servers in this directory before you commit to one, since several overlap in scope but differ sharply in setup cost and permissions.

Practical notes

  • This server runs locally, so it operates with whatever access your machine and its credentials already have. Scope that deliberately rather than by default.
  • Maintained by davidyen1124, written in Python.
  • MCP clients ask for confirmation before each tool call by default. Keep that on while you learn what the caltrain mcp mcp server actually does with your data.
  • Every entry in this directory is reviewed by hand before it goes live, and details are checked against the project's own documentation.

How to install the Caltrain MCP MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "caltrain": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["caltrain-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Caltrain MCP to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Caltrain MCP directly.