Amtrak.js

Disclaimer

This library and its creator have no relation to Amtrak. Amtrak and the Amtrak Logo are trademarks of The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC). The API endpoint used is originally intended for with Amtrak's Train Tracking map.

Note

Any version below 3.0.0 WILL NO LONGER WORK due to:

• Amtrak blocking all requests from any Node.js REST client, or at least the ones that I have tried.
• The deprecation of the Amtraker v1 and v2 APIs.

While v3 code syntax is the same, the resulting types are different, please check the docs section for more information.

Installation

Using NPM:

npm install amtrak

Using Yarn:

yarn add amtrak

Using PNPM:

pnpm add amtrak

Functions

Amtrak.js has a pretty basic schema with 4 different functions:

• fetchAllTrains(): Fetches all active Amtrak trains.
• fetchTrain(trainId: string): Fetches a train by its number or ID.
• fetchAllStations(): Fetches metadata for all Amtrak stations.
• fetchStation(stationId: string): Fetches metadata for a station by its ID.

fetchAllTrains()

• Fetches all active Amtrak trains.
• Returns Promise<TrainResponse> where each key is a train number and the value is a list of Train objects.
• Associated endpoint: https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/trains

Example

const { fetchAllTrains } = require("amtrak"); // CommonJS
import { fetchAllTrains } from "amtrak"; // ES6

// JS
fetchAllTrains().then((trains) => {
  console.log(trains);
});

// TS
fetchAllTrains().then((trains: TrainResponse) => {
  console.log(trains);
});

fetchTrain(trainId: string)

• Fetches a train by its number or ID.
• Returns Promise<TrainResponse> with a single key (the train number) and the value is a list of Train objects.
  • If a valid Train ID is provided, the value will be a list of length 1.
• If the train number/ID is not found, the promise will resolve with an empty array.
• A train ID is comprised of the train number and the day of the month the train originated.
  • For example, a California Zephyr train (train #5) that originated on 02/09/2023 would have an ID of 5-9;
• Associated endpoint: https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/trains/:trainId

Example

const { fetchTrain } = require("amtrak"); // CommonJS
import { fetchTrain } from "amtrak"; // ES6

// JS
fetchTrain("5-9").then((train) => {
  console.log(train);
});

// TS
fetchTrain("5-9").then((train: TrainResponse) => {
  console.log(train);
});

fetchAllStations()

• Fetches metadata for all Amtrak stations.
• Returns Promise<StationResponse> where each key is a station ID and the value is a StationMeta object.
• Associated endpoint: https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/stations

Example

const { fetchAllStations } = require("amtrak"); // CommonJS
import { fetchAllStations } from "amtrak"; // ES6

// JS
fetchAllStations().then((stations) => {
  console.log(stations);
});

// TS
fetchAllStations().then((stations: StationResponse) => {
  console.log(stations);
});

fetchStation(stationId: string)

• Fetches metadata for a station by its ID.
• Returns Promise<StationResponse> with a single key (the station ID) and the value is a StationMeta object.
• If the station ID is not found, the promise will resolve with an empty object.
• Associated endpoint: https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/stations/:stationId

Example

const { fetchStation } = require("amtrak"); // CommonJS
import { fetchStation } from "amtrak"; // ES6

// JS
fetchStation("CHI").then((station) => {
  console.log(station);
});

// TS
fetchStation("CHI").then((station: StationResponse) => {
  console.log(station);
});

fetchStaleStatus()

• Fetches info on the state of the Amtraker API.
• Returns Promise<StaleStatusResponse>.
• Associated endpoint: https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/stale

Example

const { fetchStaleStatus } = require("amtrak"); // CommonJS
import { fetchStaleStatus } from "amtrak"; // ES6

// JS
fetchStaleStatus().then((status) => {
  console.log(status);
});

// TS
fetchStaleStatus().then((status: StaleStatusResponse) => {
  console.log(status);
});

Types

There are a handful of types that are used throughout the library. Below is a list:

Train

interface Train {
  routeName: string; // Name of the train route
  trainNum: number; // Train number
  trainID: string; // Train ID
  lat: number; // Latitude of the train
  lon: number; // Longitude of the train
  trainTimely: string; // On time/early/late status of the train in plain english
  stations: Station[]; // List of stations the train has and will pass through
  heading: string; // Direction the train is heading in the 8 cardinal directions
  eventCode: string; // Upcoming/current station
  eventTZ: string; // Timezone of the upcoming/current station
  eventName: string; // Name of the upcoming/current station
  origCode: string; // Origin station code
  originTZ: string; // Timezone of the origin station
  origName: string; // Name of the origin station
  destCode: string; // Destination station code
  destTZ: string; // Timezone of the destination station
  destName: string; // Name of the destination station
  trainState: string; // Either "Predeparture" or "Active"
  velocity: number; // Speed of the train in MPH
  statusMsg: string; // Status message associated with the train, if any
  createdAt: string; // Timestamp of when the train data was stored in Amtrak's DB
  updatedAt: string; // Timestamp of when the train data was last updated
  lastValTS: string; // Timestamp of when the train data was last received
  objectID: number; // ID of the train data in Amtrak's DB
}

Station

interface Station {
  name: string; // Name of the station in plain english
  code: string; // Station code
  tz: string; // Timezone of the station
  bus: boolean; // Whether or not the station is a bus stop, always false
  schArr: string; // Scheduled arrival time
  schDep: string; // Scheduled departure time
  arr: string; // Actual arrival time
  dep: string; // Actual departure time
  arrCmnt: string; // Arrival timeliness comment
  depCmnt: string; // Departure timeliness comment
  status: string; // One of "Enroute", "Station", "Departed", or "Unknown"
}

StationMeta

interface StationMeta {
  name: string; // Name of the station in plain english
  code: string; // Station code
  tz: string; // Timezone of the station
  lat: number; // Latitude of the station
  lon: number; // Longitude of the station
  address1: string; // Address line 1 of the station
  address2: string; // Address line 2 of the station, *usually* empty
  city: string; // City of the station
  state: string; // State of the station
  zip: number; // Zip code of the station
  trains: string[]; // List of train IDs that pass through the station
}

TrainResponse

interface TrainResponse {
  [key: string]: Train[];
}

StationResponse

interface StationResponse {
  [key: string]: StationMeta;
}

StaleData

interface StaleData {
  avgLastUpdate: number; // Average time in milliseconds since train data was last updated in Amtrak's database
  activeTrains: number; // Number of trains that are currently active
  stale: boolean; // Whether or not the data is stale
}

Endpoints

As mentioned above in the Functions section, each function is associated with an endpoint. Below is a list of all endpoints used by the library, where the associated function returns the same data as the endpoint, allowing you to use the library with your own HTTP client.

• https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/trains
  • Associted with fetchAllTrains()
• https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/trains/:trainId
  • Associted with fetchTrain(trainId: string)
• https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/stations
  • Associted with fetchAllStations()
• https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/stations/:stationId
  • Associted with fetchStation(stationId: string)
• https://api-v3.amtraker.com/v3/stale
  • Associted with fetchStaleStatus()