---
title: BNE Trains
layout: project
description: BNE Trains is a phone-first web app that recreates Translink platform departure boards for 154 South East Queensland train stations.
canonical: https://bowdencloud.com/bne-trains
image: https://bowdencloud.com/assets/media/share-default.webp
image_alt: bowdenCloud - the digital workshop of Steve Bowden
last_modified: "2026-11-02"
tag: Live Station Departure Boards
accent: teal
pitch: The platform departure board on your phone, with live Translink times.
features:
  - Boards for any of 154 South East Queensland stations
  - Filters for line, direction, platform, and time of day
  - Delays, cancellations, and platform changes every 30 seconds
  - Scheduled times offline after the first visit
  - Full-screen mode and keep-awake for wall displays
order: 3
status: live
link: https://bne.bowdencloud.com
link_label: Open BNE Trains
icon: /assets/media/icons/bne-trains.webp
media:
  - src: /assets/media/bne-trains/boards.webp
    alt: Four live departure boards for Central, Fortitude Valley, and Roma Street, in two columns
    caption: Four live boards at three inner-city stations
  - src: /assets/media/bne-trains/add-board.webp
    alt: The Add a station board dialog for Indooroopilly, with line, direction, and platform choices
    caption: Choose the station, lines, and direction
  - src: /assets/media/bne-trains/reference.webp
    alt: One departure board that recreates a real platform display with sample data
    caption: The reference display, with sample data
videos:
  - youtube: "sZFwax6Dtvw"
    title: BNE Trains trailer
    length: "0:30"
    embed: true
---

BNE Trains recreates the departure boards on South East Queensland railway platforms. You pin a board for any station and direction, and the app keeps it live. The [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZFwax6Dtvw) shows the app in 30 seconds.

The app opens directly on your boards. On the first visit, it shows the two boards at Central.

The boards copy the real displays. I sampled the row colours from a photo of a platform screen. The layout scales with the board, so it keeps its proportions on a phone and on a wall display.

The add dialog searches 154 stations, or sorts them by distance from you. A board can show some lines, one direction, or one platform. It can also show only at set hours, such as weekday mornings. A live preview shows the board before you pin it.

A build step reads the Translink GTFS timetable and writes one small file for each station. It marks a train as express when it passes stations that other trains serve.

In the browser, a small decoder reads the GTFS Realtime feed with no library. Every 30 seconds, the app applies delays, cancellations, skipped stops, and platform changes. The bottom line of each board scrolls the current service alerts. A Node proxy shares one 15-second copy of the feed with all visitors.

BNE Trains installs as a PWA. Without a network, each board shows the scheduled times.

The app uses Translink open data under CC BY 4.0. It is not a Translink product.