This API makes it super easy to programmatically interact with Amtrak's train tracking libray from any language supporting CURL requests and JSON. The library is written in Javascript using Express.js and Amtrak.js, the latter of which is my own library. This markdown file will guide you through the objects and endpoints from the API you can call/interact with.
I have no idea what the proper name for these are, but they're like structs. There are three of them, station, stationMin, and trainData. These are all pretty self-explanitory of what each variable holds.
let trainData = {
routeName: string; //name of the route
trainNum: number; //train number
objectID: numner; //a unique identifier for this train.
coordinates: number[]; //coordinates in lat, lon
lat: number; //current latitude position of train
lon: number; //current longitude position of train
heading: string; //heading of the train in N, NE, E, SE, S, etc.
velocity: number;
lastValTS: Date; //Date object which train was last updated
lastArr: Date; //Date object which train arrived at final destination, null if still uncompleted
trainState: string; //state of the train ("Predeparture", "Active", or "Completed")
statusMsg: string; //status of the train (" " if normal, "SERVICE DISRUPTION" if the obvious has happened)
serviceDisruption: boolean; //true if a service disruption
eventCode: string; //upcoming or current stop
destCode: string; //final destination
origCode: string; //origin station
originTZ: string; //timezone of origin station (EST, EDT, CST, CDT, PST, or PDT)
origSchDep: Date; //scheduled original departure for train
aliases: number[]; //train numbers which also refer to this train
updatedAt: Date; //the time this data was retrieved from the server
stations: station[]; //array of station objects
};let station = {
trainNum: number; //number of the train station is from
code: string; //code of station
tz: string; //timezone of station (EST, EDT, CST, CDT, PST, or PDT)
bus: boolean; //true if bus at stop
schArr: Date; //scheduled arrival at station
schDep: Date; //scheduled departure from station
schMnt: string; //variable from amtrak, not sure use of but could be related to any maintnence the train will go through at this station
autoArr: boolean; //has the train arrived at this station already?
autoDep: boolean; //has the train departed from this station already?
postArr?: Date; //actual arrival at station
postDep?: Date; //actual departure from station
postCmnt?: string; //how late it departed in english
estArr?: Date; //estimated arrival at station
estDep?: Date; //estimated departure from station
estArrCmnt?: string; //how early/late train will be in english
estDepCmnt?: string; //how early/late train will be in english
}let stationMin = {
trainNum: number; //number of the train station is from
schArr: Date; //scheduled arrival at station
schDep: Date; //scheduled departure from station
postArr?: Date; //actual arrival at station
postDep?: Date; //actual departure from station
postCmnt?: string; //how late it departed in english
estArr?: Date; //estimated arrival at station
estDep?: Date; //estimated departure from station
estArrCmnt?: string; //how early/late train will be in english
estDepCmnt?: string; //how early/late train will be in english
}There are 6 endpoints on this API, each making your life tracking Amtrak trains programmatically easier. The endpoint to use for these it https://api.amtraker.com, which can be used in your application or even add Amtrak API support to other libraries. Everything is returned as JSON.
/v1/trains/keys - Returns a key-value dictionary of train numbers and their corresponding name.
/v1/trains/{trainNum} - Returns an array of trainData objects with every object being from a train posessing the given train number (trainNum).
/v1/trains - Returns object where the keys are the number to an Amtrak train and the values are what fetchTrain() would return, being an array of trainData objects.
/v1/stations/keys - Returns a key-value dictionary of station codes and their corresponding name.
/v1/stations/{stationCode} - Returns a list of stationMin objects correlating to the station code passed, with each object being related to a train arriving within the next few hours or having left a few hours back.
/v1/stations - Returns an object where the keys are station codes and the objects being what fetchStation() would return.
/v2/dataFeedState - Returns the state as the following object:
{
timeSinceLastUpdate: 0, // ms since the last time the Amtrak API was updated
isStale: false // if timeSinceLastUpdate > 2 hours (7200000 ms)
}/v2/oembed?url={amtrakerUrl} - Returns oembed data based on the amtrakerUrl provided. A valid Amtraker URL is one which looks something like this https://amtraker.com/view.html?train=123456. The number which train is equal to is the objectID of a train. To test your code, feel free to use the above /v1/trains endpoint to get a list of all trains, in which you will find plenty of valid objectIDs.
There are a list of valid domains, which include:
- https://amtraker.com
- https://www.amtraker.com
- https://amtrak.cc
- https://www.amtrak.cc
- https://beta.amtrak.cc
- https://whereismytrain.us
- https://www.whereismytrain.us
- https://whereismyfuckingtrain.com
- https://www.whereismyfuckingtrain.com
The default response is in the JSON oEmbed format, though if you add xml=true onto your request, you will receive an xml response.
Here is a list of example oEmbed requests: