About this app

MBTA Commuter Rail Tracker provides experienced Boston commuters with as much information as possible about the location and status of their trains. This app is designed for seasoned commuters who are already familiar with their line schedule.

• Near real-time location information (next stop, current stop, GPS location, predicted arrival time, and vehicle speed). Please see the note below regarding accuracy.
• Boarding statuses with the track number displayed next to each trip, as well as a dedicated "Departures" view to see the entire departures board.
• "Late" status when the MBTA predicts that a train will arrive later than the scheduled time - even before a delay announcement is made.
• View historical coach numbers, boarding tracks, and lateness for you train. Are you one of those people who like to guess the track and board early? Do so with a little bit more confidence now
• Crowd-sourced data through the "Passenger Reports" feature. Is a prediction wrong? Train delayed mid-trip? Wondering if your train is standing room only? Discuss through the "Reports" button next to each trip.
• Full schedule view with predicted arrival times for each stop on your trip.
• View your train on a map, complete with rail line overlays and stop markers.
• Service alerts view.
• Easy access to the @MBTA_CR Twitter account where status updates and additional info is usually posted in the event of a delay.
• Clean, user-friendly, and ad-free interface.


--- How accurate is this app? ---

Data is sourced directly from the MBTA's real-time feeds which is collected using PTIS equipment installed on the trains. We don't make any predictions ourselves; this app is simply a UI sitting on top of the MBTA's data. That said, their data is accurate enough to give you a general idea of the status of your train but not accurate enough to set your watch by.

For example, trains generally report themselves as on time with a predicted arrival/departure time equal to the scheduled arrival/departure time so long as the train is less than 5 minutes late (the "5 minute rule"). Furthermore, if a train is delayed mid-trip it can take up to 15 minutes for the delay to propagate through the feeds. Lastly, the MBTA's data tends to operate on a 1-2 minute delay; in fact, updated GPS locations only come through in the feeds once every couple minutes.

This app is NOT affiliated with the MBTA or MassDOT. Follow us on Twitter at @MBTARailTracker for updates.

New features

- The initial page of routes now includes a status indicator. When the indicator is green, every trip on the line is on time. When yellow, at least one trip on the line is late. When red, at least one trip on the line is either delayed or cancelled
- The departures view now includes coach numbers if available
- The app now tells you the exact time GPS coordinates were last received for a train
- Added timestamps for each user-submitted report
- Added Boston Landing station to the map

App Permissions

Allows applications to open network sockets.
Allows applications to access information about networks.
Allows applications to access information about Wi-Fi networks.
Allows using PowerManager WakeLocks to keep processor from sleeping or screen from dimming.