A Raspberry Pi project: DIY train departure board
A Raspberry Pi project uses an E Ink display and a Pico to create a DIY train departure board that’s small enough to fit in your hand. Created by maker and Pi tinkerer Pixelpanic, the system uses the UK’s National Rail Enquiry DARWIN API to provide real-time departure information for UK stations.
The project is designed to be small enough to sit on a desk or bedside table and uses a Pimoroni Badger 2040 W as the main board, alongside a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller. The chosen display uses an E ink panel, making it both affordable and energy efficient, ideal for a screen that will be on for hours at a time.
“I’ve always loved train departure boards,” Pixelpanic explains on their official blog. “They’re always simple, clean, and immediately give you the information you need. Of course, I’d always wanted to have one at home.”
They go on to provide a breakdown of how the system is put together, from the hardware used to the software setup, which uses the UK departure data from the DARWIN API. If you’re curious about setting up the API for yourself, Pixelpanic provides a link to the documentation.
There isn’t much to the project itself, with Pixelpanic suggesting that you could recreate it with minimal hardware and some ingenuity. They do mention that they’re considering using a larger E Ink display with colors for a future update, which could really add some style to the project.
Check out the project page on Pixelpanic’s website for a closer look at the Raspberry Pi project, and be sure to follow them on Twitter @PixelpanicCNC for updates.
Featured image
