Septa

There are four main commands:

1. Get all departures from a station

Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli departures "<station>" [results] [--json]

• Returns northbound and southbound trains leaving that station
• Includes origin, destination, departure time, track, platform, service type, and status

2. Get direct trains from one station to another

Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli to "<fromStation>" "<toStation>" [results] [--json]

• Returns only trains that go directly from station A to station B
• Includes departure time from origin, arrival time at destination, and direct/transfer indicator

3. Get live status of all active trains

Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli trains [--json]

• Returns all currently running Regional Rail trains
• Includes train numbers, origins, destinations, current locations, GPS coordinates, heading, delays, consists, and tracks

4. Get detailed schedule for a specific train

Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli train "<trainNumber>" [--json]

• Returns complete schedule with all stops for a specific train
• Includes scheduled, estimated, and actual times for each stop

Station Names

Station names MUST be exact (including spaces and capitalization).

Common stations:

• "Suburban Station"
• "30th Street Station"
• "Jefferson Station" (also known as "Market East")
• "Airport Terminal A"
• "Airport Terminal B"
• "Temple U"
• "Norristown TC"
• "Doylestown"
• "Wilmington"
• "Malvern"
• "Paoli"
• "Wayne Junction"

Full list available at: https://www3.septa.org/VIRegionalRail.html

Examples

Example 1: Get departures from Suburban Station

User: "When is the next train from Suburban Station?" Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli departures "Suburban Station" 5 Output: Markdown table with northbound and southbound trains:

# Departures from Suburban Station
*Suburban Station Departures: February 23, 2026, 10:47 am*

## Northbound
| Train | Origin | Destination | Line | Path | Depart | Track | Platform | Service | Status |
|-------|--------|-------------|------|------|--------|-------|----------|---------|--------|
| 4224 | Airport Terminal E-F | Norristown | Airport | R4/2N | 2026-02-23 11:05:00.000 | 1 | A | LOCAL | 9 min |

Example 2: Get trains from 30th Street to Airport

User: "When does the next train to the airport leave from 30th Street?" Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli to "30th Street Station" "Airport Terminal A" 3 Output: Markdown table with direct trains:

# Trains from 30th Street Station to Airport Terminal A

| Train | Line | Depart | Arrive | Direct | Status |
|-------|------|--------|---------|--------|--------|
| 5432 | Airport | 3:55 PM | 4:12 PM | Yes | On time |

Example 3: See all active trains

User: "What trains are running right now?" Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli trains Output: Markdown table with all active trains:

# Active Regional Rail Trains
| Train | Line | Origin | Destination | Current | Next Stop | Service | Track | GPS | Heading | Consist | Status |
|-------|------|--------|-------------|---------|-----------|---------|-------|-----|---------|---------|--------|
| 1711 | Trenton | Market East | Trenton | Jefferson Station | Market East | LOCAL | 3 | 39.9538889,-75.1677778 | 120.1deg | - | 20 min late |

Example 4: Get schedule for specific train

User: "Show me all the stops for train 2335" Command: ~/.openclaw/skills/septa_cli/septacli train "2335" Output: Markdown table with complete schedule:

# Schedule for Train 2335

| Station | Scheduled | Estimated | Actual |
|---------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| Suburban Station | 10:59 pm | 10:56 pm | 10:56 pm |
| Gray 30th Street | 11:03 pm | 11:02 pm | 11:02 pm |

Combining Commands (Advanced Workflow)

An LLM can chain commands together for comprehensive answers:

Scenario: User asks "I need to get from 30th Street to Suburban Station, which train should I take and when does it stop at each station?"

Workflow:

1. Step 1: Run septacli to "30th Street Station" "Suburban Station"

   • Gets available direct trains with train numbers
   • Example result: Train 435 departs 3:51 PM, arrives 3:56 PM

2. Step 2: Run septacli train "435"

   • Gets complete schedule showing all stops between origin and destination
   • Shows exact times at each intermediate station

3. Step 3: Present comprehensive answer to user:

   • "Take train 435 departing at 3:51 PM from 30th Street"
   • "It stops at: Penn Medicine Station (3:54 PM), Suburban Station (3:56 PM - arrival)"
   • "Total travel time: 5 minutes"

Another Scenario: User asks "Are there any delays on trains to the airport right now?"

Workflow:

1. Run septacli trains to get all active trains
2. Filter results for trains with destination containing "Airport"
3. Check delay status for each
4. Present summary: "Train 5432 to Airport Terminal A is on time, departing 4:12 PM"

Output Format

Default: Markdown tables (shown in examples above)

JSON Mode: Add --json flag to any command for structured JSON output

Departures command returns (JSON):

{
  "station": "Suburban Station",
  "timestamp": "Suburban Station Departures: February 13, 2026, 3:45 pm",
  "northbound": [
    {
      "direction": "N",
      "train_id": "435",
      "destination": "Thorndale",
      "line": "Paoli/Thorndale",
      "depart_time": "3:51 PM",
      "track": "4",
      "status": "On Time"
    }
  ],
  "southbound": [...]
}

To command returns:

{
  "from": "30th Street Station",
  "to": "Airport Terminal A",
  "trains": [
    {
      "orig_train": "5432",
      "orig_line": "Airport",
      "orig_departure_time": "3:55 PM",
      "orig_arrival_time": "4:12 PM",
      "orig_delay": "On time"
    }
  ]
}

Trains command returns:

[
  {
    "lat": "40.0123",
    "lon": "-75.1234",
    "trainno": "2335",
    "service": "LOCAL",
    "dest": "Elwyn Station",
    "currentstop": "Suburban Station",
    "nextstop": "Gray 30th Street",
    "line": "Media/Elwyn",
    "consist": "4",
    "heading": "S",
    "late": 2,
    "SOURCE": "02/18/2026 10:56:00 PM",
    "TRACK": "4",
    "TRACK_CHANGE": ""
  }
]

Train command returns:

{
  "train_number": "2335",
  "schedule": [
    {
      "station": "Suburban Station",
      "sched_tm": "10:59 pm",
      "est_tm": "10:56 pm",
      "act_tm": "10:56 pm"
    },
    {
      "station": "Gray 30th Street",
      "sched_tm": "11:03 pm",
      "est_tm": "11:02 pm",
      "act_tm": "11:02 pm"
    }
  ]
}

Important Notes

• Zero Dependencies: Uses only Node.js built-in fetch (requires Node 18+)
• Real-Time Data: Connects to official SEPTA API at https://www3.septa.org/api
• Direct Trains Only: The "to" command only shows direct trains (no transfers)
• Station Names: Must be exact - case sensitive and with correct spacing
• Default Results: 10 for departures, 5 for direct trains
• No Authentication: Public SEPTA API, no keys required
• CLI Tool: Uses septacli executable (made with Node.js shebang)
• Command Chaining: LLMs can combine trains + train commands for detailed journey planning

Error Handling

• Invalid station names: API returns error or empty results
• Network errors: Script will output error message
• Invalid command: Shows usage instructions
• Non-existent route: Returns empty trains array
• Invalid train number: Returns empty schedule or error

Technical Details

• API Base URL: https://www3.septa.org/api
• Departures Endpoint: /Arrivals/index.php?station={station}&results={n}
• Direct Trains Endpoint: /NextToArrive/index.php?req1={from}&req2={to}&req3={n}
• Live Trains Endpoint: /TrainView/index.php
• Train Schedule Endpoint: /RRSchedules/index.php?req1={trainNumber}
• Response Format: JSON
• Update Frequency: Real-time from SEPTA systems