db-infoscreen Homeassistant Sensor

The db-infoscreen sensor will give you the departure time of the next trains for the given station, containing many more attribute informations. It aims to aggregate departure and train data from different sources and combine them in a useful (and user-friendly) manner. It is intended both for a quick glance at the departure board and for public transportation geeks looking for details about specific trains. The backend has many datasources available with it's main source being IRIS-TTS - Deutsche Bahn.

This integration works great side-by-side with ha-bahnvorhersage. This is a superior to ha-deutschebahn.

Installation

1. Using HACS (recommended way)

This integration is NO official HACS Integration right now.

Open HACS then install the "db-infoscreen" integration or use the link below.

If you use this method, your component will always update to the latest version.

2. Manual

• Download the latest zip release from here
• Extract the zip file
• Copy the folder "db_infoscreen" from within custom_components with all of its components to <config>/custom_components/

where <config> is your Home Assistant configuration directory.

NOTE: Do not download the file by using the link above directly, the status in the "master" branch can be in development and therefore is maybe not working.

Configuration

Go to Configuration -> Integrations and click on "add integration". Then search for "db-infoscreen".

You can set up one sensor per station, except using different via_stations configurations.

Configuration Variables

Key	Type	Required	Default	Description
station	string	Yes	-	The name of the station or Trip number to be tracked.
next_departures	int	No	4	Number of upcoming departures to display. Please note that there may be displayed less than your number, due to storage limitations.
update_interval	int	No	3	Time interval (in minutes) to fetch updated departure data. Minimum: 1 minute.
hide_low_delay	boolean	No	False	Hide departures with a delay of less than 5 minutes.
drop_late_trains	boolean	No	False	Hide past departures that would still be delayed.
detailed	boolean	No	False	Show additional details about departures.
past_60_minutes	boolean	No	False	Show departures from the past 60 minutes.
keep_route	boolean	No	False	Keep route (stopover) details (all train stations on train route).
custom_api_url	string	No	-	Use a custom API URL instead of the default one.
data_source	string	No	IRIS-TTS	Choose the data source for fetching departure information. More details can be found below at Data Sources.
offset	string	No	00:00	Time offset for departure search (HH:MM or HH:MM:SS).
admode	string	No	departure preferred	Defines whether to display departure or arrival times.
platforms	string	No	-	Filter by specific platform(s) (comma-separated).
via_stations	string	No	-	Filter by stations where the train must pass through.
ignored_train_types	list	No	[]	List of train types to ignore (may not work for all data sources, e.g., VMT).

Warnings and Limitations

• Sensor limits: You are limited to adding 30 sensors, if you are not using a custom_api_url. This is due to backend limitations, see here under "API".
• Storage Limitations: Certain configurations (e.g., detailed, keep_route, or many next_departures) may quickly lead to reaching storage limitations. See issue #22 for details.
• Data Accuracy: The accuracy of the departure information depends on the selected data_source. Some sources may provide outdated or incomplete data.
• Update Interval: The minimum update_interval is 1 minute. A lower interval may cause high API usage and lead to throttling or bans. This is due to backend limitations, see here under "API".
• Custom API URL: If using custom_api_url, ensure that the API follows the expected response format to avoid errors.

Data Sources

Supported are only available Backend Sources from DBF. There is no way for me to support other sources than that. The mentioned sources there are all using HAFAS or EFA. If you are missing a source that uses HAFAS or EFA, you can create a feature request at a db-infoscreen - (formerly db-fakedisplay).

• data_source (optional): Choose the data source for fetching departure information. The available options are:
  • The integration supports fetching departure data from various data sources, including:
    • IRIS-TTS – Deutsche Bahn (default and used by most)
    • AVV – Aachener Verkehrsverbund Nordrhein-Westfalen (avv.de)
    • BART – Bay Area Rapid Transit California (bart.gov)
    • BLS – BLS AG Kanton Bern, Kanton Luzern (bls.ch)
    • BVG – Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe Berlin, Brandenburg (bvg.de)
    • BSVG – Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH
    • bwegt - Personennahverkehr in Baden-Württemberg (ehem. 3-Löwen-Takt)
    • CMTA – Capital Metro Austin Public Transport Texas (capmetro.org)
    • DING – Donau-Iller Nahverkehrsverbund
    • DSB – Rejseplanen Dänemark (rejseplanen.dk)
    • IE – Iarnród Éireann Irland, Nordirland (irishrail.ie)
    • KVV – Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund Baden-Württemberg
    • KVB – Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (kvb.koeln)
    • LinzAG – Linz AG
    • mobiliteit – mobilitéits zentral Luxembourg (mobiliteit.lu)
    • MVV – Münchener Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Bayern
    • NAHSH – Nahverkehrsverbund Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (nah.sh)
    • NASA – Personennahverkehr in Sachsen-Anhalt Sachsen-Anhalt (nasa.de)
    • NVBW – Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg
    • NVV – Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund Hessen (nvv.de)
    • NWL – Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe
    • ÖBB – Österreichische Bundesbahnen Österreich
    • PKP - Polskie Koleje Państwowe PL (polnische Staatsbahn)
    • Resrobot – Resrobot
    • RMV – Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund Hessen, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Rheinland-Pfalz (rmv.de)
    • RSAG – Rostocker Straßenbahn Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (rsag-online.de)
    • SaarVV – Saarländischer Verkehrsverbund DE-SL (saarvv.de)
    • STV – Steirischer Verkehrsverbund AT-6 (verbundlinie.at)
    • TPG – Transports publics genevois Kanton Genf (tpg.ch)
    • VBB – Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg Berlin, Brandenburg (vbb.de)
    • VBN – Verkehrsverbund Bremen/Niedersachsen Niedersachsen, Bremen (vbn.de)
    • VGN – Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg Bayern
    • VMT – Verkehrsverbund Mittelthüringen Thüringen (vmt-thueringen.de)
    • VMV – Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
    • VOS – Verkehrsgemeinschaft Osnabrück Niedersachsen (vos.info)
    • VVO – Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe
    • VVS – Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart Baden-Württemberg
    • VRN – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar (Nordrhein-Westfalen) (EFA)
    • VRN2 – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar (Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen, Baden-Württemberg) (HAFAS)
    • VRR – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr Nordrhein-Westfalen
    • VRR2 – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr Nordrhein-Westfalen
    • VRR3 – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr Nordrhein-Westfalen
    • ZVV – Züricher Verkehrsverbund Kanton Zürich (zvv.ch)
  • Some stations can be searched via "IRIS-TTS" but need hafas=1 for data retrival, f.e. "Frankenforst Kippekausen, Bergisch Gladbach", choose hafas=1 in the list to archive this. GitHub issue about this

Migrating from ha-deutschebahn

Migration from ha-deutschebahn to ha-db_infoscreen is not directly possible because the two integrations use different API sources and data structures. The old ha-deutschebahn API supported start and destination stations directly, which the new ha-db_infoscreen API cannot fully replicate. However, you can still achieve a similar experience with a few workarounds:

Options to Achieve a "Start to Destination" Experience:

1. Use the platforms Parameter You can display only one direction by filtering for specific platforms. For example, show only trains from Munich to Augsburg, and then filter by specific end stations on the way.

2. Use Two Sensors To simulate a fixed start-to-destination route, create two sensors for the same station but with different via_stations. This will allow you to simulate the direction from the start station to the destination.

---

Example for Using via_stations

If you want to see trains departing from Munich Hbf to Augsburg Hbf, you can configure it as follows:

sensor:
  - platform: db_infoscreen
    station: "München Hbf"
    next_departures: 4
    via_stations: "Augsburg Hbf"
    platforms: "5,6"

This configuration will display only the relevant departures from Munich to Augsburg, excluding the return trips.

---

Key Options for "Start to Destination" (Migration)

• Platform Filter (platforms): Use this parameter to restrict departures to specific platforms. This can help narrow down the direction you want to track.

• Via Stations (via_stations): To simulate a specific direction, use via_stations to filter trains passing through certain intermediate stations.

• Use Two Sensors: If you want to filter departures in a single direction (for example, from Munich to Augsburg), use two sensors with different via_stations configurations.

---

Further Information

All other features of the old ha-deutschebahn integration have been ported to ha-db_infoscreen. For further discussion, check out the discussion on GitHub. You can also check out some examples in Accessing the data.

Accessing the data

Automations

automation:
  - alias: Notify Train Delay
    description: "Notify when the next train is delayed by more than 10 minutes."
    trigger:
      - platform: template
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.station_departures', 'next_departures')[0]['delayArrival'] | int > 10 }}"
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          message: >
            The next train to {{ state_attr('sensor.station_departures', 'next_departures')[0]['destination'] }}
            is delayed by {{ state_attr('sensor.station_departures', 'next_departures')[0]['delayArrival'] }} minutes.
    mode: single

Custom sensor

Add a custom sensor in your configuration.yaml

sensor:
  - platform: template
    sensors:
      next_train_departure:
        friendly_name: "Next Train Departure"
        value_template: >
          {{ state_attr('sensor.station_departures', 'next_departures')[0]['scheduledArrival'] }}
        icon_template: mdi:train

Community submit by kRew94 (Improved by kaffeetrinker71)

This is a template sensor which gives the information for a destination in the format "HH:MM +DELAY":

{%- set number = 0 -%}
{%- set connections = state_attr('sensor.uelzen_departures_via_hannover_hbf', 'next_departures') | selectattr('isCancelled', 'equalto', 0) | list -%}
{% if connections is not none and connections | length > number %}
  {% set connection = connections[number] %}
  {% set product = connection.train %}
  {% set departure = connection.scheduledDeparture %}
  {% set delay = connection.delayDeparture | int %}
  {{ product }} um {{ departure }}{% if delay > 0 %} +{{ delay }}{% endif %}
{% else %}
  No data
{% endif %}

The result looks like this: "ICE 2935 um 07:15"

YAML Snippets

There are some examples that can be used within automations or custom sensors.

Community submit by Kanecaine

I have a sensor for Berlin Central Station and would now like to know which connections there are to Leipzig and should give you the following output: IC 495 um 22:28 +1.

More informations.

{%- set my_station = "Berlin Hbf" -%}
{%- set target = "Leipzig Hbf" -%}
{%- set number = 0 -%}
{%- set connections = state_attr('sensor.berlin_hbf_departures', 'next_departures') | default([]) | selectattr('isCancelled', 'equalto', 0) -%}
{%- set valid_connections = namespace(connections=[]) -%}
{%- for connection in connections -%}
  {%- set route = connection.route | default([]) | selectattr('name', 'defined') | map(attribute='name') | list -%}
  {%- if my_station in route and target in route and route.index(target) > route.index(my_station) -%}
    {%- set valid_connections.connections = valid_connections.connections + [connection] -%}
  {%- endif -%}
{%- endfor -%}

{%- if valid_connections.connections | length > number -%}
  {%- set connection = valid_connections.connections[number] -%}
  {%- set product_raw = connection.train | default('Unknown') -%}
  {%- set product = product_raw | regex_replace('^(Bus).*|^([A-Z]{2})\\s?\\d*', '\\1\\2') | replace("S ", "S") -%}
  {%- set departure = connection.scheduledDeparture | default('--') -%}
  {%- set delay = connection.delayDeparture | default(0) | int -%}
  {{ product }} {{ departure }}{% if delay > 0 %} +{{ delay }}{% endif %}
{%- else -%}
  --
{%- endif -%}

JSON Format

The API returns data in the following json format usually:

{
  "departures": [
    {
      "scheduledArrival": "08:08",
      "destination": "München-Pasing",
      "train": "S 4",
      "platform": "4",
      "delayArrival": 18,
      "messages": {
        "delay": [
          {"text": "delay of a train ahead", "timestamp": "2025-01-21T07:53:00"}
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

There are some differences depending on the stations, for example:

{
  "departures": [
    {
      "delay": 0,
      "destination": "Bensberg, Bergisch Gladbach",
      "direction": "Bensberg, Bergisch Gladbach",
      "isCancelled": null,
      "messages": [],
      "platform": null,
      "route": [],
      "scheduledPlatform": null,
      "scheduledTime": 1737619740,
      "time": 1737619740,
      "train": "STR 1",
      "trainNumber": "54726",
      "via": []
    }
  ]
}

Lovelace Custom Cards

There are some lovelace custom cards, which bringt you a better overview on your dashboard. Be sure to check them out.

ha-departureCard

Check out the card here.

ha-public-transport-connection-card

This is currently Work-in-Progress by the maintainer, more informations are here.

Bug reporting

Open an issue over at github issues. Please prefer sending over a log with debugging enabled.

To enable debugging enter the following in your configuration.yaml

logger:
    logs:
        custom_components.db_infoscreen: debug

You can then find the log in the HA settings -> System -> Logs -> Enter "db-infoscreen" in the search bar -> "Load full logs"

Thanks to

The data is coming from the dbf.finalrewind.org website (if no custom API Server is specified). The backend data is coming from a db-infoscreen - (formerly db-fakedisplay) server - with a huge thanks to derf for this great project!