DB-Infoscreen for Home Assistant 🚆

A comprehensive departure board integration for Home Assistant.

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❤️ Support This Project

I maintain this integration in my free time alongside my regular job — bug hunting, new features, and testing on real hardware. Test devices cost money, and every donation helps me stay independent and free up more time for open-source work.

Donations are completely voluntary — but the more support I receive, the less I depend on other income sources and the more time I can realistically invest into these GitHub projects. 💪

  

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The db-infoscreen integration provides detailed departure times and train information for a given station directly in Home Assistant. Aggregating data from multiple sources (primarily Deutsche Bahn IRIS-TTS), it offers a powerful and comprehensive departure board for stations across Germany and Europe.

📚 View the Full Documentation

🐳 Self-Hosting the DBF Backend

For a reliable and unrestricted setup, it is highly recommended to host your own DBF (DB-Fahrplan / db-fakedisplay) backend API.

Why Self-Host?

• No Sensor Limits: Bypasses the default 30-sensor limit enforced on the public API to protect public infrastructure.
• No Rate Limits or IP Bans: Avoids the strict public API rate limits (30 requests/min total, 1 request/station/min).
• Improved Performance: Faster updates as queries stay on your local network.

Hosting Options

• Home Assistant Add-on: DBF Add-on Repository – simple one-click install for Home Assistant OS.
• Docker Container: derf/db-fakedisplay – run via Docker on Unraid, Synology, or any container host: docker run -d -p 8092:8092 derf/db-fakedisplay:latest.

Data Sources & Rate Limits

Even when self-hosted, the backend fetches real-time train data directly from official APIs (like Deutsche Bahn IRIS-TTS and local transit HAFAS endpoints). Because these endpoints are designed to scale, a private home instance querying every few minutes will not trigger upstream rate limits or bans.

For detailed setup instructions, see the Self-Hosting Documentation.

✨ Features

Feature	Description
📋 Departure Board	View next departures, delays, platforms, and train types.
👥 Train Occupancy	View predicted load factor (1st/2nd class) where available.
🌍 Wide Coverage	Supports DB and many local transport associations (via HAFAS/EFA).
⚙️ Highly Configurable	Filter by direction, train type, specific platforms, and more.
💖 Favorite Trains	Filter for specific "Favorite Trains" (Commuter Profile).
⏸️ Pause Updates	Stop periodic data fetches to save API queries. Includes is_paused attribute and binary sensor for UI logic.
🔍 Diagnostic Sensors	Monitor API connection, update status, and station accessibility (elevators).
ℹ️ Detailed Attributes	Access route info, warnings, platform changes (changed_platform), wagon order (wagon_order), wagon order summary (wagon_order_html), sector info (platform_sectors), facilities (facilities), real-time route progress (route_details), and unique trip ID (trip_id).

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🛠️ Installation

1. Using HACS (Recommended)

This integration is available as a default repository in HACS.

1. Open HACS.
2. Search for db-infoscreen.
3. Click Download.
4. Restart Home Assistant.

[!TIP] HACS ensures you stay up-to-date with the latest API changes and bug fixes.

2. Manual Installation

1. Download the latest Release.
2. Extract the ZIP file.
3. Copy the db_infoscreen folder into your <config>/custom_components/ directory.
4. Restart Home Assistant.

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⚙️ Configuration

1. Go to Settings -> Devices & Services.
2. Click Add Integration.
3. Search for DB Infoscreen.

Configuration Options

Initial Setup: When adding the integration, you will be asked for the most important settings:

Option	Type	Required	Description
station	string	Yes	Station name (e.g. München Hbf), DS100 ID (e.g. MH), or EVA ID. The setup flow includes an autocomplete search to help find the correct official name.
data_source	string	No	Backend source (DB, AVV, etc.). Default: IRIS-TTS.
next_departures	int	No	Number of upcoming departures to display. Default: 4.
platforms	string	No	Filter by comma-separated platforms (e.g., 1, 2, 5).
via_stations	string	No	Filter by stations the train must pass through.
via_stations_logic	string	No	Logic for multiple via stations (OR / AND). Default: OR.
direction	string	No	Filter by direction text (API dependent).

Options Menu (Configure): All other settings are available via the Configure button on the integration entry. They are grouped into:

• General: Update Interval, Offset, Count.
• Filter: Directions, Train Types (e.g. ICE), Exclusions.
• Display: Text View, Mode (Departure/Arrival), Detailed Info.
• Advanced: Custom API URL, Deduplication, Route Details.

Full Options List

Option	Default	Description
update_interval	3	Fetch interval in minutes. Minimum: 1 minute.
hide_low_delay	False	Hide departures with < 5 min delay.
drop_late_trains	False	Hide past departures even if they are delayed.
deduplicate_departures	False	Filter out duplicate entries.
detailed	False	Show extra attributes (messages, ids, keys, wagon order, etc.).
past_60_minutes	False	Show departures from the past 60 minutes.
keep_route	False	Keep full route (stopover) details in attributes.
keep_endstation	False	Keep departure if station is also the endstation.
custom_api_url	-	Use a private/custom API instance.
offset	00:00	Time offset for search (HH:MM or HH:MM:SS).
admode	departure	Display departure or arrival times.
paused	False	Pause periodic updates (Stop data fetching).
excluded_directions	-	Exclude departures with specific direction (substring match).
ignored_train_types	[]	List of train types to ignore.
enable_text_view	False	Enable simplified text view for ePaper displays.
text_view_template	(Default)	Template for the simplified text view (e.g., {line};{destination};{platform};{time}).
deduplicate_key	(Default)	Template for the unique trip identifier used for deduplication. Default: {journeyID}{journeyId}{id}{key}{trainNumber}.

[!TIP] Deduplication for KVV If you are using Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund (KVV) and see duplicate entries for different platforms, try setting the deduplicate_key to {line} or {key}. The default key may be too specific because the KVV API includes the scheduled time in the trip ID.

[!WARNING] Limitations & Performance * Sensor Limit: You are limited to 30 sensors unless using a custom_api_url. * Update Interval: Minimum is 1 minute to prevent API bans/throttling. * Storage: Enabling detailed, keep_route, or a high number of next_departures can hit Home Assistant's state storage limits. See Issue #22. * Data Accuracy: Depends on the selected data_source.

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🛠️ Services

Service	Description
watch_train	Monitor a specific train and notify on delay/platform changes.
track_connection	Monitor a connecting train at a transfer station.
set_paused	Toggle periodic updates for one or more stations (Smart Pausing).
set_offset	Dynamically override the departure time offset temporarily.
refresh_departures	Manually trigger a data update for all stations.

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📡 Data Sources

This integration allows fetching data from various backend sources via DBF.

👇 Click to expand the full list of supported Data Sources

Supported Data Sources

🇩🇪 Germany

• IRIS-TTS (Deutsche Bahn) - Default / Recommended
• AVV – Aachener Verkehrsverbund
• AVV – Augsburger Verkehrs- & Tarifverbund
• BEG – Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft
• BSVG – Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH
• BVG – Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
• DING – Donau-Iller Nahverkehrsverbund
• KVB – Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe
• KVV – Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund
• MVV – Münchener Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund
• NAHSH – Nahverkehrsverbund Schleswig-Holstein
• NASA – Personennahverkehr in Sachsen-Anhalt
• NVBW – Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg
• NVV – Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund
• NWL – Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe
• RMV – Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund
• RSAG – Rostocker Straßenbahn
• RVV – Regensburger Verkehrsverbund
• SaarVV – Saarländischer Verkehrsverbund
• VAG – Freiburger Verkehrs AG
• VBB – Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg
• VBN – Verkehrsverbund Bremen/Niedersachsen
• VGN – Verkehrsverbund Großraum Nürnberg
• VMT – Verkehrsverbund Mittelthüringen
• VMV – Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• VOS – Verkehrsgemeinschaft Osnabrück
• VRN – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
• VRR – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
• VRR2 – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
• VRR3 – Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr
• VVO – Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe
• VVS – Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart
• bwegt – bwegt

🌍 International

• BART – Bay Area Rapid Transit
• BLS – BLS AG
• CFL – Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois
• CMTA – Capital Metro Austin Public Transport
• DSB – Rejseplanen
• IE – Iarnród Éireann
• LinzAG – Linz AG
• PKP – Polskie Koleje Państwowe
• Resrobot – Resrobot
• Rolph – Rolph
• STV – Steirischer Verkehrsverbund
• TPG – Transports publics genevois
• ZVV – Züricher Verkehrsverbund
• mobiliteit – mobilitéits zentral
• ÖBB – Österreichische Bundesbahnen

Note: To use HAFAS for stations also found in IRIS-TTS (e.g. "Frankenforst Kippekausen"), choose the specific backend or set hafas=1. See Issue #8.

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📦 Migration from ha-deutschebahn

Direct migration is not possible due to API differences. The old integration supported "Start to Destination" routing, which db-infoscreen handles differently.

To replicate "Start -> Destination" behavior:

1. Via Stations: Use via_stations to filter trains going through your destination or key stops.

   • Single Station: If only one station is entered, filtering is performed server-side (at the API) for maximum efficiency.

   • Multiple Stations: If multiple stations are entered, the sensor switches to local filtering to support complex logic.

   • Logic (AND/OR):

     • OR (Default): Includes trains passing through at least one of the specified stations. Ideal for stations with multiple platform names (e.g., "Frankfurt Hbf" vs "Frankfurt Hbf (tief)").
     • AND: Includes only trains passing through all specified stations.

2. Platforms: Filter by platform if trains to your destination always use specific tracks.

3. Two Sensors: Create two sensors (one for Start, one for typical changeover stations) to track complex routes.

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📊 Usage & Examples

For a detailed set of examples including platform change alerts, occupancy warnings, and advanced filtering, check out our Automation Cookbook.

Basic Automations

Notify when the next train is delayed:

```yaml automation: - alias: "Train Delay Notification" trigger: - platform: template value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.station_departures', 'next_departures')[0]['delayArrival'] | int > 10 }}" action: - service: notify.mobile_app data: message: > The train to {{ state_attr('sensor.station_departures', 'next_departures')[0]['destination'] }} i