README

A lightweight PHP 8.3+ client for the National Rail UK Live Departure Board Web Service (LDBWS).

This library wraps the official REST endpoints exposed via Rail Data Marketplace and provides typed responses for station boards. It uses Guzzle under the hood and follows PSR-3 for logging.

• Package name: harmonicdigital/ldbws
• Minimum PHP: 8.3
• Transport: Guzzle (PSR-18 compatible via guzzlehttp/guzzle), PSR-3 logging

Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require harmonicdigital/ldbws

You will need an API key for the Rail Data Marketplace (LDBWS). Supply it when constructing the client.

Features

Currently implemented service methods in HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\LdbwsClient:

1. getDepartureBoard() — Fetch a basic departure board for a station.

Example:

<?php

use HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\LdbwsClient;
use HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\Response\FilterType;

$client = new LdbwsClient(apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY');

// Get the next 5 departures from London Euston (EUS) heading to Watford Junction (WFJ)
$board = $client->getDepartureBoard(
    'EUS',            // CRS code for the station
    5,            // up to 150
    'WFJ',      // optional filter station CRS
    FilterType::TO, // or FilterType::From
    0,         // minutes before/after current time (-120 to 120)
    60,        // window of results in minutes (0 to 120)
);

// $board is an instance of HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\Response\StationBoard
// Iterate services, times, destinations, etc.

1. getDepartureBoardWithDetails() — Fetch a departure board including calling point details for services.

Example:

<?php

use HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\LdbwsClient;
use HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\Response\FilterType;

$client = new LdbwsClient(apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY');

$boardWithDetails = $client->getDepartureBoardWithDetails('EUS');

// $boardWithDetails is an instance of HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\Response\StationBoardWithDetails
// It includes additional detail per service (e.g., calling points)

All methods may throw:

• HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\Exception\LdbwsFaultException when the API returns a known LDBWS fault
• HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\Exception\LdbwsUnknownException for unexpected transport or server errors
• HarmonicDigital\Ldbws\Exception\UnparseableResponseException when the response cannot be parsed

To Do

The following endpoints are present in the official swagger (config/ldbws-swagger.json) but are not yet implemented in LdbwsClient:

• GetArrivalBoard
• GetArrivalDepartureBoard
• GetArrBoardWithDetails
• GetArrDepBoardWithDetails
• GetFastestDepartures
• GetFastestDeparturesWithDetails
• GetNextDepartures
• GetNextDeparturesWithDetails
• GetServiceDetails

Implemented already:

• GetDepartureBoard
• GetDepBoardWithDetails (exposed as getDepartureBoardWithDetails)