NMBS/SNCB Scraper -- Belgian Railway Connections, Live Departures & Station Data

Extract Belgian train data from the NMBS/SNCB railway network -- route connections with transfers and durations, real-time station departure boards, and the complete list of 550+ Belgian railway stations. Powered by the open iRail API.

What is NMBS Scraper?

NMBS (Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen) -- also known as SNCB in French -- is Belgium's national railway company. It operates over 4,000 daily train services connecting 550+ stations across the country. This actor does not scrape a product catalogue; it extracts live transport data.

The actor talks to the iRail API, a community-maintained open data project that provides real-time access to NMBS/SNCB schedules, delays, platform assignments, and occupancy levels. Three modes of operation:

• Connections mode -- find routes between two stations with departure times, arrival times, durations, number of transfers, train types, delay information, and occupancy levels. Ideal for route planning applications and fare comparison.
• Liveboard mode -- get the real-time departure board for any Belgian station, including delays, platform changes, and cancellations. Perfect for station display boards and delay monitoring.
• Stations mode -- export the full list of Belgian railway stations with names, coordinates, and unique identifiers. Useful for building geographic databases and transport network analysis.

What people build with this data:

• Commuter apps -- developers build dashboards showing live train status for daily commuters on specific routes.
• Delay analytics -- researchers and journalists track punctuality on Belgian railway lines to measure service quality over time.
• Route planning -- travel agencies and corporate travel teams find optimal connections for their Belgian itineraries.
• Station network analysis -- urban planners and real estate analysts use station coordinates and connectivity data to study accessibility.
• Transport data enrichment -- logistics companies overlay Belgian rail data with their delivery network to identify multimodal transport options.

What data does NMBS Scraper extract?

Connections mode

• :bullettrain_side: Departure/arrival station -- official station names
• :clock1: Departure/arrival time -- ISO datetime with timezone
• :triangular_flag_on_post: Platforms -- assigned platform numbers
• :hourglass_flowing_sand: Duration -- formatted (e.g., "1h 23min") and raw seconds
• :arrows_counterclockwise: Transfers -- number of transfers required
• :warning: Delays -- delay in minutes at departure and arrival
• :no_entry: Cancellation status -- whether the connection is cancelled
• :train: Train types -- IC, L, S, P train identifiers
• :busts_in_silhouette: Occupancy -- estimated passenger load (low/medium/high)

Liveboard mode

• :station: Station -- the station being monitored
• :arrow_right: Destination -- where each train is heading
• :clock3: Time and delay -- scheduled departure and delay in minutes
• :1234: Platform -- current platform assignment
• :railway_car: Vehicle info -- train type and number

Stations mode

• :id: Station ID -- unique iRail identifier
• :abc: Name -- standard and localised station names
• :world_map: Coordinates -- latitude and longitude for geographic mapping

How to scrape Belgian train data

Field	Type	Required	Description
mode	String	Yes	"connections", "liveboard", or "stations"
fromStation	String	Connections	Departure station: "Brussel-Zuid", "Gent-Sint-Pieters"
toStation	String	Connections	Arrival station: "Antwerpen-Centraal", "Brugge"
station	String	Liveboard	Station to monitor: "Brussel-Zuid"
date	String	No	Date in DD/MM/YYYY format: "15/03/2026"
time	String	No	Time in HH:MM format: "08:30"
language	String	No	"nl", "fr", "en", or "de" (default: "en")
maxResults	Integer	No	Maximum results (default: 20, max: 1,000)
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	Proxy settings (usually not needed for iRail)

Tips:

• Use official station names. The iRail API is forgiving, but "Brussel-Zuid" works better than "Brussels South". Set language: "nl" or "fr" to get names in your preferred language.
• For commuter monitoring, set mode: "liveboard" with your home station and schedule the actor to run every 15 minutes during rush hours.
• To build a complete station database, set mode: "stations" with maxResults: 1000 -- there are roughly 550 active stations.

Output

Connections example

{
    "departureStation": "Brussel-Zuid / Bruxelles-Midi",
    "departureTime": "2026-04-03T08:32:00.000Z",
    "departurePlatform": "3",
    "departureDelay": 0,
    "arrivalStation": "Antwerpen-Centraal",
    "arrivalTime": "2026-04-03T09:09:00.000Z",
    "arrivalPlatform": "12",
    "arrivalDelay": 2,
    "duration": "37min",
    "durationSeconds": 2220,
    "transfers": 0,
    "vehicles": ["IC 1532"],
    "canceled": false,
    "occupancy": "medium",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-04-03T08:00:00.000Z"
}

Liveboard example

{
    "station": "Gent-Sint-Pieters",
    "destination": "Oostende",
    "time": "2026-04-03T09:15:00.000Z",
    "delay": 5,
    "platform": "7",
    "vehicle": "IC 1842",
    "vehicleType": "IC",
    "canceled": false,
    "occupancy": "low",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-04-03T09:10:00.000Z"
}

Stations example

{
    "id": "BE.NMBS.008892007",
    "name": "Ghent-Sint-Pieters",
    "standardName": "Gent-Sint-Pieters",
    "longitude": 3.7107,
    "latitude": 51.0355,
    "scrapedAt": "2026-04-03T09:00:00.000Z"
}

How much does it cost?

NMBS Scraper makes direct API calls to iRail -- no browser needed, no heavy crawling:

Operation	Estimated CUs	Estimated Cost
20 connections	~0.005	~$0.003
100 liveboard departures	~0.005	~$0.003
All 550 stations	~0.005	~$0.003

This is one of the cheapest actors to run because it simply queries a public REST API.

Can I integrate?

Belgian train data flows into your tools:

• Google Sheets -- build a commuter delay log updated every morning
• Slack -- get notified when your commuter train is delayed or cancelled
• Zapier / Make -- trigger workflows based on delay thresholds
• Webhooks -- pipe real-time departure data to your own application
• PostgreSQL / MongoDB -- build a historical Belgian railway performance database
• Google Maps / Mapbox -- visualise station coordinates on interactive maps

Can I use it as an API?

Yes. Perfect for building real-time transport dashboards:

Python:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")

run = client.actor("studio-amba/nmbs-scraper").call(run_input={
    "mode": "connections",
    "fromStation": "Brussel-Zuid",
    "toStation": "Antwerpen-Centraal",
    "time": "08:30",
    "maxResults": 5,
})

for conn in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    delay = f"+{conn['departureDelay']}min" if conn['departureDelay'] > 0 else "on time"
    print(f"{conn['departureStation']} -> {conn['arrivalStation']} | {conn['duration']} | {delay}")

JavaScript:

import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "YOUR_API_TOKEN" });

const run = await client.actor("studio-amba/nmbs-scraper").call({
    mode: "liveboard",
    station: "Gent-Sint-Pieters",
    maxResults: 10,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((d) => {
    const delay = d.delay > 0 ? ` (+${d.delay}min)` : "";
    console.log(`${d.vehicle} -> ${d.destination} at ${d.time}${delay} platform ${d.platform}`);
});

FAQ

Is this real-time data? Yes. The iRail API provides live data from the NMBS/SNCB systems, including current delays and platform changes.

Do I need an iRail API key? No. The iRail API is open and free. This actor handles all the request formatting and response parsing for you.

Can I query Thalys, Eurostar, or ICE international trains? iRail focuses on domestic Belgian trains. International high-speed services may appear in connections passing through Belgian stations, but coverage is limited.

What happens if a station name is wrong? The iRail API will return an error if it cannot match the station name. Use the stations mode first to get exact names.

Can I track a specific train number? Not directly. Use liveboard mode to monitor departures from a station, which includes train numbers (vehicle identifiers).

Does the scraper support bus or tram data? No. Only NMBS/SNCB railway services. For De Lijn (Flemish buses/trams) or STIB/MIVB (Brussels), different data sources are needed.

Limitations

• Depends on the iRail API. If iRail is down or rate-limited, the actor will fail gracefully with an error message.
• Connection results are limited to what iRail returns per query (typically 6-10 options per time slot). For more, shift the time window.
• Occupancy data is estimated and not always available for every train.
• Station names must match iRail's database. Use mode: "stations" to get the authoritative list.
• Historical data is not available -- iRail only serves current/upcoming schedules.

Related Belgian transport and travel scrapers

• Scandlines Scraper -- ferry routes between Denmark and Germany
• Touring Scraper -- Belgian automobile club travel guides and road info
• UiTinVlaanderen Scraper -- find events to travel to across Flanders
• VDAB Scraper -- Flemish jobs (plan your commute!)

Your feedback

Need additional transport data, want to track specific routes over time, or found an issue? Reach out through the Apify platform or open a GitHub issue. We build what users ask for.