About Wmata
Wmata exposes Washington Metro’s real-time and static transit data for clients that need rail and bus information. It can run as a standalone local server or through the Pipeworx gateway.
Key features
- 01List rail lines and stations
- 02Get train predictions and incidents
- 03List bus routes and route details
- 04Find nearby stops and bus predictions
- 05Run as a standalone stdio MCP server
Use cases
- 01Check upcoming trains at a station
- 02Review current rail or bus incidents
- 03Find bus stops near a location
- 04Retrieve bus route information
MCP support
It provides MCP clients with WMATA rail and bus tools for routes, stops, predictions, and incidents. It runs locally over stdio or connects through the Pipeworx gateway.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http pipeworx-io-wmata https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcp{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-wmata":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"pipeworx-io-wmata":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-wmata":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-wmata":{"serverUrl":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
Details
From the project README@pipeworx/wmata
WMATA MCP — Washington Metro real-time + static data. Free API key (5k req/day).
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1684+ live data sources.
Auth
- Platform:
PLATFORM_WMATA_KEY. BYO:?_apiKey=….
Tools
rail_lines()— list rail linesrail_stations(line_code?)— list stations (optionally on a line)rail_station_info(station_code)— station inforail_predictions(station_codes)— next-train predictions (comma-sep codes;Allfor system-wide)rail_incidents()— current rail incidentsbus_routes()— list bus routesbus_route_details(route_id, date?)— route detailsbus_stops(lat?, lon?, radius?)— nearby bus stopsbus_predictions(stop_id)— bus arrival predictionsbus_incidents()— bus incidents
Data source
https://api.wmata.com/...
Quick Start
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"wmata": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcp"
}
}
}
What this endpoint actually serves
tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/wmata/mcp returns the tools in the table
above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx,
discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.
This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.
Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pipeworx": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1684+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
No MCP client? Call it over HTTP
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/rail_lines \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{}'
No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/rail_lines. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.
Standalone (no gateway account)
This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:
{
"mcpServers": {
"wmata": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-wmata"]
}
}
}
Or run it directly to confirm it starts:
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-wmata
It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call
for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.
Using with ask_pipeworx
Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Wmata data" })
The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
More
License
MIT
Comments
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An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.