8 ms·

Show HN: The Official National Train Map Sucked, So I Made My Own

77 points by Pavlinbg 10mo ago

Hi HN, I’m a junior developer. I wanted to share a side project I’ve been working on. The national railway carrier (BDZ) has no public API. They have an official map but the UI is quite dated, often lags, and doesn't show the full route context. I wrote a short write-up about the process here: https://www.pavlinbg.com/posts/bg-train-tracker https://www.pavlinbg.com/posts/bg-train-tracker I know it's still rough around the edges (I'm still working on it), but I’d love to hear your feedback or suggestions!

markus_zhang 10mo ago
Thanks. I wish we had a map with freight trains too. I have always been a railroad fan and my favourite trains are those long freight trains. I also love watching the operations of marshalling stations too!
- jazzyjackson 10mo ago
  In case you haven't stumbled upon it https://www.openrailwaymap.org/ https://www.openrailwaymap.org/ I used it recently to find a land and sea route from Southampton to Marrakesh, along with Google maps faint representation of ferry lines, Google doesn't have public transit directions for the trains in Morocco shrug
NaOH 10mo ago
BDZ is Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi, Bulgaria's national railway.
- HelloUsername 10mo ago
  Thank you; would be nice if the country would be clear from the post title
Incipient 10mo ago
Well done! The UI feels incredibly polished. Without really digging into the detail at I'm on mobile, at a glance you've done a great job.
gostsamo 10mo ago
Congrats, it is heartwarming seeing the young doing their own things. :) PS: Only BG comprehensible joke - be careful with showing BDZ looking bad, they might hide the data MVR style.
- Pavlinbg 10mo ago
  Thank you!
nailherwithrust 10mo ago
[flagged]
NooneAtAll3 10mo ago
no zoom buttons :(
- Pavlinbg 10mo ago
  Fair point! I relied entirely on scroll/pinch-to-zoom to keep the interface clean, but I should add standard +/- buttons for accessibility and desktop usability
executive 10mo ago
- trains all look to be arriving/departing in hundreds of minutes when you click a random station, even near active trains. Assuming a bug. Regardless, consider changing this to hour/minute display if over 60|90m - train icon looks like standard metro icon but is easily mistaken for a bus - train detail panel fixed to bottom is awkward on desktop breakpoints. consider floating or integrating to a single sidebar - consider having main sidebar fixed to bottom for mobile breakpoints
- Pavlinbg 10mo ago
  Thanks for the feedback! Regarding the arrival times: Yes, that is definitely a bug I need to fix :D I will update it to format properly into hours/minutes. As for the icons, I am actually using the official SVGs from the BDZ website. I stuck with those because I assume most users will be Bulgarian, and I wanted them to have that familiarity with the official symbols.
yoan9224 10mo ago
Really polished UI. The real-time train positions are a nice touch. One UX issue on desktop: the train detail panel being fixed to the bottom feels awkward. Consider making it a floating panel or sidebar that doesn't block the map. Also the arrival/departure times showing "hundreds of minutes" is confusing. Anything over 90 minutes should probably display as hours:minutes instead. Great work overall though. I've seen plenty of official government transit sites that look worse than this.
- trinix912 10mo ago
  > Also the arrival/departure times showing "hundreds of minutes" is confusing. Anything over 90 minutes should probably display as hours:minutes instead. Would help with usability but overall seeing this is pretty normal in my part of Europe. I've seen 200+ min delays, written just like that, many times.
  - hopelite 10mo ago
    Is there any point of using cumulative minutes rather than standard time format that I may not be considering? Is that something that should be improved? Or is that just a “we’ve always done it that way but no one knows why, so we are going to just keep doing it that way” thing?
6510 10mo ago
- The tool-tip feels wrong in how it covers up the highlighted route. Perhaps it should go at the left top of the screen. - When opening the page the user should be prompted to pick the language and theme. Then you can collapse it in the interface under a settings icon. (put the icon to the left of the close button) - Push "Train dashboard" all the way to the top. (next to the settings and close icons) - Make the close button smaller. - "Search trains" should sit as close to the top as possible. - Lines around forms and buttons are visible when you look at them directly but are to faint for peripheral vision.
- Pavlinbg 10mo ago
  Valuable feedback, thank you. Regarding the prompt for language and theme: I actually received similar feedback via email. Instead of adding a popup, I decided to make it seamless—I just updated(locally) the app to automatically detect your OS settings for the Theme (Light/Dark) and Time Format (12h/24h) and apply them by default. This way it should "just work" for most users without needing an extra click.
  - 6510 10mo ago
    That's even better. Do remember that the OS language isn't the preferred language. From HN you should really link to an /en version. My formula is to ask what it is the user should be doing on the page. Not even what they think they should be doing, what they actually should be doing. Why are they there? Then you give the visitor only what they need step by step. People are great at screwing things up. Rob them from all opportunities. In my day job I actually use quite a few train apps. If I have several train or trip numbers in my head everything that is not a search box is wildly annoying. Wait.. let me slap something together.... https://img.go-here.nl/train-app.png https://img.go-here.nl/train-app.png There, except from a settings icon that is how I would make it. Enjoy
    - Pavlinbg 10mo ago
      Thanks for the effort on the mockup!! :D You make a great point about the user's mindset. I will try to implement that streamlined, search-first design."
delitrem 10mo ago
Great resource, many thanks for sharing. I've bookmarked it and will keep an eye on its development. Wish you good luck with it! (Not a Bulgarian, but live in your country for several years and really felt in love with it!)
- Pavlinbg 10mo ago
  Thanks.
woodruffw 10mo ago
Nice job! I took the train from Sofia to Plovdiv a few months ago, and this would have been a great resource to have. (I wish someone would make a similar thing for Amtrak, which has a route/progress tracker that only marginally works IME.)
- rafram 10mo ago
  https://amtraker.com/map https://amtraker.com/map
throwaway89201 10mo ago
A similar (unofficial) map, but for The Netherlands: https://spoorkaart.mwnn.nl/ https://spoorkaart.mwnn.nl/
deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]
adhznnhfa 9mo ago
Nice job! I also made a similar website for hungarian trains: https://kozlekedesiklub.hu/vonatinfo/ https://kozlekedesiklub.hu/vonatinfo/ (Since the state railway MÁV shut off its own one, as it visualized the delays too well :D) Keep up the good work.

77 points by Pavlinbg 10mo ago

markus_zhang 10mo ago

Thanks. I wish we had a map with freight trains too. I have always been a railroad fan and my favourite trains are those long freight trains. I also love watching the operations of marshalling stations too!

jazzyjackson 10mo ago
In case you haven't stumbled upon it https://www.openrailwaymap.org/ https://www.openrailwaymap.org/ I used it recently to find a land and sea route from Southampton to Marrakesh, along with Google maps faint representation of ferry lines, Google doesn't have public transit directions for the trains in Morocco shrug

NaOH 10mo ago

BDZ is Balgarski Darzhavni Zheleznitsi, Bulgaria's national railway.

HelloUsername 10mo ago
Thank you; would be nice if the country would be clear from the post title

Incipient 10mo ago

Well done! The UI feels incredibly polished. Without really digging into the detail at I'm on mobile, at a glance you've done a great job.

gostsamo 10mo ago

Congrats, it is heartwarming seeing the young doing their own things. :) PS: Only BG comprehensible joke - be careful with showing BDZ looking bad, they might hide the data MVR style.

Pavlinbg 10mo ago
Thank you!

nailherwithrust 10mo ago

[flagged]

NooneAtAll3 10mo ago

no zoom buttons :(

Pavlinbg 10mo ago
Fair point! I relied entirely on scroll/pinch-to-zoom to keep the interface clean, but I should add standard +/- buttons for accessibility and desktop usability

executive 10mo ago

- trains all look to be arriving/departing in hundreds of minutes when you click a random station, even near active trains. Assuming a bug. Regardless, consider changing this to hour/minute display if over 60|90m - train icon looks like standard metro icon but is easily mistaken for a bus - train detail panel fixed to bottom is awkward on desktop breakpoints. consider floating or integrating to a single sidebar - consider having main sidebar fixed to bottom for mobile breakpoints

Pavlinbg 10mo ago
Thanks for the feedback! Regarding the arrival times: Yes, that is definitely a bug I need to fix :D I will update it to format properly into hours/minutes. As for the icons, I am actually using the official SVGs from the BDZ website. I stuck with those because I assume most users will be Bulgarian, and I wanted them to have that familiarity with the official symbols.

yoan9224 10mo ago

Really polished UI. The real-time train positions are a nice touch. One UX issue on desktop: the train detail panel being fixed to the bottom feels awkward. Consider making it a floating panel or sidebar that doesn't block the map. Also the arrival/departure times showing "hundreds of minutes" is confusing. Anything over 90 minutes should probably display as hours:minutes instead. Great work overall though. I've seen plenty of official government transit sites that look worse than this.

trinix912 10mo ago
> Also the arrival/departure times showing "hundreds of minutes" is confusing. Anything over 90 minutes should probably display as hours:minutes instead. Would help with usability but overall seeing this is pretty normal in my part of Europe. I've seen 200+ min delays, written just like that, many times.
- hopelite 10mo ago
  Is there any point of using cumulative minutes rather than standard time format that I may not be considering? Is that something that should be improved? Or is that just a “we’ve always done it that way but no one knows why, so we are going to just keep doing it that way” thing?

6510 10mo ago

- The tool-tip feels wrong in how it covers up the highlighted route. Perhaps it should go at the left top of the screen. - When opening the page the user should be prompted to pick the language and theme. Then you can collapse it in the interface under a settings icon. (put the icon to the left of the close button) - Push "Train dashboard" all the way to the top. (next to the settings and close icons) - Make the close button smaller. - "Search trains" should sit as close to the top as possible. - Lines around forms and buttons are visible when you look at them directly but are to faint for peripheral vision.

Pavlinbg 10mo ago
Valuable feedback, thank you. Regarding the prompt for language and theme: I actually received similar feedback via email. Instead of adding a popup, I decided to make it seamless—I just updated(locally) the app to automatically detect your OS settings for the Theme (Light/Dark) and Time Format (12h/24h) and apply them by default. This way it should "just work" for most users without needing an extra click.
- 6510 10mo ago
  That's even better. Do remember that the OS language isn't the preferred language. From HN you should really link to an /en version. My formula is to ask what it is the user should be doing on the page. Not even what they think they should be doing, what they actually should be doing. Why are they there? Then you give the visitor only what they need step by step. People are great at screwing things up. Rob them from all opportunities. In my day job I actually use quite a few train apps. If I have several train or trip numbers in my head everything that is not a search box is wildly annoying. Wait.. let me slap something together.... https://img.go-here.nl/train-app.png https://img.go-here.nl/train-app.png There, except from a settings icon that is how I would make it. Enjoy
  - Pavlinbg 10mo ago
    Thanks for the effort on the mockup!! :D You make a great point about the user's mindset. I will try to implement that streamlined, search-first design."

delitrem 10mo ago

Great resource, many thanks for sharing. I've bookmarked it and will keep an eye on its development. Wish you good luck with it! (Not a Bulgarian, but live in your country for several years and really felt in love with it!)

Pavlinbg 10mo ago
Thanks.

woodruffw 10mo ago

Nice job! I took the train from Sofia to Plovdiv a few months ago, and this would have been a great resource to have. (I wish someone would make a similar thing for Amtrak, which has a route/progress tracker that only marginally works IME.)

rafram 10mo ago
https://amtraker.com/map https://amtraker.com/map

throwaway89201 10mo ago

A similar (unofficial) map, but for The Netherlands: https://spoorkaart.mwnn.nl/ https://spoorkaart.mwnn.nl/

deleted 9mo ago

[deleted]

adhznnhfa 9mo ago

Nice job! I also made a similar website for hungarian trains: https://kozlekedesiklub.hu/vonatinfo/ https://kozlekedesiklub.hu/vonatinfo/ (Since the state railway MÁV shut off its own one, as it visualized the delays too well :D) Keep up the good work.