Here at Loco2 we love us some open rail data. That’s why over the past year or so we’ve been really pleased to see lots of new datasets and APIs start to become available.

The UK is leading the way, with Network Rail recently making realtime data available along with existing timetable datasets. Elsewhere in Europe, the Dutch national rail company, NS, has released a great API (which we’re already using on Loco2), SNCF has launched its own open data site, and interesting things are happening elsewhere in Europe.

There’s only one thing to do with all this juicy data: build stuff with it!

That’s why we’re pleased to announce the Off the Rails hack day, in association with Bethnal Green Ventures. The day will be held on October 13th at Google Campus, London, and is open to any designers and developers keen to get their hands dirty with some of the new data. We’ll be looking at a selection of existing projects, and then splitting into teams to brainstorm and prototype train-related apps and concepts.

It will all take place in a friendly and informal setting, and should be a good opportunity to meet new people and hopefully spark some interesting collaborations. We’ve already had a great response from the UK open train data community, with over 30 developers signed up to attend, including some of the top train hacking brains.

Whether you’re really into train hacking and want to share your latest creation, or if you’ve never had anything to do with trains before but fancy giving it a go, come along and get stuck in. It is of course free to attend, and all the details and the sign-up form can be found over on our Eventbrite page.