12306 Railway MCP server

The 12306-MCP server provides a simple API interface that allows large language models to search for train tickets on China's 12306 railway system. Built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), it enables AI to perform intelligent ticket selection and even generate visual maps of train routes.

Installation

To install the 12306-MCP server, follow these steps:

git clone https://github.com/freestylefly/12306-mcp.git
npm i

Getting Started

Running from Command Line

Build and start the server with:

npm run build
node ./build/index.js

MCP Server Configuration

Configure your MCP client with the following settings:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "12306-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "12306-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Features

The 12306-MCP server supports the following functionality:

• ✅ Search for train tickets on 12306
• ✅ Filter train information
• ✅ Station pass-through queries
• ✅ Transfer queries

Use Cases

With Cursor

The server works with Cursor to provide intelligent ticket selection and generate visual maps of routes. You can open the included yb.html file directly in your browser to visualize train routes.

With Alibaba Bailian

When integrated with Alibaba Bailian, the MCP server can:

• Recommend reasonable tickets based on your travel plans
• Compare ticket prices across different trains with visual charts
• Generate maps showing all stops along a route
• Create travel guides for cities along your journey
• Generate images of attractions at intermediate stops

The server provides a comprehensive interface that makes it easy for AI systems to search, filter, and present train ticket information in an intuitive way for travelers.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "12306-mcp" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","12306-mcp"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "12306-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "12306-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "12306-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "12306-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect