I am very pleased to announce that Rockshore, have stepped forward and agreed to sponsor OpenTrainTimes in the mid-term. As a result, Im delighted to say that OpenTrainTimes is now back!
I have had a steady stream of wholly supportive and positive emails over the last month from people who have used the site. Thank you to everyone who took the time to get in touch there are more of you than I thought!
So, the site is back and running on new code which Id been working on for some months before the site was shut down. There are a few important changes, however:
The beta server is gone it was too labour-intensive to run two versions of the site. Instead, many of the features and improvements from the beta site are now on the main site
The layout is different this is OpenTrainTimes version 3, considerably changed under the bonnet from previous versions, based on everything Ive learned over the last three years
Some features are missing simply down to the fact this is my hobby. I will be bringing the PPM statistics back soon, dont worry
There are more maps see below for a list, and there will be more coming
There are bugs this code is fairly new, so please report bugs to [email protected]. I already know about the dodgy handling of trains over midnight
Many people absolutely loved the maps, and Im pleased to say that the following brand-new maps are now included on the site:
Brighton Main Line from London Victoria to Streatham Junction, East Croydon to Gatwick Airport, Gatwick Airport to Hassocks and Hassocks to Brighton
High Speed 1 from St Pancras International to Stratford
South Eastern Main Line from Grove Park to Hildenborough and Hildenborough to Tonbridge
Parts of the South Coast lines East Coastway and West Coastway
and finally, the Suburban Lines around Dartford
The previous maps (West Coast, East Coast, Thameslink/Midland Mainline) maps will be ported over in due course.
Once the new site is stable and bedded in, Ill be working on more maps and functionality.
Covering costs
Ive never wanted to run the site at a profit but I need to cover costs. Some of the things Im considering to keep the site up and running in the long term are:
A one-off donation
A regular donation
Subscriptions, which will give access to additional features on the site
Any excess money will be set aside to keep the site running for longer, and Ill continue to donate my spare time and energy for the benefit of everyone.
