Transport for London MCP Server for Claude Desktop 11 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.
ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER
Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.
Vinkius Desktop App
The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Transport for London and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.
{
"mcpServers": {
"transport-for-london": {
// Your Vinkius token — get it at cloud.vinkius.com
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
}
}
}
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
About Transport for London MCP Server
Connect to Transport for London (TfL) and access real-time London transit data through natural conversation — no API key needed.
Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Transport for London to your AI workflow. Add the Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 11 tools in the chat interface — ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.
What you can do
- Tube Status — Check real-time status of all Underground lines (Good Service, Minor/Severe Delays, Suspended)
- Line Details — Get detailed info about any tube, overground, DLR, Elizabeth line or tram route
- Bus Arrivals — Get live bus arrival predictions for any stop
- Journey Planning — Plan journeys between any two London locations with step-by-step directions
- Road Status — Check major road status and disruptions across London
- Bike Points — Find Santander Cycle docking stations with bike and dock availability
- Stop Search — Search for bus stops, tube stations and river piers by name
The Transport for London MCP Server exposes 11 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect Transport for London to Claude Desktop via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the Transport for London MCP Server with Claude Desktop.
Open Claude Desktop Settings
Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json
Add the MCP Server
Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section
Restart Claude Desktop
Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server
Start using Transport for London
Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat — your 11 tools are now available
Why Use Claude Desktop with the Transport for London MCP Server
Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with Transport for London through the Model Context Protocol.
Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client — it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available
Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface
Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions
Enterprise-grade security with local config storage — your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to the Vinkius Edge network
Transport for London + Claude Desktop Use Cases
Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the Transport for London MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation
Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies — all through natural language
Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary
Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation
Transport for London MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (11)
These 11 tools become available when you connect Transport for London to Claude Desktop via MCP:
get_arrivals
Returns predicted arrival times, destination, line number, vehicle ID and expected time to station. Use the stop point ID (e.g. "490009056W") from search_stop. Get live arrival predictions for a bus stop
get_bike_point_detail
Get detailed info for a specific bike docking station
get_bike_points
Returns bike availability, dock availability, station locations and status. Useful for finding nearby bikes for cycling journeys. Search for Santander Cycle (Boris Bike) docking stations
get_journey
Returns multiple route options with estimated duration, walking distance, fare cost, number of changes and step-by-step directions. Input locations can be station names, addresses or postcodes. Plan a journey between two points in London
get_line_detail
Supports tube, overground, DLR, Elizabeth line, tram and river bus lines. Get detailed information about a specific TfL line
get_line_routes
Returns the ordered list of stations the line serves. Useful for understanding the full journey path of a tube line. Get the route sequence for a TfL line
get_line_status
Shows whether each line has Good Service, Minor Delays, Severe Delays, or is Suspended/Part Suspended. If no line IDs specified, returns all tube lines. Use line_ids to check specific lines (comma-separated, e.g. "central,victoria,northern"). Get real-time status for TfL tube lines
get_road_disruptions
Returns disruption details with severity, location, cause and estimated clearance times. Get current road disruptions in London
get_road_status
Shows whether roads have Good, Minor or Severe congestion. Get status of London major roads
get_stop_details
Useful for identifying the correct stop ID for arrival queries. Get details for a specific bus stop or station
search_stop
Returns matching stops with their IDs, locations, modes and routes. Use the returned IDs with get_arrivals or get_stop_details. Search for bus stops and stations by name
Example Prompts for Transport for London in Claude Desktop
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with Transport for London immediately.
"What's the status of the Central line?"
"Plan a journey from King's Cross to Heathrow."
"When is the next bus at Oxford Circus?"
Troubleshooting Transport for London MCP Server with Claude Desktop
Common issues when connecting Transport for London to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
Server not appearing after restart
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).Authentication error
Tools not showing in chat
Transport for London + Claude Desktop FAQ
Common questions about integrating Transport for London MCP Server with Claude Desktop.
How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?
claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?
Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?
mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?
Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?
Connect Transport for London with your favorite client
Step-by-step setup guides for every MCP-compatible client and framework:
Anthropic's native desktop app for Claude with built-in MCP support.
AI-first code editor with integrated LLM-powered coding assistance.
GitHub Copilot in VS Code with Agent mode and MCP support.
Purpose-built IDE for agentic AI coding workflows.
Autonomous AI coding agent that runs inside VS Code.
Anthropic's agentic CLI for terminal-first development.
Python SDK for building production-grade OpenAI agent workflows.
Google's framework for building production AI agents.
Type-safe agent development for Python with first-class MCP support.
TypeScript toolkit for building AI-powered web applications.
TypeScript-native agent framework for modern web stacks.
Python framework for orchestrating collaborative AI agent crews.
Leading Python framework for composable LLM applications.
Data-aware AI agent framework for structured and unstructured sources.
Microsoft's framework for multi-agent collaborative conversations.
Connect Transport for London to Claude Desktop
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 11 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.