mcp server
Mind the Gates — UK level crossings
Live barrier status and closure forecasts for ~1,600 UK level crossings. Public data, no auth.
Description as published by the maintainer. Source
- version 1.0.0
- active
active — Registry entry last updated 2026-07-23.
Check a named UK level crossing
Mind the Gates publishes live crossing pages and a map. The official MCP registry describes barrier status and closure forecasts using public data. Ask about a named crossing, then compare the result with its live page before using it for a journey decision.
The registry lists a Streamable HTTP endpoint at https://mindthegates.uk/mcp and describes the service as requiring no authentication. Add the URL in an HTTP-capable MCP client. The public site does not provide a client-specific MCP setup guide, and we have not verified the endpoint behavior.
ZBS Index editorial guidance, based on the official registry and Mind the Gates website reviewed on 2026-09-26. Live status changes; this page does not reproduce or guarantee a crossing’s current state.
Connection and live-status sources
What this server can do
4 functions, named and described by the server itself. Parameter names are shown because they say more about what a function does than its name usually does.
busiest_today- The ten UK level crossings with the most predicted road-closed time today. Takes no arguments. Each line gives the rank, crossing name, predicted minutes closed across the whole day, and a status URL ending .md. The ranking is computed from today's timetable once per day, shortly after UK midnight, and the build timestamp is included in the reply — it is a whole-day total, not a live reading, so use crossing_status for what a barrier is doing now. Briefly unavailable right after a restart while the first build runs.
crossing_status(crossing)- Live barrier status, the next-30-minute closure timeline and approaching trains for ONE crossing, as markdown. Forecasts are rebuilt per request from the live train feeds, so the answer changes minute to minute. Informational only — never a substitute for the signals and barriers at the crossing itself. An ambiguous name returns the candidate URL words to choose between; an unknown one asks you to call list_crossings first. Required: crossing.
crossings_near(lat, lon, limit)- Nearest listed level crossings to a point, closest first. Returns one line per crossing — distance in MILES, then name, type, region and a status URL ending .md. Distance is straight-line (great circle) between the point and the crossing, NOT distance by road or along the railway: it answers 'which crossings are near this place', not 'which will this train reach next'. Required: lat, lon.
list_crossings(limit, query)- Search UK level crossings by name, URL word or region name (substring, case-insensitive). Returns one line per match — name, crossing type, region, and a status URL ending .md that returns that crossing's live markdown status. Reports the total match count and returns the first `limit`; there is no pagination, so narrow the query to see different matches. Names starting with the query sort first. Required: query.
Last successful function declaration observed on . Source: https://mindthegates.uk/mcp. We list what the server declared; we do not call any of these functions.
Endpoint status observed on . Source: https://mindthegates.uk/mcp.
Signals
These are separate measurements of different things. They are deliberately not combined into one score, because a popularity number that mixes website traffic with saves and stars cannot be checked or acted on.
| Signal | Value | What it measures | Window | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latest published version | 1.0.0 | Latest version string the maintainer published to the registry. | as of fetch | Model Context Protocol | |
| Registry record last updated | 2026-07-23 | When the registry record was last updated by its maintainer. | point in time | Model Context Protocol | |
| First listed in the MCP Registry | 2026-07-23 | Date this server was first published to the official MCP Registry. Not a usage or quality measure. | point in time | Model Context Protocol | |
| mcp tools declared | 4 tools | Number of functions the server itself declared when asked to list them. This is what the server offers an agent, not a measure of how well any of them work. | as of probe | mindthegates.uk | |
| mcp endpoint status | ok | The server listed 4 functions when asked. | as of probe | mindthegates.uk |
Where to get it
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