I am very pleased to announce that Rockshore, have stepped forward and agreed to sponsor OpenTrainTimes in the mid-term. As a result, I’m 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 I’d 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 I’ve 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, don’t 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 feedback@opentraintimes.com. I already know about the dodgy handling of trains over midnight

Many people absolutely loved the maps, and I’m 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, I’ll be working on more maps and functionality.

Covering costs

I’ve never wanted to run the site at a profit – but I need to cover costs. Some of the things I’m 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 I’ll continue to donate my spare time and energy for the benefit of everyone.