Railway Kiosk Manager

Desktop manager and kiosk launcher for a railway timetable display.

Kiosk	Manager
Kiosk view	Manager view

Overview

This project provides a small Windows application for maintaining train timetable data and launching the public display in Microsoft Edge kiosk mode.

It includes:

• a desktop manager for editing train records
• JSON-based data storage in data.json
• kiosk start, stop, and refresh controls
• a full-screen Edge display optimized for kiosk use

Repository Layout

• index.html - kiosk display page
• data.json - train data source used by the kiosk
• kiosk_manager.py - desktop manager for editing data and controlling kiosk mode
• launch-manager.cmd - double-click launcher for the manager

Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11
• Microsoft Edge
• Python 3
• Python launcher (py)

Setup

1. Clone or download the repository.
2. Confirm that Python 3 is installed and the py launcher is available.
3. Confirm that Microsoft Edge is installed.

No additional Python packages are required.

Running the Manager

Option 1: Double-click

Open launch-manager.cmd.

Option 2: Command line

py -3 kiosk_manager.py

Usage

1. Open the manager.
2. Edit the train records in the Record Editor.
3. Use the record actions to add, update, delete, or reorder entries.
4. Click Save JSON to write the updated data to data.json.
5. Click Start to open the kiosk display in Edge.
6. Use Refresh to show saved changes in the running kiosk.
7. Use Stop to close the kiosk.

Notes

• The kiosk display is designed for kiosk mode and shows the first 9 rows in view.
• The platform field supports multiple lines in the manager and is stored in JSON using <br> separators.
• When the kiosk is running, the Start button shows a running state and the Stop button is disabled until the kiosk is active.
• In kiosk mode, the display is full-screen and is meant for keyboard control, not mouse interaction.

Returning to the Manager

• If the kiosk is running and you want to go back to the manager, press Alt + Tab to switch windows.
• If the kiosk is still open and the manager is available, you can use Stop in the manager to close the kiosk window.
• Pressing the Windows key may show the taskbar, but kiosk mode is still meant to be controlled from the keyboard.

Troubleshooting

• If the kiosk does not start, make sure Microsoft Edge is installed.
• If the manager does not open, make sure Python 3 and the py launcher are installed.
• If updated data does not appear in the kiosk, save the JSON first and then use Refresh.
• If you need to exit the kiosk window itself, press Alt + F4.
• If the manager is still open, you can also use Stop there instead of closing the kiosk directly.