Israel Railways Threatens Lawsuit Over Free Train Schedule App

Israel Railways has sent a pre-litigation notice to the developer of "Better Rail," a free app that provides train schedules, demanding its removal from app stores. The state-owned company alleges "unauthorized commercial use" of its proprietary data, claiming the app infringes on its terms of service by scraping schedule and travel planning information directly from the railway's systems. Israel Railways further contends that Better Rail bypassed technological barriers and used an unauthorized access key, constituting a violation of computer laws. The company also claims the app's activity has overloaded its infrastructure, causing outages and costing hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Better Rail developer Guy Tepper, who created the app five years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, denies the allegations. He states the app is open-source, ad-free, and developed by a community of volunteers with the goal of providing a user-friendly alternative to the official, often perceived as cumbersome, railway app. Tepper asserts that train schedules are public information, especially for a government-funded entity, and that the app has generated minimal revenue, primarily through user donations, far from covering development and maintenance costs.

Tepper explained that Israel Railways was aware of the app from its launch and initially engaged in discussions, but a meeting never materialized. In August 2026, the railway sent the legal notice. Better Rail's legal counsel, volunteering his services, advised that the railway's claims lack legal basis. The app's response argues that publicly accessible information, as confirmed by a railway-appointed lawyer in a previous statement, cannot be considered confidential. They also challenge the claims of infrastructure overload, suggesting similar traffic could be generated by users accessing the official website and demanding proof.

Better Rail initially attempted to comply with a request to switch to data from the Ministry of Transport but found significant inaccuracies and omissions in that data. After failing to resolve the discrepancies with both the railway and the ministry, they received the legal threat. Despite the threat of a costly lawsuit, Better Rail has refused to remove the app and is now seeking financial support from the public. The app has released a new version based on Ministry of Transport data, warning users of potential inaccuracies and asking for reports on any errors.