Worldwide railway stations and landmarks from Offware's shared data

.github/workflows/android-apk.yml

@@ -45,6 +45,9 @@ jobs:
           cache: gradle
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+      - name: Fetch Offware's shared data (stations worldwide, landmarks)
+        # Never fails the build: an unreachable dataset leaves the committed files as they are.
+        run: pnpm --filter postcards places
       - name: Build the web app
         run: pnpm --filter postcards build
       - name: Sync the Android project

.github/workflows/pages.yml

@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ on:
   push:
     branches:
       - main
+  # Weekly, after the shared data's Monday build, so stations and landmarks stay current.
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 6 * * 1"
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
@@ -35,6 +38,9 @@ jobs:
           cache: pnpm
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
+      - name: Fetch Offware's shared data (stations worldwide, landmarks)
+        # Never fails the build: an unreachable dataset leaves the committed files as they are.
+        run: pnpm --filter postcards places
       - name: Build (GitHub Pages subpath)
         run: pnpm --filter postcards build
         env:

.gitignore

@@ -33,3 +33,6 @@ Thumbs.db
 .env
 .env.*
 !.env.example
+
+# Fetched at build time from the Offware places dataset (scripts/fetch-places.mjs)
+apps/postcards/public/reference/railways-wikidata.json

apps/postcards/package.json

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
     "format": "prettier --write .",
     "reference": "node scripts/build-reference.mjs",
     "railways": "node scripts/build-railways.mjs",
+    "places": "node scripts/fetch-places.mjs",
     "cap:sync": "cap sync",
     "cap:copy": "cap copy",
     "cap:add:android": "cap add android",

apps/postcards/public/reference/PROVENANCE.md

@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ mirrors it for people browsing the repository.
 | `subdivisions.json` | First-level regions: each city's GeoNames admin-1 code (<https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/cities500.zip>) and each code's GeoNames name (<https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/admin1CodesASCII.txt>), both retrieved 2026-09-30; France's 13 regions by their French names; a code GeoNames does not name keeps one from dr5hn countries-states-cities — <https://github.com/dr5hn/countries-states-cities-database> | CC BY 4.0 (GeoNames) / ODbL (dr5hn) | all-the-cities 3.1.0 + GeoNames 2026-09-30 + country-state-city |
 | `airports.json` | OpenFlights (IATA-coded, aggregated from OurAirports) — <https://openflights.org/data.html> | ODbL 1.0 / OurAirports public domain | airport-data 1.0.1 |
 | `heritage.json` | UNESCO World Heritage List — all 1,248 sites incl. 47th session (2025) — <https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/> | CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO — © UNESCO World Heritage Centre | 2025 list, retrieved 2026-07-11 |
-| `landmarks.json` | Famous landmarks seed (full set via Wikidata build script) — <https://www.wikidata.org> | CC0 (facts) | seed |
+| `landmarks.json` | Landmarks (museums, monuments, castles, palaces, parks; UNESCO sites excluded), the 10,000 best known, from Wikidata via Offware's shared data — <https://github.com/offware-apps/data>. Written at build time by `scripts/fetch-places.mjs`; the committed file is a small seed used when the dataset can't be reached. Each id is `wd-<Wikidata QID>`. | CC0 1.0 | fetched at build time |
+| `railways-wikidata.json` | Railway stations worldwide from Wikidata (open mainline stations, instance of Q55488) via Offware's shared data — <https://github.com/offware-apps/data>. Written at build time by `scripts/fetch-places.mjs`, not committed. Each id is the station's Wikidata QID. | CC0 1.0 | fetched at build time |
+| `railways.json` | Railway stations in Europe from the Trainline EU open stations database — <https://github.com/trainline-eu/stations> | ODbL 1.0 | `scripts/build-railways.mjs` |
 | `languages.json` | Per-country spoken languages (via world-countries) — <https://github.com/mledoze/countries> | ODbL 1.0 | 5.1.0 |
 | `article-names.json` | Common country names (Wikivoyage/Wikipedia article titles, via world-countries) — <https://github.com/mledoze/countries> | ODbL 1.0 | 5.1.0 |
 | `experiences.json` | Postcards "Moments" — app-authored name/hint/emoji only; anchor coordinates aggregated from Wikidata (<https://www.wikidata.org>) / GeoNames (<https://www.geonames.org>); experience concepts attributed to UNESCO World Heritage (<https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/>), UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (<https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists>) & Wikivoyage travel topics (<https://en.wikivoyage.org>). Per-item `sources` cite the specific record. | Mixed — name/hint/emoji CC0; Wikidata CC0; GeoNames CC BY 4.0; UNESCO CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO; Wikivoyage CC BY-SA 3.0 | V1 |

apps/postcards/scripts/fetch-places.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+// Fetch Offware's shared data (https://github.com/offware-apps/data) into
+// the bundled reference files, at build time:
+//
+//   public/reference/railways-wikidata.json   railway stations worldwide (Wikidata, CC0)
+//   public/reference/landmarks.json            sights beyond UNESCO's list (Wikidata, CC0)
+//
+// Aggregator-only (Constitution I): the dataset reshapes Wikidata facts, each record
+// keeping its Wikidata id as provenance; this script only downloads and checks it.
+// A file that can't be fetched or doesn't validate is left as it is (the committed
+// landmarks seed, or the stations of an earlier run). With no stations file at all the
+// script fails: they're the default station source, and a build without them would
+// leave every new user with no stations.
+//
+//   node scripts/fetch-places.mjs
+//   PLACES_BASE=https://example.org/data/v1 node scripts/fetch-places.mjs
+
+import { existsSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+
+const BASE = process.env.PLACES_BASE ?? "https://offware-apps.github.io/data/v1";
+const OUT = join(dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "..", "public", "reference");
+const LANDMARK_MAX = 10_000;
+const UA = "Postcards-reference-build/1.0 (https://github.com/offware-apps/Postcards)";
+
+const finite = (n, max) => typeof n === "number" && Number.isFinite(n) && Math.abs(n) <= max;
+const validPoint = (p) =>
+  p && typeof p.id === "string" && typeof p.name === "string" && p.name.trim() &&
+  /^[A-Z]{2}$/.test(p.countryIso2) && finite(p.lat, 90) && finite(p.lon, 180);
+
+async function get(path) {
+  const res = await fetch(`${BASE}/${path}`, { headers: { "User-Agent": UA }, signal: AbortSignal.timeout(120_000) });
+  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${path}: HTTP ${res.status}`);
+  return res.json();
+}
+
+async function stations() {
+  const json = await get("stations/railways.json");
+  if (json?._source?.license !== "CC0-1.0" || !Array.isArray(json.stations)) throw new Error("stations/railways.json: unexpected shape or licence");
+  const list = json.stations.filter(validPoint);
+  if (list.length < 1000) throw new Error(`stations/railways.json: only ${list.length} valid stations`);
+  writeFileSync(join(OUT, "railways-wikidata.json"), JSON.stringify({ _source: json._source, stations: list }));
+  return `${list.length} stations`;
+}
+
+async function landmarks() {
+  const [list, sources] = await Promise.all([get("places/landmarks.json"), get("sources.json")]);
+  const wikidata = sources?.sources?.find((s) => s.id === "wikidata");
+  if (wikidata?.license !== "CC0-1.0" || !Array.isArray(list)) throw new Error("places/landmarks.json: unexpected shape or licence");
+  // The best known LANDMARK_MAX, so the file stays small enough to load at start-up.
+  // Postcards' landmarks are one category; the dataset's finer kinds stay out of the app.
+  const out = list
+    .filter(validPoint)
+    .sort((a, b) => (b.sitelinks ?? 0) - (a.sitelinks ?? 0) || a.id.localeCompare(b.id))
+    .slice(0, LANDMARK_MAX)
+    .map(({ id, name, countryIso2, lat, lon }) => ({ id, name, countryIso2, lat, lon, category: "landmark" }))
+    .sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name) || a.id.localeCompare(b.id));
+  if (out.length < 100) throw new Error(`places/landmarks.json: only ${out.length} valid landmarks`);
+  writeFileSync(join(OUT, "landmarks.json"), JSON.stringify(out));
+  return `${out.length} landmarks`;
+}
+
+for (const [name, run] of [["stations", stations], ["landmarks", landmarks]]) {
+  try {
+    process.stderr.write(`places: ${await run()} written\n`);
+  } catch (e) {
+    process.stderr.write(`places: ${name} kept as it was (${e?.message ?? e})\n`);
+  }
+}
+
+if (!existsSync(join(OUT, "railways-wikidata.json"))) {
+  process.stderr.write("places: no railway stations file, the default station source would be empty\n");
+  process.exit(1);
+}

apps/postcards/src/lib/i18n/en.ts

@@ -84,10 +84,13 @@ export const en = {
     "Used everywhere a country is counted: totals, the passport, per-continent progress.",
   "settings.stations.title": "Railway stations",
   "settings.stations.recommended": "recommended",
+  "settings.stations.source.wikidata": "World — Wikidata",
   "settings.stations.source.trainline": "Europe — Trainline",
   "settings.stations.source.none": "None",
+  "settings.stations.desc.wikidata":
+    "Open railway stations worldwide from Wikidata (CC0), via Offware's shared data. Each station links back to its Wikidata item, where anyone can correct it.",
   "settings.stations.desc.trainline":
-    "~44,000 European stations from Trainline's open database (ODbL). The only worldwide-open set that loads on this build; a global set (Wikidata/OSM) can be added later.",
+    "~44,000 European stations from Trainline's open database (ODbL). Choose it to keep stations you marked from this list before the worldwide set arrived.",
   "settings.stations.desc.none": "No railway stations are loaded — they won't appear in search, on the map, or in stats.",
   "settings.map.advanced": "More map options & offline packs",
   "settings.optimize.title": "Optimisation",

apps/postcards/src/lib/i18n/fr.ts

@@ -78,10 +78,13 @@ export const fr: Messages = {
     "Utilisé partout où un pays est compté : totaux, passeport, progression par continent.",
   "settings.stations.title": "Gares ferroviaires",
   "settings.stations.recommended": "recommandé",
+  "settings.stations.source.wikidata": "Monde — Wikidata",
   "settings.stations.source.trainline": "Europe — Trainline",
   "settings.stations.source.none": "Aucune",
+  "settings.stations.desc.wikidata":
+    "Les gares ferroviaires ouvertes du monde entier, issues de Wikidata (CC0) via les données partagées d'Offware. Chaque gare renvoie à sa fiche Wikidata, que chacun peut corriger.",
   "settings.stations.desc.trainline":
-    "~44 000 gares européennes issues de la base ouverte de Trainline (ODbL). Le seul jeu ouvert disponible sur cette version ; un jeu mondial (Wikidata/OSM) pourra être ajouté plus tard.",
+    "~44 000 gares européennes issues de la base ouverte de Trainline (ODbL). Choisissez-la pour garder les gares marquées depuis cette liste avant l'arrivée du jeu mondial.",
   "settings.stations.desc.none": "Aucune gare n'est chargée — elles n'apparaîtront ni dans la recherche, ni sur la carte, ni dans les stats.",
   "settings.map.advanced": "Plus d'options de carte et cartes hors ligne",
   "settings.optimize.title": "Optimisation",

apps/postcards/src/lib/i18n/ko.ts

@@ -78,10 +78,13 @@ export const ko: Messages = {
     "국가를 세는 모든 곳에 사용됩니다: 합계, 여권, 대륙별 진행률.",
   "settings.stations.title": "기차역",
   "settings.stations.recommended": "권장",
+  "settings.stations.source.wikidata": "전 세계 — Wikidata",
   "settings.stations.source.trainline": "유럽 — Trainline",
   "settings.stations.source.none": "없음",
+  "settings.stations.desc.wikidata":
+    "Offware 공유 데이터를 통해 Wikidata(CC0)에서 가져온 전 세계 운행 중인 기차역. 각 역은 누구나 수정할 수 있는 Wikidata 항목으로 연결됩니다.",
   "settings.stations.desc.trainline":
-    "Trainline 공개 데이터베이스(ODbL)의 유럽 기차역 약 44,000곳. 이 빌드에서 불러올 수 있는 유일한 공개 데이터이며, 전 세계 데이터(Wikidata/OSM)는 나중에 추가할 수 있습니다.",
+    "Trainline 공개 데이터베이스(ODbL)의 유럽 기차역 약 44,000곳. 전 세계 데이터가 추가되기 전에 이 목록에서 표시한 역을 유지하려면 선택하세요.",
   "settings.stations.desc.none": "기차역을 불러오지 않습니다 — 검색, 지도, 통계에 나타나지 않습니다.",
   "settings.map.advanced": "추가 지도 옵션 및 오프라인 팩",
   "settings.optimize.title": "최적화",

apps/postcards/src/lib/reference/data/provenance.json

@@ -30,9 +30,15 @@
     "url": "https://openflights.org/data.html"
   },
   {
-    "dataset": "Railway stations — Trainline EU open stations database (choosable in Settings)",
+    "dataset": "Railway stations worldwide — Wikidata via Offware shared data (default; choosable in Settings)",
+    "license": "CC0-1.0",
+    "version": "fetched at build time",
+    "url": "https://github.com/offware-apps/data"
+  },
+  {
+    "dataset": "Railway stations — Trainline EU open stations database (Europe; choosable in Settings)",
     "license": "ODbL-1.0",
-    "version": "trainline · worldwide: --source=wikidata",
+    "version": "trainline",
     "url": "https://github.com/trainline-eu/stations"
   },
   {
@@ -54,10 +60,10 @@
     "url": "https://en.wikivoyage.org"
   },
   {
-    "dataset": "Famous landmarks seed (full set via Wikidata build script)",
-    "license": "CC0 (facts)",
-    "version": "seed",
-    "url": "https://www.wikidata.org"
+    "dataset": "Landmarks — the 10,000 best-known sights (Wikidata, via Offware's shared data)",
+    "license": "CC0-1.0",
+    "version": "fetched at build time",
+    "url": "https://github.com/offware-apps/data"
   },
   {
     "dataset": "UNESCO World Heritage List — all 1,248 sites incl. 47th session (2025)",

apps/postcards/src/lib/reference/referenceData.ts

@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ async function loadExtras(impl: ReferenceDataImpl): Promise<void> {
       .then((r) => (r.ok ? (r.json() as Promise<T>) : empty))
       .catch(() => empty);
   // Railway stations: whichever dataset the user chose in Settings (default
-  // Trainline; "None" loads nothing). A { _source, stations:[…] } wrapper;
+  // Wikidata, worldwide; "None" loads nothing). A { _source, stations:[…] } wrapper;
   // absent file → []. Switching source later re-fetches via setStationData.
   // The biggest file here (5 MB, a long parse on a phone), so it waits for a
   // screen to ask (requestStations): on the map, once the map has loaded, so it

apps/postcards/src/lib/reference/stationSources.ts

@@ -3,15 +3,14 @@
 // aggregator, never author) bundled as its own file under public/reference/; the
 // user picks which one they load — or "None" to carry none at all.
 //
-// This catalogue is DATA-DRIVEN: the Settings picker lists exactly what's here, so
-// adding a worldwide build output (e.g. railways-wikidata.json from
-// `node scripts/build-railways.mjs --source=wikidata`) is a one-line addition that
-// automatically shows up as a selectable source — no UI change needed.
+// This catalogue is DATA-DRIVEN: the Settings picker lists exactly what's here.
+// The worldwide set comes from Offware's shared data (Wikidata, CC0),
+// fetched at build time by `scripts/fetch-places.mjs`.
 
 const BASE = import.meta.env.BASE_URL;
 
 /** Stable ids, persisted in localStorage — never renumber. "none" loads nothing. */
-export type StationSourceId = "trainline" | "none";
+export type StationSourceId = "wikidata" | "trainline" | "none";
 
 export interface StationSourceDef {
   id: StationSourceId;
@@ -24,23 +23,34 @@ export interface StationSourceDef {
   recommended: boolean;
 }
 
-// Trainline (ODbL, Europe) is the recommended default — the only full open station
-// set reachable from the build sandbox. A future worldwide file (Wikidata CC0 /
-// OSM ODbL), produced by the build script on an open network, slots in here.
+// Wikidata (CC0, worldwide) is the recommended default. Trainline (ODbL, Europe)
+// stays selectable: its station ids differ, so people who marked stations from it
+// keep it until they choose otherwise (see loadStationSource).
 export const STATION_SOURCES: readonly StationSourceDef[] = [
+  {
+    id: "wikidata",
+    url: `${BASE}reference/railways-wikidata.json`,
+    license: "CC0-1.0",
+    coverage: "worldwide",
+    recommended: true,
+  },
   {
     id: "trainline",
     url: `${BASE}reference/railways.json`,
     license: "ODbL-1.0",
     coverage: "europe",
-    recommended: true,
+    recommended: false,
   },
   { id: "none", url: null, license: "", coverage: "none", recommended: false },
 ];
 
-export const DEFAULT_STATION_SOURCE: StationSourceId = "trainline";
+export const DEFAULT_STATION_SOURCE: StationSourceId = "wikidata";
 
 const STATION_SOURCE_KEY = "postcards-station-source";
+// Set once the app has been opened before (App.tsx). Before the worldwide set,
+// Trainline was everyone's default, so an earlier user who never chose keeps it:
+// their marked stations carry Trainline ids, which the worldwide set doesn't have.
+const RETURNING_USER_KEY = "postcards-intro-seen";
 
 export function isStationSource(v: unknown): v is StationSourceId {
   return STATION_SOURCES.some((s) => s.id === v);
@@ -55,7 +65,12 @@ export function stationSourceById(id: StationSourceId): StationSourceDef {
 export function loadStationSource(): StationSourceId {
   try {
     const v = localStorage.getItem(STATION_SOURCE_KEY);
-    return isStationSource(v) ? v : DEFAULT_STATION_SOURCE;
+    if (isStationSource(v)) return v;
+    // Either way the choice is saved now: a new user's intro flag, set on this
+    // first run, must not turn them into a "returning" Trainline user next time.
+    const choice: StationSourceId = localStorage.getItem(RETURNING_USER_KEY) != null ? "trainline" : DEFAULT_STATION_SOURCE;
+    localStorage.setItem(STATION_SOURCE_KEY, choice);
+    return choice;
   } catch {
     return DEFAULT_STATION_SOURCE;
   }

apps/postcards/tests/unit/referenceStartup.spec.ts

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ describe("reference data at startup", () => {
 
     // The stations, the biggest file, are not asked for until a screen asks
     // (the map once it has loaded), so they never compete with it.
-    expect(late["railways.json"]).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(late["railways-wikidata.json"]).toBeUndefined();
 
     const gen = gazetteerGeneration();
     const next = () =>
@@ -58,11 +58,11 @@ describe("reference data at startup", () => {
 
     // Not on idle either: only on request.
     await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1600));
-    expect(late["railways.json"]).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(late["railways-wikidata.json"]).toBeUndefined();
     requestStations();
-    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(late["railways.json"]).toBeDefined(), { timeout: 3000 });
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(late["railways-wikidata.json"]).toBeDefined(), { timeout: 3000 });
     landed = next();
-    late["railways.json"]!({
+    late["railways-wikidata.json"]!({
       stations: [{ id: "Q1", name: "Lisboa Oriente", countryIso2: "PT", lat: 38.77, lon: -9.1 }],
     });
     await landed;
@@ -94,9 +94,9 @@ describe("reference data at startup", () => {
     late["languages.json"]!({});
     late["article-names.json"]!({});
     requestStations();
-    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(late["railways.json"]).toBeDefined(), { timeout: 3000 });
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(late["railways-wikidata.json"]).toBeDefined(), { timeout: 3000 });
     const landed = new Promise((r) => window.addEventListener(GAZETTEER_UPGRADED_EVENT, r, { once: true }));
-    late["railways.json"]!({
+    late["railways-wikidata.json"]!({
       stations: [{ id: "Q1", name: "Lisboa Oriente", countryIso2: "PT", lat: 38.77, lon: -9.1 }],
     });
     await landed;