diff --git a/application/pom.xml b/application/pom.xml
index 49c738a251e..5a838ff85d8 100644
--- a/application/pom.xml
+++ b/application/pom.xml
@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@
     <name>OpenTripPlanner - Application</name>
 
     <dependencies>
+        <!-- project dependencies -->
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>${project.groupId}</groupId>
+            <artifactId>gtfs-realtime-protobuf</artifactId>
+            <version>${project.version}</version>
+        </dependency>
+
+        <!-- 3rd party dependencies -->
         <dependency>
             <groupId>net.sf.trove4j</groupId>
             <artifactId>trove4j</artifactId>
diff --git a/gtfs-realtime-protobuf/pom.xml b/gtfs-realtime-protobuf/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5d814e2ac42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gtfs-realtime-protobuf/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
+         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>org.opentripplanner</groupId>
+        <artifactId>otp-root</artifactId>
+        <version>2.7.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    </parent>
+    <artifactId>gtfs-realtime-protobuf</artifactId>
+    <name>OpenTripPlanner - GTFS Realtime (protobuf)</name>
+
+    <dependencies>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>com.google.protobuf</groupId>
+            <artifactId>protobuf-java</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
+    </dependencies>
+    <build>
+        <plugins>
+            <!-- compile the gtfs-realtime.proto file to Java code
+               To update the proto file run the following command:
+                 curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/transit/master/gtfs-realtime/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto -o src/main/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto
+              -->
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.xolstice.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>protobuf-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>0.6.1</version>
+                <executions>
+                    <execution>
+                        <goals>
+                            <goal>compile</goal>
+                            <goal>test-compile</goal>
+                        </goals>
+                    </execution>
+                </executions>
+                <configuration>
+                    <protocArtifact>com.google.protobuf:protoc:3.22.0:exe:${os.detected.classifier}</protocArtifact>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
+        </plugins>
+    </build>
+</project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/application/src/main/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto b/gtfs-realtime-protobuf/src/main/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto
similarity index 100%
rename from application/src/main/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto
rename to gtfs-realtime-protobuf/src/main/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto
diff --git a/application/src/main/proto/mfdz-realtime-extensions.proto b/gtfs-realtime-protobuf/src/main/proto/mfdz-realtime-extensions.proto
similarity index 100%
rename from application/src/main/proto/mfdz-realtime-extensions.proto
rename to gtfs-realtime-protobuf/src/main/proto/mfdz-realtime-extensions.proto
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 0b4dd2ea10c..247ddfe5a83 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@
 
     <modules>
         <module>application</module>
+        <module>gtfs-realtime-protobuf</module>
     </modules>
 
     <build>
@@ -357,27 +358,6 @@
                     </extraDirectories>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>
-
-            <!-- compile the gtfs-realtime.proto file to Java code
-               To update the proto file run the following command:
-                 curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/transit/master/gtfs-realtime/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto -o src/main/proto/gtfs-realtime.proto
-              -->
-            <plugin>
-                <groupId>org.xolstice.maven.plugins</groupId>
-                <artifactId>protobuf-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-                <version>0.6.1</version>
-                <executions>
-                    <execution>
-                        <goals>
-                            <goal>compile</goal>
-                            <goal>test-compile</goal>
-                        </goals>
-                    </execution>
-                </executions>
-                <configuration>
-                    <protocArtifact>com.google.protobuf:protoc:3.22.0:exe:${os.detected.classifier}</protocArtifact>
-                </configuration>
-            </plugin>
         </plugins>
     </build>