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Live Train Tracking — How It Works
TrainTrackings aggregates real-time train positions from 19 official national railway APIs and displays them on a single live departure board. Countries with direct GPS tracking (Tier 1) show exact train coordinates updated every 30 seconds. For all other countries, train positions are calculated from official published departure and arrival times, adjusted for the local timezone, so the running status is always accurate to within 30 seconds without requiring a live API connection.
The live board covers over 800 tracked train services across 150+ countries simultaneously. Running trains are sorted to the top of the board with a green indicator. Delayed trains — those reported more than 3 minutes late by the source API — are highlighted in red with the delay duration shown in the Delay column. Terminated or cancelled services are dimmed and moved to the bottom of the list automatically.
Use the search bar to filter by train name, number, origin station, destination, or country. The ALL / LIVE / GPS tabs let you narrow the board to only currently running trains or only trains with confirmed GPS coordinates. The country selector filters to a single national rail network so you can focus on the services most relevant to your journey.
Countries With Real-Time GPS Train Tracking
The following countries have live GPS or GTFS-Realtime feeds integrated. Train positions update every 30 seconds from the official national operator API.
Schedule-Based Live Tracking
For countries without a public GPS API — including India, Pakistan, Japan, China, Australia, Canada, and most of Africa and South America — TrainTrackings uses published timetable data to estimate train position in real time. When the current local time in the train's operating country falls between a service's scheduled departure and arrival time, the train is shown as Running on the board.
For Pakistan Railways, this covers all 117 active services including the Khyber Mail, Green Line Express, Tezgam, Karakoram Express, and Shah Hussein Express. For Indian Railways, Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Vande Bharat, and Duronto services are tracked on the board using NTES schedule data.
About the TrainTrackings Live Train Tracker
How real-time train tracking works
The live train tracker on TrainTrackings combines GPS position data from GTFS-Realtime feeds, national operator APIs, and schedule-based positioning to display every active train service. GPS-equipped trains report their exact coordinates every 30 seconds. For networks without GPS, timetable interpolation calculates the estimated train position between the last departed station and the next scheduled stop, giving a real-time train status accurate to within a few minutes.
Live train delay alerts
The live departure board shows current delay in minutes next to each train. Delays are sourced directly from the operator's GTFS-Realtime TripUpdates feed or, for timetable-based networks, calculated from the difference between scheduled and actual departure time at the last reported station. TrainTrackings updates live train status every 30 seconds so you always see the most current delay information before heading to the platform.
Tracking trains in Asia & South Asia
India's 13,169 daily train services — including Rajdhani Express, Vande Bharat, Shatabdi Express, and Duronto overnight trains — are tracked via NTES schedule data. Pakistan Railways intercity services including the Khyber Mail, Green Line Express, Tezgam, and Karakoram Express appear on the live board using published timetable positioning. Malaysia's KTM Intercity, Komuter, and Prasarana rapid rail lines have live GPS feeds integrated.
Tracking trains in Europe & North America
European live train tracking covers Deutsche Bahn ICE and IC services via the VBB / DB REST API, Belgian NMBS trains via iRail, Norwegian Vy / NSB services via Entur, and Finnish VR InterCity and Pendolino via Digitraffic. In North America, Amtrak's entire network — Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, Empire Builder, and Northeast Regional — is tracked with confirmed GPS coordinates updated in real time via the Amtraker API.
How Live Train Tracking Works — Technical Explainer
Behind every dot moving across a live train map is a surprisingly complex pipeline involving satellite technology, open data standards, server-side polling, and real-time interpolation mathematics. Understanding this pipeline helps you interpret what you see — and know when to trust the data and when to be cautious.
Step 1 — The Train's GPS Transponder
Modern passenger trains operating in countries with live tracking are fitted with GPS transponders — typically GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers that combine GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo signals for accuracy to within 5–15 metres. The transponder records the train's latitude, longitude, speed, and heading and transmits this package to the national rail operator's control systems via cellular (GSM-R or 4G) or dedicated railway radio networks. This transmission happens continuously, typically every 5–10 seconds at the hardware level, though what gets published to external APIs is usually a 30-second-averaged position.
Step 2 — The Operator's Internal System
The raw GPS data flows into the national rail operator's Train Management System (TMS) or Integrated Control Centre. Here, the raw position is merged with timetable data to calculate running late/early status, expected arrival times at upcoming stations, and any disruption information. This enriched data package is what ultimately gets published to external consumers.
Step 3 — GTFS-Realtime: The Open Data Standard
The General Transit Feed Specification Realtime (GTFS-RT) is a protobuf-encoded data format developed by Google and now maintained as an open industry standard. It defines three distinct feed types that operators can publish:
- VehiclePosition— The feed most directly used for live map display. Contains each vehicle's current latitude and longitude, the trip it is operating, the vehicle ID, and optionally its current stop sequence. TrainTrackings reads this feed to plot train positions on the map. Countries publishing this include Germany (via VBB), Finland (Digitraffic), Ireland (Irish Rail XML converted), Norway (Entur), Belgium (iRail), Malaysia (data.gov.my), Australia NSW, and USA (Amtraker).
- TripUpdate— Contains predicted arrival and departure times for upcoming stops on each active trip. This is the source of the delay figures shown on the departure board. A TripUpdate says, for example, "Train ICE 509 is now expected 8 minutes late at Frankfurt Hbf." We read TripUpdates for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries. See our schedule page and alerts page for how this data is used.
- ServiceAlert — Unstructured disruption notices covering cancellations, platform changes, replacement bus services, and major incidents. These feed the disruption notices visible on the alerts page. Alerts are cross-referenced against the affected trips in our data sources pipeline so they surface correctly against the relevant train on the departure board.
Step 4 — GTFS-Static: The Timetable Backbone
Alongside GTFS-Realtime, every supported country also has a GTFS-Static (also called GTFS-Schedule) dataset. GTFS-Static contains the complete timetable: every route, every trip, every stop time, every calendar entry, and every stop location — encoded as a set of plain-text CSV files zipped together. This is the "static" backbone that gives meaning to the realtime data. When a VehiclePosition feed says "vehicle 45 is operating trip ID 29381," TrainTrackings cross-references trip ID 29381 in the GTFS-Static dataset to find the route name, origin, destination, and all intermediate stop times. Without GTFS-Static, the realtime data would be meaningless numbers. Visit our data sources page for the full list of static schedule datasets we maintain.
Step 5 — TrainTrackings Server Polling & Interpolation
Our server polls each live API endpoint on a 30-second cycle. When a new VehiclePosition packet arrives, we update the stored coordinates for that vehicle. Between polling cycles, the client-side map smoothly animates the train icon towards its new position using linear interpolation — so the dot on screen appears to move continuously even though the underlying data only updates every 30 seconds. When GPS signal is temporarily lost (tunnels, radio dead zones), the server falls back to timetable-based interpolation: given the train's last known position, its scheduled speed between stops, and the elapsed time, we estimate the current approximate location. This estimated position is clearly marked as "interpolated" in the UI.
Live Train Data Tiers Explained
Not all live train tracking is created equal. The quality, frequency, and source of position data varies dramatically between countries. TrainTrackings classifies every supported network into one of three data tiers so you always know exactly how fresh and accurate the information you are viewing actually is.
Why Do Tiers Differ?
The gap between Tier 1 and Tier 3 accuracy is not primarily a technical problem — it is a policy and infrastructure investment problem. The countries that achieve Tier 1 status have one thing in common: they have enacted open data policies that require national rail operators to publish GTFS-Realtime feeds under open licences. Germany's Digitale Schiene initiative, Finland's Transport Code (Liikennekaaari), Ireland's National Transport Authority open data portal, Norway's Entur platform, and Belgium's iRail community project all arose from deliberate decisions to treat public transport data as a public good.
Tier 2 countries typically have live data available internally within the operator's systems, but do not publish a direct GTFS-RT VehiclePosition feed. Instead, position can be inferred by querying the operator's journey planner or REST API — which returns whether a specific train has passed or is expected at specific stops. This gives a position accurate to the previous or next station (typically 1–5 km) rather than a GPS coordinate. UK National Rail, SNCF, NS (Netherlands), and Trenitalia all fall into this category. Our data sources page lists the exact API endpoint used for each country.
Tier 3 networks have no public live API at all. Pakistan Railways, Bangladesh Railway, Vietnam Railways, Thai State Railways, PT KAI in Indonesia, and most African national rail operators publish timetables but not real-time position data. For these networks, TrainTrackings determines whether a train is currently running by checking whether the current local time falls within the scheduled operating window of that service, then estimates position by interpolating between the last reported station in the published stop list and the next stop based on elapsed time. For delays specifically, users can cross-reference with our alerts pageor check the operator's own app, as delay data is not available for Tier 3 networks.
The tier classification is reviewed quarterly as new API agreements are established. Malaysia moved from Tier 3 to Tier 1 in 2024 when data.gov.my began publishing KTMB and Prasarana GTFS-RT feeds — a significant improvement for commuters in Kuala Lumpur. See the full breakdown on the data sources page and check our schedule page for timetable accuracy regardless of tracking tier.
Live Train Tracking by Country
Each country's live tracking capability reflects its national data infrastructure. Here is a detailed breakdown of the eight countries currently offering the richest live train tracking experience on TrainTrackings, including the specific services covered, the data source, and the precision you can expect.
Germany — ICE, IC, RE, S-Bahn via VBB & DB REST
Germany offers the most comprehensive live train tracking in Europe. Deutsche Bahn's entire long-distance network — ICE (InterCityExpress) high-speed trains, IC/EC (InterCity / EuroCity) services, and IR regional trains — plus all Regional Express (RE), Regional Bahn (RB), and S-Bahn suburban services in major cities are tracked in real time via the VBB (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg) open data platform and the DB REST proxy maintained by the open-data community.
Position updates arrive every 30 seconds with GPS accuracy. Delays are reported to the minute: a train shown as "+3 min" means the GTFS-RT TripUpdate has confirmed it is three minutes behind its published schedule at the last checked station. DB's live data infrastructure has a reported 99.5% uptime. You can view full German Germany train schedules on our schedule page alongside the live status.
Ireland — Enterprise, Intercity & Commuter via Irish Rail XML
Irish Rail publishes a real-time XML API covering all mainline services operated by Iarnród Éireann. This includes the cross-border Enterprise service between Dublin Connolly and Belfast Lanyon Place (operated jointly with Translink), all InterCity routes (Dublin–Cork, Dublin–Galway, Dublin–Limerick, Dublin–Sligo, Dublin–Waterford), and the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) commuter network on the eastern coastal corridor. GPS receivers are fitted to all mainline and DART rolling stock, giving accurate position data on every service. TrainTrackings converts the Irish Rail XML feed into a normalised format and displays live positions on the map updated every 30 seconds. Check the Ireland train schedule for full timetable data.
Finland — All VR Trains via Digitraffic (Most Accurate in Europe)
Finland's Digitraffic platform, operated by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (Väylä), is widely regarded as the gold standard for open rail data in Europe. It publishes GTFS-Realtime VehiclePosition feeds with sub-minute GPS accuracy for all VR (Finnish Railways) services — including IC (InterCity), Pendolino (high-speed tilting trains), overnight sleeping car trains to Lapland, and Helsinki commuter rail. The timestamp accuracy on Finnish train data is measured in seconds rather than minutes. This is the result of Finland's comprehensive Transport Code legislation, which mandates open data for all state-owned transport operators. For commuters and rail enthusiasts, this makes Finnish train tracking exceptionally reliable and precise.
Switzerland — SBB via OpenTransportData.swiss
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFS) publish live train data via the OpenTransportData.swiss portal, which provides GTFS-Realtime feeds for all SBB-operated intercity, regional, and S-Bahn services across Switzerland. Given that Swiss trains are famously punctual (SBB regularly reports on-time performance above 92%), delays when they occur are notable. The Digitraffic-style sub-minute accuracy achieved in Switzerland makes it one of the most reliable tracking environments anywhere in the world. Alpine terrain introduces occasional GPS shadow zones in deep valleys and tunnels, but coverage for mainline routes between Zurich, Geneva, Basel, and Bern is effectively complete.
USA — Amtrak Long-Distance & Regional via Amtraker GPS
In the United States, TrainTrackings integrates the Amtraker API, which aggregates Amtrak's own internal GPS tracking data into a developer-friendly format. All Amtrak long-distance services are covered: Southwest Chief (Chicago–Los Angeles), California Zephyr (Chicago–San Francisco), Empire Builder (Chicago–Seattle/Portland), Cardinal (New York–Chicago), Sunset Limited (New Orleans–Los Angeles), and more. Northeast Regional and Acela high-speed services on the Northeast Corridor are also tracked. Position updates arrive every 5 minutes. While less frequent than European Tier 1 feeds, this is sufficient to track the progress of Amtrak's notoriously variable long-distance services, which can run hours late due to freight train priority on shared tracks. See our data sources for full details.
Malaysia — KTM Intercity & Komuter via data.gov.my GTFS-RT (Added 2024)
Malaysia joined the Tier 1 tracking club in 2024 when the Malaysian government's data.gov.my open data portal began publishing GTFS-Realtime feeds for both KTMB (Kereta Api Tanah Melayu Berhad) and Prasarana rapid transit services. This covers KTM Intercity services on the main north-south line (ETS, Intercity, and Komuter), as well as Klang Valley urban rail: LRT Kelana Jaya Line, LRT Ampang Line, MRT Kajang Line, MRT Putrajaya Line, Monorail, and Bus Rapid Transit. For commuters and travellers in and around Kuala Lumpur, this represents a major accuracy improvement. Check the Malaysia KTM live page for the full network view, and our Malaysia train schedule for timetables.
Belgium — Thalys, IC & Sprinter via iRail
Belgium's live rail data is powered by iRail, an open-source community project that reverse-engineered and then formally partnered with NMBS/SNCB (Belgian National Railway Company) to provide an open API. iRail covers all NMBS domestic services — IC (InterCity), L (Local), P (Peak-hour) trains — as well as Thalys high-speed international services between Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, and Cologne. The iRail API provides real-time train composition, live platform information (which platform a train is departing from or arriving at, including last-minute changes), and live delay information. Belgium is notable for the quality of its platform change alerts, which feed directly into our alerts page.
Australia — NSW TrainLink & Sydney Trains via Transport for NSW GTFS-RT
Transport for NSW publishes comprehensive GTFS-Realtime feeds covering both Sydney Trains (the metropolitan network operating around Sydney) and NSW TrainLink (regional and intercity services connecting Sydney with Newcastle, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong, and Canberra). This makes New South Wales one of the better-served Australian states for live train tracking. Position data covers all T1–T9 metropolitan lines as well as Intercity services. The feed is published under a Creative Commons licence and updates every 30 seconds. Check the data sources page for links to the raw feed endpoints and licensing details.
Reading the Live Train Map
The live train map can look busy at first glance, especially during morning and evening peak periods when hundreds of services are running simultaneously. Once you understand the visual language of the map, it becomes an immediately intuitive tool for understanding the state of the railway at a glance.
Colour Coding
Train icons on the live map use a four-colour system to communicate status at a glance. A green dot means the train is on time or fewer than 3 minutes late — within normal operating tolerance. An amber / orange dot indicates a delay of 3–10 minutes: worth knowing if you have a tight connection. A red dot signals a significant delay of more than 10 minutes. A grey dot means the service has been cancelled and will not run today. Icons also carry a short train-type badge (ICE, IC, RE, S, etc.) so you can identify the service category without clicking.
Clicking a Train
Clicking or tapping any train icon on the map opens a details panel showing: the train number and operator name; the full route from origin to destination; the next scheduled stops with live expected arrival times; the current delay or on-time status; and a GPS accuracy badge showing whether the position is a confirmed GPS fix or an interpolated estimate. A link takes you to the full train detail page with the complete stop list, historical punctuality, and any active service alerts.
Interpolated Position
When a train passes through a tunnel, a radio dead zone, or an area where the operator's GPS network has a gap, the TrainTrackings server does not receive a fresh GPS coordinate for that vehicle. Rather than freezing the train icon at the last known position (which would be misleading), the system calculates an estimated current position using linear interpolation: based on the direction of travel, the distance to the next scheduled stop, and the elapsed time since the last GPS fix, we plot a "best guess" current location. This estimated position is marked with a dashed outline on the icon and labelled "interpolated" in the info panel. Accuracy during interpolation depends on how long the signal has been lost — typically within 2–5 km for gaps under 5 minutes. See the schedule page and alerts page for supplementary information when GPS data is unavailable.
Train GPS vs Schedule-Inferred Position
One of the most important distinctions in live train tracking is whether the position you are viewing is derived from a real GPS signal or estimated from the published timetable. Both methods are valid and useful, but they differ significantly in accuracy, and users deserve to know which one they are looking at.
Real GPS — How It Works
A GPS transponder on the train receives signals from multiple GNSS satellites simultaneously and calculates its position to within 5–15 metres in open sky. This position is transmitted over the GSM-R or 4G radio network to the operator's control centre, and from there to the public GTFS-Realtime VehiclePosition feed within seconds. The TrainTrackings server reads this feed every 30 seconds and updates the displayed position.
GPS accuracy is affected by multipath interference (signal bouncing off buildings in cities), tunnels (complete signal loss), deep cuttings, and occasional satellite geometry. Modern receivers mitigate most of these with sensor fusion, combining GPS with accelerometers and gyroscopes to maintain accuracy during brief outages. When a confirmed GPS fix is available, the train icon in TrainTrackings displays a small GPS badge.
Schedule-Inferred — How It Works
For countries without a public GPS feed, TrainTrackings calculates position using the published GTFS-Static timetable. The system identifies which stop interval the train should currently be in (i.e., between stop A and stop B based on scheduled departure/arrival times), then linearly interpolates a position along the straight-line path between those two stops proportional to the elapsed time.
This method is accurate to approximately 2–20 km depending on how long the stop intervals are and how closely the train is adhering to schedule. A train running significantly late will appear further along the route than it actually is. Position is recalculated every second on the client side, so the icon moves smoothly. When viewing a schedule-inferred position, the icon has no GPS badgeand the info panel states "Position estimated from timetable."
The practical implication: if you are standing on a platform waiting for a train and want to know whether it is physically around the corner, only a GPS-tracked train (Tier 1) will reliably answer that question. For a Tier 3 schedule-based train, the live board tells you the train is running but cannot tell you whether it is 2 km or 20 km from your station. For granular arrival predictions from schedule data, use our schedule page in conjunction with the live board. For questions about the accuracy methodology, see the FAQ page and data sources documentation.
Live Train Tracking for Commuters
For the millions of people who commute by train every day, live tracking is not just a technical curiosity — it is a practical tool that can save you from standing in the rain for an extra 15 minutes, help you decide whether to run for the 07:42 or wait for the 07:57, and let your colleagues know when you will actually arrive. Here is how to get the most out of TrainTrackings as a daily commuter.
The Ten-Minute Rule
The single most useful habit for train commuters is the "ten-minute check": open the live departure board at TrainTrackings ten minutes before you intend to leave home. At this point, any significant delays on your route will already be showing in the Delay column. If your train is showing +8 minutes, you might have time for another coffee. If it is showing +22 minutes, you might want to check the alerts page to see whether there is a service disruption affecting the whole line. A clean, green departure board ten minutes before you need to leave is the best signal that normal service is running.
Bookmarking Your Commute Route
Use the search bar on the live board to filter to your specific route by typing your origin or destination station name. Once filtered, bookmark the URL — it will retain your search parameters. This means every morning you can open your bookmark and immediately see the running status of every train on your commute corridor without needing to re-enter search terms. For multi-leg commutes (e.g. regional train into the city followed by a metro connection), you can open two tabs with the relevant route filters. Use the stations page to find the departure board for your specific station.
Enabling Browser Notifications for Delay Alerts
TrainTrackings supports browser push notifications for delay alerts. To set this up: navigate to the alerts page, search for the specific train service(s) you use regularly, and click "Set alert." Choose your delay threshold (e.g., notify me if this train is more than 5 minutes late) and accept the browser notification permission prompt. From that point, your browser will receive a push notification whenever that train's delay exceeds your chosen threshold — even if the TrainTrackings tab is closed. This works on Android via Chrome and on desktop browsers. On iOS, Safari push notifications require iOS 16.4 or later with the site added to the home screen as a PWA.
Using the Mobile PWA for Quick Morning Checks
TrainTrackings is designed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). On Android Chrome, tap the "Add to home screen" prompt (or find it in the browser menu) and TrainTrackings will install as an app icon on your home screen. It launches in full-screen mode without browser chrome, loads offline for cached schedule data, and receives push notifications. The home screen app icon gives you one-tap access to the live board every morning, faster than opening a browser tab. On iPhone, open Safari, tap the Share icon, and select "Add to Home Screen." This approach works best for countries with Tier 1 GPS data (Germany, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Norway, Malaysia) where the live positions are accurate enough to tell you, to the minute, whether your train is on its way.
Platform Information & Last-Minute Changes
For countries where platform data is available in the GTFS-RT feed (notably Belgium via iRail and Germany via VBB), the train details panel shows the scheduled platform and any last-minute platform change. Platform changes are highlighted in amber and are also surfaced on the alerts page. For UK National Rail commuters, platform information is visible on the live board for stations where this is published by Network Rail. See the journey planner for multi-leg route planning, and the stations page for full departure boards.
Quick Commuter Tips
- Check the live board 10 minutes before leaving home
- Bookmark your filtered route URL for one-tap access
- Set delay alerts on the alerts page for your regular services
- Install the PWA for push notifications on Android
- Use the schedule page to plan alternatives if your train is cancelled
- Check station departure boards for platform confirmation
How We Handle Data Outages
Live train APIs are, by their nature, external dependencies. Any upstream service can experience downtime: a planned maintenance window, an unexpected server failure, an API contract renegotiation, or a transport authority IT incident. TrainTrackings has a defined fallback strategy to handle these situations gracefully so that users always see a clear, honest picture of what we know.
What Happens When an Upstream API Goes Down
When our polling server fails to receive a valid response from an upstream GTFS-Realtime or REST API endpoint, it immediately records a "last known position" timestamp for every vehicle that was previously live on that feed. The train icons on the map and departure board remain visible but are shown with a faded opacity and a "Live data temporarily unavailable" badge. The timestamp of the last confirmed GPS update is displayed so users know exactly how old the information is. Position continues to update using schedule-based interpolation from the last known confirmed position, clearly marked as estimated.
The Fallback to Schedule-Based Position
Because TrainTrackings always maintains an up-to-date GTFS-Static timetable for every supported country, we can fall back to schedule-based positioning indefinitely during an API outage. This means the departure board will still show which trains are currently scheduled to be running, with estimated positions. Delay data will be unavailable (shown as "—" in the delay column) until the live feed is restored. This fallback strategy means our users are never looking at a blank board during an outage — they always see the scheduled picture, clearly distinguished from live GPS data.
What NOT to Do During an Outage
If you see the "Live data temporarily unavailable" indicator for your country, do not assume the position shown is a live GPS fix — it is an estimate. For time-critical decisions (e.g., whether to sprint across a station to make a connection), treat the data as schedule information only and verify with the operator's own app or station boards. You can check the current API health status on our about page, which links to the service status dashboard. Subscribe to outage alerts on the alerts page, and see the FAQ for more details on data source reliability and our uptime commitments.
During an Outage — Summary
- Train icons remain visible with last-known position and "data unavailable" badge
- Position automatically falls back to timetable-inferred estimate
- Delay column shows "—" (not available) until the feed recovers
- Service status shown on the about page
- Do not use interpolated outage positions for safety-critical timing decisions
Our data sources page documents the historical uptime for each integrated API. Tier 1 sources like Germany VBB and Finland Digitraffic consistently achieve 99%+ uptime. Less mature APIs may see higher outage rates.
Live Train Tracker FAQ
Answers to the most common questions about real-time train tracking on TrainTrackings.
Why is my train not showing on the live map?⌄
If your train does not appear on the live map, the most common reasons are: the train has not yet departed its origin station, or it has already arrived at its terminus and been removed from the live board. For GPS-tracked countries, there may be a delay of up to 60 seconds between the train departing and its position appearing in the GTFS-RT feed.
If the train is currently running but absent from the map, it may be in a country covered only by the departure board (not the map) — Tier 3 schedule-based countries show trains on the board but not on a geographic map view. Use the departure board search to find your train by number, name, or origin station. If you believe a running train is missing from our data, check the data sources page to confirm coverage for that country.
How often does the train position update?⌄
For Tier 1 countries with direct GPS feeds (Germany, Ireland, Finland, Belgium, Norway, USA Amtrak, Malaysia, Switzerland, Australia NSW), train positions update every 30 seconds from the official GTFS-Realtime or operator API feed. The on-screen icon moves smoothly because the client interpolates the position between two updates.
For Tier 2 countries using a REST proxy (Netherlands NS, France SNCF, UK National Rail, Sweden SJ, Austria ÖBB, Italy Trenitalia, Spain Renfe), updates arrive every 1–5 minutes depending on the operator's API rate limits. For Tier 3 schedule-based countries, the estimated position recalculates every second on the client side but the underlying timetable data only changes when the published schedule is updated (typically weekly or during major timetable changes).
Can I track a train in Pakistan or India?⌄
Yes. Both Pakistan Railways and Indian Railways services appear on the live departure board. Pakistan Railways coverage includes all 117 active intercity services: Khyber Mail, Green Line Express, Tezgam, Karakoram Express, Shah Hussein Express, and all other named and numbered services. Indian Railways coverage includes Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Vande Bharat Express, Duronto Express, Jan Shatabdi, and Garib Rath services via NTES schedule data.
However, both countries are Tier 3 (schedule-based) — neither Pakistan Railways nor Indian Railways currently publishes a public GTFS-Realtime GPS feed. The live board shows these trains as Running during their scheduled operating window and estimates position from the timetable, but cannot show a GPS dot on the map or display confirmed live delays. For the most current delay information for Indian Railways, cross-reference with the NTES website or official apps.
Why is the train position slightly behind the actual train?⌄
Two factors cause displayed position to lag slightly behind where the train physically is. First, there is an inherent pipeline delay of 15–60 seconds between the GPS transponder recording a position, transmitting it to the operator's system, the operator publishing an updated GTFS-RT feed, and our server reading and broadcasting that update. Second, between our 30-second polling cycles, the client-side map moves the icon using interpolation based on the previous and current position — so the displayed position is always slightly behind the very latest GPS fix. For a train travelling at 200 km/h, a 30-second lag corresponds to approximately 1.7 km of positional offset. For slower suburban services, the lag is negligible in practical terms.
How do I get notified when my train is delayed?⌄
Visit the alerts page to set up a delay notification for any tracked service. Search for your train by name or number, set the delay threshold you care about (for example, alert me if this train is more than 5 minutes late), and accept the browser push notification permission when prompted. Delay notifications are available for all Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries where we receive live delay data from the operator API. For schedule-based Tier 3 countries, disruption notices from the operator are surfaced as text alerts on the alerts page but browser push is not available due to absence of real-time data.
Does the live tracker work on mobile?⌄
Yes. TrainTrackings is a fully responsive Progressive Web App (PWA) optimised for mobile use. The live departure board, live map, alerts, and schedule pages all work on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. For the best experience, add TrainTrackings to your home screen: on Android, tap the "Add to Home Screen" banner or browser menu option; on iPhone, use Safari's Share > Add to Home Screen. The installed PWA launches full-screen, loads schedule data offline, and supports push notifications for delay alerts on Android (iOS 16.4+ required for push notifications on iPhone). The live map uses a lightweight tile renderer optimised for mobile data connections.
What does "interpolated position" mean?⌄
Interpolated position means the train's displayed location on the map is estimated rather than confirmed by a live GPS signal. This happens in two scenarios: (1) the train is passing through an area with no GPS coverage (tunnel, radio dead zone) and the system estimates its location based on the last known GPS coordinate and elapsed time; or (2) the train is in a Tier 3 country where no GPS feed exists at all, and position is calculated from the published timetable. In both cases, the icon is shown with a dashed outline and the info panel says "Position estimated." Accuracy ranges from approximately 100 m (brief tunnel interpolation with accurate speed data) to 20 km (long-distance Tier 3 service with infrequent station stops). See the full FAQ and data sources page for more detail.
Why do some countries have more accurate tracking?⌄
Tracking accuracy is determined almost entirely by national data policy rather than technical capability. Countries that legally mandate open public transport data (Germany, Finland, Norway, Ireland) achieve the best accuracy because operators are required to publish GTFS-Realtime GPS feeds openly. Countries without open-data legislation may have excellent internal GPS systems that are simply not published externally — Japan and China are the clearest examples of technically sophisticated railways with no public GPS API.
Commercial licensing also plays a role: some operators (France SNCF, UK National Rail) have live data available but restrict it behind licences that limit how third-party aggregators like TrainTrackings can use it, resulting in Tier 2 rather than Tier 1 coverage. Infrastructure investment matters too: fitting GPS transponders to older rolling stock requires capital spending that some operators have not yet made.
Can I share a live train link with someone?⌄
Yes. Every train on the live board and map has its own dedicated permalink. Click on any train icon or board row to open the details panel, then copy the URL from your browser address bar — it will look like traintrackings.com/trains/[train-slug]. Share this with fellow passengers, friends meeting you at the station, or colleagues expecting your arrival. The link always shows the current live running status, so the recipient sees the same real-time information you do. You can also share the live board with filters applied by copying the URL after performing a search.
Is the live train data free?⌄
Yes, TrainTrackings is completely free to use. All live train tracking, departure boards, delay information, schedule lookups, journey planning, station boards, and alert subscriptions are available at no cost and without creating an account. We do not charge for any feature on the site. The service is funded by non-intrusive display advertising. We do not sell user data. The underlying raw data we aggregate from GTFS-Realtime feeds and operator APIs is itself open or freely licensed in the countries where we provide Tier 1 coverage, reflecting those countries' open data policies.