Train Schedule Hub
Official timetables for 150+ countries — search by train name, number, or route
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Major Railway Operators
How Train Schedules Work
A train schedule — also called a railway timetable — is the systematic publication of every planned train service operated by a railway company. It defines the departure time from the origin station, the sequence of intermediate stops with their arrival and departure times, and the final arrival time at the terminus. Timetables are the backbone of all rail operations: they allow passengers to plan journeys, operators to allocate rolling stock, and infrastructure managers to allocate track capacity.
Modern railway timetables are published in digital formats, most commonly the GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) standard developed by Google and now adopted by railways worldwide, and the NeTEx (Network Timetable Exchange) format used by European operators. TrainTrackings ingests these feeds from 76 official national operators daily, standardises them into a common schema, and displays them alongside live status data where available.
Train services are categorised by type, and each type has different stopping patterns and speeds. High-Speed Rail (HSR) services such as Japan's Shinkansen, France's TGV, and Germany's ICE make fewer stops and travel at 250–350 km/h between major city pairs. Intercity (IC) and InterCity Express (ICE) services are the next tier, connecting major cities at 160–200 km/h with selective stops. Regional Express (RE) and Regional Rail (RB/R) services connect smaller towns and rural areas, stopping at every station. S-Bahn and commuter rail services form the urban and suburban networks, running every few minutes during peak hours.
Running days notation varies by operator but follows common patterns globally. "Daily" means seven days a week. "Mon–Fri" means weekdays only. "Sat & Sun" or "Weekend only" indicates weekend service. "Except PH" means the service does not run on public holidays. Seasonal services show explicit date ranges such as "15 Jun – 31 Aug", relevant for summer tourist trains and Alpine routes. Understanding running days is essential for planning travel on routes where services are significantly reduced on certain days — particularly in rural areas where Sunday frequencies can drop to just two or three trains per day.
Schedule data for live tracking is layered on top of the timetable. When a train departs, the live system compares its actual GPS position and station reports against the scheduled times, calculates delay in minutes, and updates the status badge in real time. If you are planning a multi-leg journey, the journey planner uses timetable data to calculate valid connections, accounting for minimum interchange times at each station.
Live vs Pre-Planned Timetable Data
TrainTrackings distinguishes between two types of schedule data. Pre-planned timetable data is the published schedule: the planned departure and arrival times that appear in official operator booklets, apps, and GTFS feeds. This data is highly accurate for future planning but does not reflect operational disruptions.
Live real-time data comes from direct API connections to national railway operators. When a train crosses a reporting point — a GPS boundary, a station departure trigger, or a train detection beacon — the system sends an update. TrainTrackings polls these APIs every 30 seconds for Tier 1 countries. The live delay in minutes, platform number, and cancellation status are overlaid on the scheduled timetable.
Tier 1 countries (live, every 30s): Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Denmark. Tier 2 countries (daily GTFS refresh): India, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, USA. Tier 3 countries (static timetable, biannual update): Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco, Vietnam, and 110+ others.
World High-Speed Rail Networks
High-speed rail (HSR) operates at over 200 km/h and has transformed long-distance travel on every inhabited continent. Here are the world's principal HSR networks with direct links to their live timetables.
About High-Speed Rail Schedules
High-speed rail networks operate on dedicated infrastructure built for sustained speeds above 200 km/h. The engineering demands are significant: curves must be banked to allow cornering at speed, gradients must be minimal, and signalling systems must provide train separation at very short headways. This is why HSR networks are expensive to build but extremely efficient to operate once running — a typical high-speed line carries many times the passenger volume of a conventional line over the same corridor.
China operates by far the world's largest HSR network, with over 42,000 km of dedicated high-speed lines — more than the rest of the world combined. The CR400 Fuxing Hao train reaches 350 km/h in commercial service on routes such as Beijing–Shanghai (4h 18m for 1,318 km). Japan's Shinkansen, though smaller in total length, is celebrated for its extraordinary punctuality record: average delay under 1 minute across the entire network, including delays due to natural disasters. The Japan train schedule page lists all Shinkansen services including Nozomi, Hikari, Kodama and regional variants.
Night Trains & Sleeper Services
Night trains are one of rail travel's great pleasures: boarding in one city in the evening and waking up in another the next morning, having slept away the journey in a comfortable couchette or private cabin. After a period of decline in the 2000s and 2010s, night trains are experiencing a dramatic resurgence across Europe, driven by sustainability awareness and the popularity of Flygskam (flight shame) among environmentally conscious travellers.
ÖBB Nightjet, operated by Austrian Federal Railways, is the largest night train network in Europe, connecting Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Hamburg, Berlin, and Rome in a web of overnight routes. Beds range from open couchettes (6-berth, cheapest) to semi-private 3-berth couchettes to private sleeping cabins with beds, wash basins, and full breakfast included in the ticket price.
In South Asia, Indian Railwaysoperates the world's most extensive sleeper network. Rajdhani Express trains connect New Delhi to over 20 major cities including Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Classes range from air-conditioned First Class (2-berth private cabin) through AC 2-Tier and AC 3-Tier (open berths with curtains) down to non-air-conditioned Sleeper Class, which offers the most affordable overnight rail travel in the world.
Pakistan Railwaysoperates iconic long-distance overnight trains including the Khyber Mail (Karachi to Peshawar, ~26 hours), the Green Line Express (Karachi to Islamabad, 22 hours), and the Karakoram Express. These services are critical for intercity connectivity across Pakistan's broad-gauge network.
How to Read a Train Timetable
Train timetables can look complex at first glance, but they follow a consistent logic once you understand the key columns and codes. This six-step guide walks you through reading any schedule on TrainTrackings, from finding your train to understanding what the status badge means.
- 1Find your countrySelect your departure country from the grid below or use the search box. Each country page lists every active train service.
- 2Choose your train or routeFilter by origin station, destination, or train number. Trains currently running are shown at the top with a green status dot.
- 3Read the departure time columnDeparture time is listed in local time. For overnight trains, arrival times marked '+1' mean the following calendar day.
- 4Check running daysThe running days column shows which days of the week the train operates — 'Daily', 'Mon–Fri', 'Weekends only', or a date range for seasonal services.
- 5Verify live statusFor countries with live API integration, a coloured status badge shows whether the train is on time (green), delayed (amber), or cancelled (red).
- 6Book your ticketTrainTrackings provides schedule information only. Click the 'Book tickets' link on any country page to go directly to the official operator booking site.
Regional & Commuter Rail Schedules
Beyond high-speed intercity trains, regional and commuter rail is the backbone of daily mobility for hundreds of millions of passengers. These services operate on denser networks, stop at every station, and run from early morning until late at night. Here are six of the world's most important regional rail systems.
One of Europe's most intensively used rail networks. Trains every 10–15 minutes on trunk routes like Amsterdam–Rotterdam.
Germany's regional network reaches every corner of the country. Deutsche Bahn's Regio services connect small towns to ICE hubs.
Thameslink runs 24 trains per hour through London's central core, connecting Bedford, Luton, Cambridge, Brighton and Gatwick.
Irish Rail's DART electric service runs along Dublin's coastline from Malahide to Greystones, with commuter services to Kildare.
Victoria's VLocity fleet provides frequent regional services from Melbourne to Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Seymour.
Chicago's Metra operates 11 lines serving over 240 stations across the metropolitan area, carrying 300,000+ daily passengers.
Why Regional Rail Schedules Matter
While high-speed trains capture headlines, regional and commuter rail carries the majority of rail passengers worldwide. The Netherlands' NS network operates over 400,000 passenger journeys daily on just 3,400 km of track — one of the highest utilisation rates of any rail network on earth. Germany's regional network is the essential last mile for the ICE system: most major German cities have S-Bahn or RE connections timed to meet long-distance ICE arrivals. In the UK, Southern, Thameslink, and GTR operate over 3,000 services daily just across the London and South East region. Regional schedules are more sensitive to school holidays, bank holidays, and engineering works — always check delay alerts when travelling on regional services.
Seasonal Train Services & Holiday Timetables
Train schedules are not static — they change with the seasons. Most European operators publish two main timetables per year, switching between summer and winter schedules, while additional seasonal services run on specific dates. Understanding how timetables change through the year helps you book at the right time and avoid travelling on a reduced-frequency schedule.
Spring sees extra Shinkansen services in Japan for sakura season, expanded Bernina Express and Glacier Express frequencies in Switzerland, and increased frequency on UK scenic routes like the West Highland Line. European operators publish summer timetable changes in late May.
Summer is the busiest period for European rail. SNCF and Deutsche Bahn run extra TGV and ICE services. Overnight Nightjet sleeper trains are in high demand. In the southern hemisphere, Australian long-distance trains The Ghan and Indian Pacific operate with full schedules.
Autumn marks the transition between summer and winter timetables. Most European operators switch to the winter timetable in the second week of December. October offers quieter trains and lower fares across Europe, India, and Australia. Pakistan Railways runs additional trains for Eid holidays.
Winter sees reduced frequencies on some regional services but expanded ski train operations in Alpine countries. Switzerland's Glacier Express and Bernina Express have spectacular winter routes. Operators run special Christmas and New Year timetables — typically using a Sunday schedule on public holidays.
Cross-Border & International Train Routes
International trains cross national borders without passengers needing to change services, making them one of the most convenient forms of cross-border travel available. Europe has the world's most extensive network of international trains, including the Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel, Thalys/INOUI connecting France with Belgium and the Netherlands, and a growing web of night train services reconnecting cities that lost overnight connections in the early 2000s.
The Eurostar is perhaps the world's most famous international train: travelling from London St Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord in just 2 hours 16 minutes through the 50 km Channel Tunnel. With up to 18 services per day in each direction, it operates like a domestic rail service despite crossing an international border — making it faster city-centre to city-centre than flying when airport transit times are included.
In Asia, international rail links are less developed but important where they exist. The Vietnam–China route connects Hanoi with Kunming and the historic Hanoi–Nanning route still operates. The Mekong Express and various overnight trains connect Thailand with Malaysia and Singapore (though the Johor Bahru–Singapore section currently operates via coach). Fare comparison for cross-border trains is available through the fare comparison tool.
For Schengen Area travel in Europe, international trains require no passport checks for most nationalities — you simply board the train with your ticket. The main exceptions are services crossing into the UK (Eurostar), Switzerland (not an EU member), and Norway. Check entry requirements for your specific nationality before booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about train schedules and how TrainTrackings works
What is a train schedule and how does it work?
How often is the schedule data on TrainTrackings updated?
Which countries have live real-time train schedules?
How do I find a specific train by number or name?
Can I download a train timetable as a PDF?
What does 'running days' mean in a train schedule?
How accurate are the departure times shown?
Which countries have the most trains in the TrainTrackings database?
How do night trains and sleeper services appear in the schedule?
Is there a mobile app for checking train schedules?
Related Tools & Resources
Train schedules are just the start. Use these free tools to plan your entire journey, compare fares, and stay informed about delays.
Plan complete multi-leg journeys across countries. Enter your origin, destination, and travel date — TrainTrackings calculates valid connections using live timetable data.
Compare ticket prices across all classes — Economy, Business, Sleeper, and First Class — for any route in the database. Find the cheapest time to travel.
Subscribe to instant delay and cancellation notifications for any train service. Alerts are sent by email the moment the operator reports a disruption.
Watch trains moving in real time on an interactive map. Updated every 30 seconds from official APIs for 25+ countries with live API connections.
About TrainTrackings Train Schedules
Where schedule data comes from
TrainTrackings collects timetable data from 76 national railway operators and open data portals. Tier 1 countries such as Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Belgium have live departure boards updated every 30 seconds from official national APIs. Tier 2 countries including India, Japan, South Korea, and Canada use schedule JSON and GTFS feeds refreshed daily. Tier 3 countries use verified timetable data extracted from official published PDFs. All data is cross-referenced against known station codes and route geometries to detect and filter erroneous entries before display.
Reading a country schedule page
Each country schedule page lists every active train with its departure time, arrival time, running days, train type, and current live status. A green dot means the train is currently running based on the timetable or confirmed via live API. Trains are sorted with currently running services at the top so you can quickly see what is in service right now without scrolling. Use the filter controls to narrow by origin station, destination, or train type.
High-speed rail timetables
The world's busiest high-speed networks all have dedicated schedule pages. China Railway CRH runs nearly 95,000 high-speed departures daily. Japan's Shinkansen covers Tokyo to Osaka in around 2 hours 15 minutes. Germany's ICE network links Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Frankfurt with trains running every 30 minutes on busy corridors. TGV services in France connect Paris to Lyon in just under two hours.
South Asian long-distance schedules
Indian Railways operates the world's fourth-largest rail network with over 13,000 passenger trains. Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi, and Vande Bharat services connect major Indian cities with air-conditioned coaches and reserved seating. Pakistan Railways runs 117 tracked services including the iconic Khyber Mail, Green Line Express, and Tezgam between Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar. Bangladesh Railway operates 420 trains across the Dhaka–Chittagong–Sylhet network.