Comparison

TrainSplit vs Realtime Trains

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TrainSplit

This app helps you save money on train tickets by splitting your journey into multiple tickets. It finds the cheapest options and allows you to book and store e-tickets directly within the app.

Highlights
  • Split train journeys for savings
  • Intelligent search for cheapest options
  • Book tickets directly
  • Store e-tickets in-app
  • Save booking details
  • Access digital railcards
Features
Read full description

TrainSplit is the easy way to make your train travel up to 40% cheaper. By simply splitting your train journey across two or more tickets, you can save money on your next trip. Thousands of people are now enjoying affordable train travel thanks to TrainSplit. Give TrainSplit a try today. How does it work? With our app it’s quick and easy. Imagine for a moment travelling from Birmingham to Leeds: • A return ticket costs £82.80*. • With TrainSplit you can buy a train ticket from Birmingham to Derby, another from Derby to Sheffield and finally one from Sheffield to Leeds, all for just £58.49. • A remarkable saving of £24.31. What do I need to do? • Using TrainSplit is as speedy and simple as using any other train booking system. • Simply enter your journey plan and TrainSplit does the rest. • Our powerful search engine will find you the cheapest options available ready for you to make your booking. Will I have to get on and off the train? • Make yourself comfortable and enjoy the journey. Though you’ll have multiple tickets, you can stay onboard. • If you’re in First Class, you may have to move seats (but not disembark the train) if they have been pre-allocated. Features: • Search - for cheap train tickets today. TrainSplit’s intelligent algorithm searches the National Rail’s vast and ever changing database offering you the cheapest travel options provided by Split Ticketing. • Book - your tickets for extreme savings. Once TrainSplit’s impressive search engine has found you the most affordable travel plan, get booking and get travelling. • E-Tickets - We offer E-Tickets for all supported routes and store them for you in the app once you’ve booked. Same great savings, much less paper. • Account - Save your details to speed up future bookings. • Review - Take a look at your previous bookings and check the details of your future journeys. • Railcards - Access your purchased Digital Railcards, and save up to 1/3rd extra on your travel. Purchase your next Railcard at railcards.trainsplit.com Split Ticketing is approved under the National Rail conditions of carriage. For more information visit trainsplit.com *All fares quoted are Off-Peak (returning the same day) and accurate as of June 2025. Saving at peak times can be even greater.

About

Realtime Trains

Access live train times and real-time locations across Great Britain's mainline railway network. This app provides detailed information, including onboard amenities and non-passenger train movements, for professional travelers and enthusiasts alike. Get ahead of the rush with accurate, independently processed data.

Highlights
  • Live train times
  • Real-time train location
  • Onboard amenities information
  • Detailed mode for enthusiasts
  • Non-passenger train tracking
  • Favorite stations and routes
Features
Read full description

Shhh, it's the secret that no-one else wants you to know about. Get ahead of the rush when boarding your trains at some of the busiest stations. We're Realtime Trains, and we're Great Britain's largest independent service for train times - used by millions every year. And we're back - finally - with our new app. Get live train times from any mainline railway station, see where your train is and what's available onboard. Favourite your frequently used stations, routes and services. See train information in far more detail than any other app with our detailed mode! For the professional travellers and enthusiasts, you can even see non-passenger trains like freight and empty stock - so you can really tell if there's a steam train coming... or what's in the way. From Penzance to Thurso, and Arisaig to Lowestoft, we cover the entire mainline railway network with live, up to date, train information. Unlike many other apps, we process data from Network Rail and signalling systems ourselves rather than just showing everything the industry wants to tell you. We're not funded by the rail industry: we pride ourselves on being as accurate as we can be. We started Realtime Trains from a frustration of missing trains and incorrect information and are still at it nearly 15 years later. However, if you spot an issue as they do happen sometimes - let us know and we'll do our best to make sure it doesn't happen again!

Screenshots

TrainSplit4 screens
Realtime Trains4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: TrainSplit at none against Realtime Trains's shown. TrainSplit also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 60%) and ratings volume (33 vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for TrainSplit against 5.0 for Realtime Trains. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TrainSplit has 33 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of TrainSplit's written reviews are positive against 60% of Realtime Trains's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TrainSplit ships an update every 2 weeks, Realtime Trains weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
TrainSplit versus Realtime Trains: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrainSplitRealtime Trains
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (33 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.1% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings33 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTrainSplit.com LtdSwlines Ltd

Customer experience

TrainSplit

All ratings33 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive82.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative13.2%

Realtime Trains

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

In-app purchases

None

TrainSplit

No in-app purchases

None

Realtime Trains

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TrainSplit free?
TrainSplit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Realtime Trains free?
Realtime Trains is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TrainSplit or Realtime Trains?
Realtime Trains is rated higher. TrainSplit averages 4.9 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while Realtime Trains averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do TrainSplit or Realtime Trains have ads?
Realtime Trains shows ads; TrainSplit does not.
Which is updated more often, TrainSplit or Realtime Trains?
TrainSplit ships an update every 2 weeks, and Realtime Trains weekly. Most recently, TrainSplit was updated on October 14, 2026 and Realtime Trains on October 7, 2026.

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