National Rail vs Translink Planner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
National Rail
Plan train journeys, check live times, and purchase tickets for the British rail network. Receive real-time updates on delays and disruptions to travel with confidence.
- Live train times
- Route planning
- Ticket purchasing
- Real-time updates
- Delay notifications
- Save favorite stations
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Your journey, simplified. Get live train times, plan routes, buy tickets, and receive real-time updates—all in one app. Travel smarter with National Rail. Travel with confidence across the British rail network. The National Rail app is your essential companion for stress-free train travel. Plan your journey with our intelligent route planner. Find the fastest connections, compare train times, and get live departure boards for any station. Buy tickets, access Railcard discounts and find the best value Season Tickets all in one place. Stay informed with real-time updates on delays, platform changes, and disruptions. Receive email, SMS, or WhatsApp notifications so you're always in the know during your commute. My Travel. Save our favourite stations and journeys in Live Trains and Journey Planner for quicker results and less clicking. Status and Disruptions. Find out about anything that might impact your journey.
Translink Planner
Plan bus, coach, and rail journeys across Northern Ireland and border regions. Get real-time travel updates, view departure boards, and purchase tickets for specific rail services. Features include interactive planning, ticket storage, and personalized alerts.
- Interactive journey planning
- Purchase NI Railways tickets
- In-app ticket wallet
- Real-time departure boards
- Personalized travel updates
- Accessible planning options
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Plan Northern Ireland and cross border bus, coach and rail journeys with the Translink Journey Planner. Plan from any stop, station or address, see your next departures and get the latest travel updates from Metro, Glider, Ulsterbus, Goldline, NI Railways and Enterprise services. You can also buy single, day return and 3 day select tickets for NI Railways journeys. Features include: - Fully interactive journey planning - Buy single, day return and 3 day Select tickets for NI Railways services - Store purchased tickets within the app wallet - ‘Next Service’ departure board - Plan with Park and ride and bike journeys - Personalised travel updates - Accessible planning - Interactive map planning with real-time Metro and Glider location and a tracking feature - Quick planning using your current location, favourite stops and recent searches - CO2 journey saving calculation
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Translink Planner at none against National Rail's 1. Translink Planner also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (19% vs 7%). National Rail's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). On price, ratings volume, monetization model and device support 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
Both are free to download. National Rail sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Translink Planner asks for nothing beyond the download.
National Rail holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 79 and 215 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 7% of National Rail's written reviews are positive against 19% of Translink Planner's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
National Rail ships an update every 2 months, Translink Planner every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | National Rail | Translink Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (79 ratings) — better | 4.4 (215 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 7.4% of reviews | 18.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 79 | 215 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 111 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | National Rail | Ulsterbus Ltd |
Customer experience
National Rail
Translink Planner
User reviews
National Rail
From 79 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for planning journeys
- 🚀 Provides live train status updates
- 🚀 Useful for commuters and frequent travelers
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unreliable and buggy
- 🔍 Difficult to use and navigate
- 🔍 Lacks key functionality compared to previous version
- 🔍 Cluttered and visually unappealing interface
- 💰 Paid version required to remove ads
Translink Planner
From 215 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy journey planning functionality
- 🗺️ Helpful map integration for route visualization
- 📱 Modern app interface design
- 🚀 Quick access to timetable information
- 💾 Ability to save journeys to calendar
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate and unreliable bus/train times
- 😤 Frequent service cancellations not reflected in app
- 🔧 Clunky and unintuitive user interface
- ❌ Cannot purchase tickets within app
- 🗺️ Poor navigation and confusing layout
Bugs and requests
National Rail
Reported bugs
4 issues- App frequently crashes or freezes
- Inaccurate train times and journey information
- Ticket booking functionality not working properly
- Compatibility issues with newer iPhone models
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to save favorite stations and journeys
- Option to view earlier/past train departures
- More granular search options (e.g. search by minute, not just 15-minute intervals)
- Improved live train tracking and disruption notifications
Translink Planner
Reported bugs
17 issues- App crashes on iPhone during ticket purchase
- Password reset emails not received
- Unable to renew or change passwords
- Journey planner adds unnecessary stops and complications
- Bus stops disappear when zooming in on map
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Location loading blocks text input
- App doesn't refresh automatically without returning to start page
- Tickets purchased not visible in app
- Cannot book tickets for multiple passengers
- Concession tickets unavailable on mobile
- Inconsistent journey suggestions vs actual timetables
- Bus times don't match timetable posters at stops
- Cancelled buses don't show as cancelled, just disappear
- App shows buses arriving but they never show up
- Incorrect fare calculations and pricing display
- Unable to access certain routes (e.g., Kilkeel from bus centre)
- Timetable PDFs show 'page not found' error
Requested features
18 requests- Unified app for journey planning AND ticket purchasing
- Live bus tracking with real-time location updates
- Ability to view actual departure times instead of countdown minutes
- Show actual time alongside minutes remaining
- Complaint/feedback option for late or cancelled services
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Simple timetable view without complex journey planning
- Live delay and cancellation notifications
- Apple Watch compatibility
- Exclude walking time option in journey results
- Direct access to timetables from home page
- Show platform/stop information for transfers
- One-click bus tracking from schedule view
- Ability to book tickets for groups over 10 people
- Support for concession tickets on mobile devices
- Better accessibility for tourists and non-locals
- Contactless card payment on vehicles
- Extended booking window beyond 3 weeks
- Proper ticket visibility after purchase
In-app purchases
National Rail
- Ad-free version$4.99
Translink Planner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is National Rail free?
Is Translink Planner free?
Which has better reviews, National Rail or Translink Planner?
Do National Rail or Translink Planner have ads?
Which is updated more often, National Rail or Translink Planner?
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