Comparison

RailChecker 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

RailChecker

Get real-time train information including times, lengths, and crowding. Plan your journeys easily and receive instant updates on delays and disruptions. Pin your frequent stations and services for quick access to departure boards and service details.

Highlights
  • Live train times
  • Train crowding information
  • Journey planning
  • Delay and disruption alerts
  • Pinning favorite stations/trains
  • Real-time service updates
Features
Read full description

RailChecker is an app that can tell you everything you need to know about your rail journey. Train times, train lengths and formations*, train crowding* - it's all here. Everything in your hands All the data is made available to you through RailChecker. The data comes from National Rail Enquiries, so it will be the same as the information shown on platform displays. Pin your regular stations and trains You can pin the stations and services you use the most so that you can access departure boards and service information respectively with just one press of a button. Plan your journey Planning journeys has been made very easy in the app. Enter your origin and destination stations and the app will return to you the fastest possible route. Stay in the know when things go wrong Standing on a cold platform not knowing what is going on is a thing of the past. RailChecker can tell you the reason for the delay of your service, and also show you service disruption for your regular train operators. Powered by National Rail Enquiries. * Select operators and services only. Terms of Service: https://railchecker.app/terms/

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

RailChecker4 screens
Realtime Trains4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Realtime Trains at 60% against RailChecker's 0%. Realtime Trains also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). RailChecker's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 17.2). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RailChecker sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Realtime Trains asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RailChecker ships an update every 2 months, Realtime Trains weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RailChecker versus Realtime Trains: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRailCheckerRealtime Trains
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.4 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRobert TopolowskiSwlines Ltd

Customer experience

RailChecker

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative50.0%

Realtime Trains

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

RailChecker

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly subscription$1.991 Month
None

Realtime Trains

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RailChecker free?
RailChecker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Realtime Trains free?
Realtime Trains is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RailChecker or Realtime Trains have ads?
Both RailChecker and Realtime Trains show ads.
Which is updated more often, RailChecker or Realtime Trains?
RailChecker ships an update every 2 months, and Realtime Trains weekly. Most recently, RailChecker was updated on October 7, 2026 and Realtime Trains on October 24, 2026.

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