Find trains and filter search results on our revamped Live Train Map
Watching trains on a map in real-time is a fascinating way to visualise the passenger rail network of Great Britain. But sometimes, you want more than just a general view of the trains in operation. In the latest update to our Live Train Map, we’ve built new search functionality that enables filtering of trains.
Filters are a powerful tool for narrowing down your results. Here, we introduce the basics of using filters and searching for trains on Signalbox’s Live Train Map.
Filter by rail operator
Signalbox now supports the filtering of trains on the map by train operating company (TOC). This is a simpler view of the live train map that displays only the in-service passenger trains for the rail operator you choose.
To activate this view of the map, select the train operating company from the dropdown menu and click the button to apply the filter. The map will update to show real-time trains from that company. In this example, I’ve filtered by Great Western Railway (GWR).
Once applied, the map zooms out to show all the trains that are currently in operation by that operator, wherever they appear in the country. For GWR this means you’ll see London, the West of England and South Wales.
If you were to choose a local operator, such as TFL’s Elizabeth Line, you’ll get a more zoomed-in view that displays its smaller network. Whereas selecting a long-distance operator like Cross Country would likely show most of Britain.
Searching for trains to, from, or between stations
This way of filtering results on the map speaks for itself. Enter a station in the ‘From’ or ‘To’ field to see any in-service passenger train that’s departed from or heading towards that station.
This doesn’t have to be the origin or ultimate departure station of the train you’re searching for but any of its calling points. So long as it’s already passed the ‘from’ station or yet to reach the ‘to’ station and is still in service, it’ll appear in search results and on the live map.
For example, selecting ‘from’ or ‘to’ London Kings Cross (or ‘KGX’ if you’re familiar with station codes) will show all active trains, from any operator, that departed Kings Cross today, or vice versa. You can further refine results by stating where it’s heading as well, or specifying which rail operator you’d like to see results from.
This functionality allows you to carry out searches with quite narrow parameters, enabling you to hone in on a single live train. Once you’ve found the train you’re looking for, click ‘Track this train’ to centre the map on its real-time progress until it arrives at its destination.
You can share the details of any train you’re tracking, just copy and paste the URL into another application. Or if you’re already on the train, use our ETA sharing application to share its live location and arrival time.
Search by location
It’s always been possible to use your location (on mobile or your browser) to view nearby trains on the map. Just tap the ‘Find my Location’ button that appears alongside the zoom controls.
However, it’s now possible to search for trains at any location if you know its latitude and longitude (here’s how to find lat/long on Google Maps). For example, if you want to see trains coming over the Forth Railway Bridge, Scotland, then enter its coordinates (56.0006491,-3.3884392) into the relevant boxes and apply the filter.
We’ll display all live trains within a 5km radius and start tracking the trains which appeared in that area when you hit search. You can watch their live progress until they arrive at their destination or search again to refresh results at that location.
If you don’t have the coordinates of a specific location, you can alternatively click the link to centre the map on its current view. We’ll find the centre point of the area you’re viewing and create a snapshot of trains from when you applied the filter. We’ll use the zoom level to determine the size of the area, so it can be big or small depending on what you’re viewing.
So, lots of new features and different ways to search and view trains in real time around the UK. We look forward to seeing how the new tools land with our users and hearing your feedback as we continue to iterate this functionality.
And for our business users, these changes offer all sorts of exciting developments and customisation options for the digital signage and web versions of our live maps in stations, on trains, and on mobile. We’ll be rolling out the new features and launching a couple of exciting trials in the coming weeks.