Is Trainline a British company?

Trainline (formerly Thetrainline.com) is an international digital rail and coach technology platform with headquarters in London.



Yes, Trainline is a British company, headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: TRN). It was originally founded in 1997 by the Virgin Group (the conglomerate owned by Sir Richard Branson) and began selling tickets online in 1999. Since its inception, it has grown into the leading independent rail and coach platform in Europe, selling tickets on behalf of hundreds of carriers across 45 countries. While it is a British entity and a member of the FTSE 250 index, it has expanded significantly into the European market, notably acquiring the French company Captain Train in 2016 to bolster its presence on the continent. Today, Trainline operates as a tech-first travel platform, employing over 600 people and providing live data, digital railcards, and smart-ticketing solutions to millions of travelers. Despite its international reach, its primary corporate operations, engineering hubs, and executive leadership remain firmly based in the United Kingdom.

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Book travel across Europe Trainline is accredited by National Rail to provide information, timetables and sell tickets for the UK rail industry. If you're after information about National Rail, you've come to the right place. National Rail is the public facing brand of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

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Through 2019 and into 2020, Trainline progressively added the European ticket functionality of www.trainline.eu to their main global website www.thetrainline.com. www.trainline.eu disappeared on 22 September 2020 leaving just www.thetrainline.com selling all tickets.

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Trainline rely entirely on making sales to people who fall for their adverts. On the contrary, whether you are buying in advance or on the day (which may be more expensive), it is always cheaper to use the actual operators' websites or book at a station.

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We earn a commission and fees on ticket sales. We also generate revenue from advertising and ancillary services such as travel insurance and multi currency payment options.

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These fees go towards improving our products and services, so you can keep enjoying hassle-free travel by rail and coach. We keep a close eye on our fees to make sure we're always putting your money to the best use, as well as giving you the best value.

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The main contenders are Omio, Rail Europe and Trainline. Those three are all legitimate companies, and established ticket resellers for European train tickets. (They're official partners of the European national train companies.) And they all put you on the same trains!

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While rail workers have had their pay frozen in the same period, DfT data shows that the private train operators made £310 million in taxpayer-funded profits between March 2020 and September 2022.

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The trainline is a reseller/agent so although the fares are usually the same, you may other charges such as booking fees/credit card fees and delivery fees and may miss any special promotional fares. There is no point in booking through them.

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There may be interim dates when timetables and Advance tickets are yet to be confirmed by train operators. We'll do our very best to alert you as soon as our systems detect availability. If you do not receive an alert, check back in before you travel to book a ticket and reserve a seat.

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You can contact our customer service by phone, email, or online chat. You can also visit our help pages for any questions regarding your booking and travel.

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Is the Trainline app free? Yes! It's free to download the app and set up an account, giving you instant access to live train and coach times and tickets for more than 270 European operators in 45 countries.

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