Review Insights · App Store
Trainline: Cheap Train Tickets
thetrainline · 9,359 ratings · ★ 4.9
4.9
★★★★★
9,359 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 80 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"train"
45 negative reviews mention this · 56% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
2
"ticket"
32 negative reviews mention this · 40% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
3
"tickets"
27 negative reviews mention this · 34% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
4
"refund"
20 negative reviews mention this · 25% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
5
"trainline"
18 negative reviews mention this · 23% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
6
"station"
16 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Poor Customer Support. The app works pretty well, unless you make a mistake. It’s quite easy to select the wrong station/ticket by user error through unintuitive UX, and then if you make a mistake it’s impossible to actually speak with someone to help you. And wh…" - Yummy Noodles
7
"company"
15 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam Company - do not use. I had a very frustrating experience with the Trainline app and their customer service. The app is extremely glitchy and upon purchasing the tickets, it changed the date that I had selected to a different date. I attempted to fix it immediat…" - clairre
8
"trip"
14 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
9
"customer"
13 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
10
"book"
12 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
11
"service"
11 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
12
"directly"
10 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Do Not Use. Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator. Used this app recently to book train tickets in S…" - Akr NJ
📋 All 80 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Garbage
Absolute garbage
Do Not Use
Train canceled, but app still showed it active. No refund on booking fees and no adjustment when rebooking cheaper tickets. Expensive lesson-better to book directly with the train operator.
Used this app recently to book train tickets in Spain and had a very frustrating experience.
1. Non-refundable booking fees
The app charges booking fees that are not refunded, even when the train operator cancels the train. In my case, I received a cancellation email from Renfe, but the app continued to show the train as running. This created confusion and made rebooking more difficult.
2. Refund and price difference issues
When I had to rebook due to the cancellation, I found cheaper tickets directly on the train operator’s website. However, the app would not refund the difference or the booking fees. This resulted in higher overall costs.
3. Support experience
I visited a local Renfe help desk in Spain, where staff were very helpful and confirmed that the cancellation had already been communicated. They advised raising a complaint, and within a few days, I received confirmation that the cancellation notification had been sent to the booking platform on the same day.
Overall
Based on this experience, I would recommend booking directly with the train operator rather than through third-party apps. When disruptions happen, dealing directly with the provider appears to be more straightforward.
I booked over $700 worth of tickets during this trip, and unfortunately the Trainline customer service experience did not meet expectations.
Used this app recently to book train tickets in Spain and had a very frustrating experience.
1. Non-refundable booking fees
The app charges booking fees that are not refunded, even when the train operator cancels the train. In my case, I received a cancellation email from Renfe, but the app continued to show the train as running. This created confusion and made rebooking more difficult.
2. Refund and price difference issues
When I had to rebook due to the cancellation, I found cheaper tickets directly on the train operator’s website. However, the app would not refund the difference or the booking fees. This resulted in higher overall costs.
3. Support experience
I visited a local Renfe help desk in Spain, where staff were very helpful and confirmed that the cancellation had already been communicated. They advised raising a complaint, and within a few days, I received confirmation that the cancellation notification had been sent to the booking platform on the same day.
Overall
Based on this experience, I would recommend booking directly with the train operator rather than through third-party apps. When disruptions happen, dealing directly with the provider appears to be more straightforward.
I booked over $700 worth of tickets during this trip, and unfortunately the Trainline customer service experience did not meet expectations.
Scam Company - do not use
I had a very frustrating experience with the Trainline app and their customer service. The app is extremely glitchy and upon purchasing the tickets, it changed the date that I had selected to a different date. I attempted to fix it immediately, but the app would not process it. I had to end up purchasing another set of tickets. I reached out to customer service and they took several weeks to get back with me about a refund for the erroneous tickets. Despite it being an issue with their application and system, they denied a full refund and it has cost us so much extra money. Do not use this company - they are unreliable and their customer service is unhelpful.
Charged me for ticket I did not receive
Sold me same day train ticket and after charging noted it was for printing at home (not picture, pdf or email) so I was denied access to train and could not claim refund and missed the trip
Fraud
I “purchased” tickets they insisted I simply needed to pick up. I went to the rail carrier’s office and they said this was a common problem Trainline does not actually purchase the tickets. By then it was too late to cancel for a refund. I had to purchase the tickets again and Trainline refused to refund me.
I’ll never use Trainline again.
Customer service was unhelpful and clearly obfuscating the fact the tickets they claimed they purchased on my behalf were ever purchased.
Do not use Trainline. Ever.
I’ll never use Trainline again.
Customer service was unhelpful and clearly obfuscating the fact the tickets they claimed they purchased on my behalf were ever purchased.
Do not use Trainline. Ever.
Expensive for no reason
I bought a train ticket from Rome to Milan for 2 times of the cost than on Italo app. I do not get it. It should have been €40 or so, but I paid €90. Do not use this app for traveling in Italy .
Trash App
Absolutely zero customer service. So if you’re not using this in the UK, you have no way to contact this company. When your tickets don’t appear in the app, you better hope the emails work as QR codes. Use this site at your own risk…
Poor Customer Support
The app works pretty well, unless you make a mistake. It’s quite easy to select the wrong station/ticket by user error through unintuitive UX, and then if you make a mistake it’s impossible to actually speak with someone to help you. And when you finally chat with someone the refund policies are quite strict.
Customer Support person was nice over whatsapp, but they cannot do anything about the situation and escalating takes 48-72 hours!
Looking at other reviews, it’s clear I’m not the only person this has happened to.
Trainline is acting like buying train tickets is like writing bitcoin transactions on the blockchain. Get over yourself. It’s 2025 and you haven’t figured out how to allow refunds on mistakes within 1 hour of purchase?
Customer Support person was nice over whatsapp, but they cannot do anything about the situation and escalating takes 48-72 hours!
Looking at other reviews, it’s clear I’m not the only person this has happened to.
Trainline is acting like buying train tickets is like writing bitcoin transactions on the blockchain. Get over yourself. It’s 2025 and you haven’t figured out how to allow refunds on mistakes within 1 hour of purchase?
Acted like a scam
The ticket to the destination worked but then the return tickets were not accepted at the station. I had to purchase the tickets at stat station 15 min before the departure. Not only that, the customer support told me to figure out why the tickets were not accepted by the train company, although they sold the tickets. I feel scammed.
App so slow
Doing everything in this app takes forever, just keeps loading no end. Horrible user experience.
Terrible app
Won’t even load.
App glitching
Hi there! The app keeps crushing. It won’t open since I did the last update. Please fix it!
Poor communication
I purchased train tickets 1 month before my travel, Trainline has all my information, it would have been nice to inform me several weeks in advance that my train was being cancelled do to yet another train strike in Italy, while visiting in Italy I heard about a train strike on Friday the 3rd, so I’m sure Trainline knew and could have warned me weeks prior to my travel or at least provide me with options, I received cancellation 30 minutes before my train was schedule to leave.
No help!
Don’t look for any help from these folks if the train trip that they sold you is cancelled. They’ll send you to the train company, who will stonewall you until you give up and are forced to eat the cost of the tickets. Better to buy direct from the train company.
DO BOT RELY ON APP ITINERARY
Especially if you book your tickets in advance.
These guys will send you an email if the timetable changes, but they do not update the travel schedule in the app based on the change. Net result, I missed my first leg, could not get a refund of the other missed legs of the trip, and this company basically says your out of luck, Pal. Do not purchase your tickets from this company.
These guys will send you an email if the timetable changes, but they do not update the travel schedule in the app based on the change. Net result, I missed my first leg, could not get a refund of the other missed legs of the trip, and this company basically says your out of luck, Pal. Do not purchase your tickets from this company.
AVOID
Insanely bad customer service! They lost my ticket and have no emergency in fixing that
Terrible service app for trains but there’s not a better option
Almost all tickets aren’t refundable after purchase, this app also fails to show you platforms or your seats in any convenient way or even at all sometimes, and over charges for every train ticket, there truly is no worse app than this but there’s not a better option for finding trains well through an app besides Omio, terrible train service app.
WORSE 3rd PARTY APP
Please do yourself a a favor and book your tickets directly from the train company. If you have connecting trains and one is delayed, they will not refund you nor help you find a solution. If you paid for the travel insurance and then try to cancel the ticket it will not let you even though that’s what the travel insurance is for.
If I could give this app 0 stars I would!
Please please please book directly, this app is a travelers worst nightmare. Honestly is anyone worst nightmare
If I could give this app 0 stars I would!
Please please please book directly, this app is a travelers worst nightmare. Honestly is anyone worst nightmare
Horrible 3rd party service
We used this service to book our trenitalia travel, but they weren’t able to make any changes to any of the bookings and suggested going directly thru trenitalia for any changes. also, the staff had become very irritated from our requests and ended up hanging up the phone call. after a redial, we requested a refund, but we weren’t able to receive a refund for one route due to it being under €20 and the second route they would only refund 80% of the purchase price. highly recommend going directly thru the train service websites.
Too easy to screw up
You have to constantly go back to the beginning of the app to see prices on a calendar. The date of your ticket order can change and these are non refundable. They need to lock down the day of the tickets you’re looking at better and get the pricing information more available. The toggle to show prices will disappear and that information should be showed the whole time.
No updates
I bought tickets to go on a trip to kaiserslautern from Graf and my train was very late. When i checked the live feed it was the same on DB thankfully i was able to find an alternative train for the one i was going to miss. Do not purchase this just get DB for DE trips so much better and stays updated!!
Get tickets elsewhere!
Not only will you have to check every ticket diligently but if they give you an incorrect ticket that does not work. They offer no solution to fixing the problem or any refund for the issue at all. One of the worth experiences I’ve had during my travel is due to this app.
Check tickets carefully
Trainline makes it convenient to buy tickets in different lines, but you need to check tickets carefully. It asks all these questions about seats, and then gives you seats that don’t meet any of the criteria you entered. My mom and I were not even sat together.
Also beware of saver tickets. It did not reserve us a seat in half of our journey ion the SAME train! My 74 year old mother nearly had to stand half the trip, until a nice woman offered her a place to sit.
I never would have night these had I known we would be seatless. Would have been better off buying through the train line directly.
Also beware of saver tickets. It did not reserve us a seat in half of our journey ion the SAME train! My 74 year old mother nearly had to stand half the trip, until a nice woman offered her a place to sit.
I never would have night these had I known we would be seatless. Would have been better off buying through the train line directly.
Pay close attention to what company you bought the ticket for
I boarded the wrong train because the app said LNER, but it was a Crosscountry train. This was only because the app listed it confusingly as LNER, because it was an LNER station. Very confusing and expensive mistake. You may be better off just booking it with the train company anyway.
Massive fail
Absolutely pathetic app that doesn’t even tell you which station in London your train is leaving from let alone which platform
Just book directly
I would definitely avoid using Trainline to buy tickets in future. While the tickets might seem cheaper initially, you will pay a ridiculously high Admin fee if you need to change your tickets and if you miss your train, you cannot exchange them, you just have to buy a new ticket. It’s much safer to book directly.
No help on cancellations
Had the 2nd leg of a trip get canceled and received 0 advanced warning or even alternative options… I feel the least you could do is show me the next train and/or give me the option to change my ticket?
DO NOT USE THIS APP!!!!!! CAUTION
My family and I recently took a trip to Italy and unfortunately used this app. We had a trip from Florence to La Spezia, which was supposed to take 2 hours. It ended up taking the whole day. Our receipt said that we would go from Florence to Pisa on our train 18365 and then directly after that, with no signal to change or get off the train we were on, go from Pisa to La Spezia. The app did NOT tell us that we had to get off the train, go on a bus, with NO air conditioning, from Pisa to Massa, then go on another train from Massa to La Spezia. This took 7 hours. Horrible experience and do not use this app! It is not worth the cheap prices and there are so many hidden things that they don’t tell you about. Do not make the same mistake I made.
Awful UX Changes
The recent changes to the UX make the app ever harder to use. From choosing destinations to ticket types - it’s harder and harder to find what you need quickly.
Booking
I booked a ticket by mistake and they were completely inflexible about offering a refund.
useless
just book directly with the carrier. Trainline’s support is obviously outsourced and are until to interpret English. If you have any issue they just tell you to buy another ticket, while making zero effort to resolve the issue.
No flexibility
Tried to change train times to a ticket that was exactly the same price and was not allowed. Now I have to buy two tickets for the same day. Will not use Trainline for the second ticket
UI ruined and apple pay not working in the app
Used to work with Apple Pay but today with the update it did not appear as a payment option - though it still is in the app settings. Missed a train because had no hard card and quit PayPal. Used to have a user friendly UI as well but not this version.
Not age appropriate
Got gay pride notifications. Not appropriate for age 4+
No senior discount
Senior discounts which are standard on the website are not available on the app.
So if you want that 15% discount forget the app.
So if you want that 15% discount forget the app.
Split fare and it’s stupid integration
Split fare is helpful because it saves a quid here or there but it also just doesn’t allow you to see what journey your ticket pays for only the starting station and ending so if you’re in the wrong carriage and end up 2 hours in the wrong direction because you cant check well your up the creek
Will not download
Will not finish download
Can’t use… ugh
Can’t use… ugh
Useless. Not functioning
They won't accept all my credit cards and other form of payment. J tried to book so many times but it's saying there's something wrong with the reservation. This is a waste of time.
Third party vendor …Expensive
This is a third party ticket seller. Tickets are much more costly here than by buying directly from the carrier. Example. To go from Wien (Vienna) to Budapest one way for one person is $59.00, On the (OBB) EC 143 train. Purchase directly from OBB app for same time, date, destination on EC 143 is $19.00. 🤔🤔
Buy directly from the Train company.
Buy directly from the Train company.
Date selection is broken
I just downloaded this app. When I go to select a Date, I click on the date that is already there which is todays’ date. A calendar opens but the calendar doesn’t show all dates it only shows the last week of the month. I need March 10th and it’s impossible to select because it’s not there.
CAUTION!!!!!!!!
On 16 Jan 2024, I made a purchase of 4 tickets from Paris to Zurich. A mistake was made about what station we were leaving from and we attempted (with the assistance of the station supervisor) to make changes to the tickets within a matter of about 3 minutes. The app would not allow us to make the changes and we were within the very very very window of opportunity to make changes. The app would not let us. I made contact with Trainline via WhatsApp. I was repeatedly lied to on a daily basis about when people would contact me, about the case being investigated, etc….. If you can find a way to avoid using this app, run. Run far away. I have been dealing with them, trying to get my money refunded since that day and they continue to lie literally every time I speak to them. Buy directly from the train. Don’t use this app.
Bus line not Train Line
This app switches you from Rail to Buses even though there was train rides available on that day!
Not enough transfer time
You need to consider the distance between platforms and waiting times to get off trains when working with connections. Missed my connecting train as you left me literally no time to get off the train with my luggage and run to the other side of the train station (from platform 14 to 1). Now I’m sat here waiting for an hour just hoping they’ll let me use my ticket for the next one… will be quite irritated if I have to pay for a new ticket but staff here aren’t very friendly and I wouldn’t be surprised. TL;DR - you need to allow at least 15 minutes for travelers to get off a busy train, make their way through a busy station, and travel across multiple platforms. Your current time allowance has people flying through the station, bumping into people with luggage and leaving fuming that they’ve had to pay for a new ticket.
The App’s QR-code won’t permit entry
I bought the tickets on Trainline, but when I arrived at the train station, the QR-reader would not accept the QR-code and I had to ask a station employee to let me through. What a joke-I am done with this garbage App
Always route unavailable
This app no longer works consistently. Always route unavailable. I live in Europe. I know there are routes, just not routes this app prefers. Look elsewhere to save time and money.
Book directly
Got stuck in València due to the flooding. I was not able
to take my train back to Madrid. That is all fine and out of this app’s control, however the app won’t refund me
My ticket and offers no help only confusing and unrelated articles. I recommend using trains website and Spains rail company is fantastic customer services.
to take my train back to Madrid. That is all fine and out of this app’s control, however the app won’t refund me
My ticket and offers no help only confusing and unrelated articles. I recommend using trains website and Spains rail company is fantastic customer services.
App does not work
Will not accept any type of payment. Everything works well until you try & pay with a credit card,Apple Pay or Pay pal . Nothing works. Useless app
No insurance and locked in
Couldn’t choose the insurance option simply because I didn’t have a UK address and/or a card issued by a UK bank and now I’m out hundreds of pounds after one weather delay.
Horrendous app! Do not use!
I was so excited to use this app for my 7 week summer trip with my 3 daughters. I meticulously planned months in advance, but because of this app, we were met with every possible disaster! Our (first class!) train from Berlin to Prague was cancelled; absolutely NO NOTICE was given, NO REFUND given, and we were left scrambling to find another way to Prague. Other occasions, I’d made reservations, but had no option to buy SEATS!! So we were forced to stand in the aisle for FOUR HOURS. This app is nothing but trouble & disappointment. Beware! Do not use!!
Cheated us
We had a three part trip from Rome to Pompeii. After getting a train to Naples, we had a bus to a second train, which went to Pompeii. The bus terminal was not shown until 5 minutes before departure even though the bus terminal was 10 minutes away. We sprinted and still missed it. Trainline won't refund us saying it's impossible. Of course, they are lying. A company can refund anyone for any reason. They are a scam.
+ 30 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
97%
Positive (4-5★)
0%
Neutral (3★)
2%
Negative (1-2★)