Train speed test: check your train's current speed
Ready to measure
Prefer to use the iPhone app? It also needs location access and a usable signal.
Get the free Speedometer app on the App StoreStart requests location to estimate your speed. Keep this page visible; screen-awake support varies. Set up before moving or ask a passenger.
Free No download Browser-based calculation
No download needed to use this speedometer. Want to save your trips? You can optionally download our GPS Speedometer app for iPhone.
Use this online train speed test as a live speed meter while you ride as a passenger. Your phone's location reading gives an estimate of your current speed over ground. Start after departure, keep the page visible, and wait for a usable signal. This measures the phone's movement; it does not look up the train or its timetable.
How to check train speed on your phone
Choose km/h or mph
The page defaults to km/h unless your browser restores a saved unit preference. Switch to mph if you prefer, then set up your phone while seated.
Start and allow location
Tap Start after departure and allow location when your browser asks. A usable reading may take time.
Keep the page visible
A window or clearer view of the sky can help. Use Resume after returning to a paused or hidden tab.
How GPS measures train speed
The number is an estimate of your phone's current speed over ground. It comes from usable location updates in your browser. It is not the train's advertised top speed, a railway specification, or a timetable calculation.
The browser reports a speed estimate from your phone's location system. Receivers can use Doppler measurements from the satellite signals, but the browser does not say which technique produced a given value. When no speed is reported, the page divides the distance between two usable location fixes by the time between them. Fixes with an error circle wider than 50 m are ignored, and the first fixes after you tap Start only settle the signal, so the first reading is not immediate.
A timetable covers a planned journey and its stops. Your current reading can rise or fall through stations, curves and slower track sections even when the train is running on time.
No current reading?
Follow the message beside the speedometer first. These are the most common next steps for a passenger:
- Location permission is blocked
- Allow location for this site in your browser and device settings, then choose Retry. Enable precise location where that option is available.
- Signal is weak or missing
- When practical, sit nearer a window and keep the phone where it has a clearer view outside. Metal coaches, station roofs and dense urban sections can interrupt readings.
- The train entered a tunnel
- The display clears when it no longer has a fresh usable reading. A dash is an unknown signal state, not a confirmed speed of zero.
- You returned to the tab
- Keep this page visible while measuring. If the page paused while hidden or after the screen locked, choose Resume and wait for a fresh reading.
Train speed questions
How do I check my train's speed online?
Open this train speed test in your phone's browser after departure, tap Start and allow location. You do not need an app, an account or a train number. Keep the page visible and read your current speed in km/h or mph.
Does a GPS speedometer work on a train?
Yes, when your phone can get usable location readings. Reception varies with the type of train, carriage materials, windows and where you sit. Sitting near a window can help, but does not guarantee a signal on every train.
Does this show my train location or live running status?
No. It measures the current movement of your phone. It does not identify the train, show its route, read a PNR, or provide running status.
Does it work in tunnels or on an underground subway?
GPS satellite reception is normally unavailable underground. Do not rely on a current GPS speed reading inside a tunnel or on an underground subway section. Wait for a fresh usable reading when reception returns. A missing reading does not mean the train stopped.
Why is this different from the timetable speed?
This tool estimates the phone's current ground speed. A timetable describes planned times and may imply an average over a longer journey, including slower sections and stops.
How accurate is a GPS train speed test?
There is no single accuracy figure for every phone, train or browser. The reading depends on reception, the phone's receiver and software, and how fresh the measurement is, and it becomes less reliable in tunnels, cuttings, covered stations and dense city sections. The page ignores location fixes with an error circle wider than 50 m and shows a dash, rather than a guess, when it has no fresh usable reading. That filters out noisy positions but does not check the speed against a reference, so treat each reading as an estimate, not a calibrated measurement.
More about browser GPS speed
Online speedometer
Use the general browser speedometer for other passenger journeys.
GPS and internet access
Understand the difference between a location signal and an internet connection.
Watch our GPS speedometer app in use on a bullet train in the October 2024 Shinkansen video. It shows the iPhone app measuring speed from a passenger's window seat.