Trainmap → About
About Trainmap
Trainmap is a free, independent map of European train journeys. It does two things: it lets you draw and share your own rail journeys on real railway geometry, and it maps Europe's iconic train routes — the Glacier Express, the Bergen Line, the old Orient Express and more — as they actually run on the ground, not as straight lines between cities.
Who makes it
Trainmap is built by Arinbjörn — one person, no company, sometimes literally on a train. It started as a way to keep maps of journeys across Europe and grew into the route library it is now. If it's useful to you, you can support the project.
Where the data comes from
Every route line on Trainmap is real railway geometry, not an illustration:
- Route geometry is traced along actual rail infrastructure in OpenStreetMap, via the signal.eu.org rail router.
- Stations come from the open Trainline EU stations dataset and Nominatim.
- Elevation profiles on route pages are computed by sampling each route's own geometry against the Mapzen terrain tiles on the AWS Open Data programme.
- Base maps are by Carto, OpenStreetMap contributors, Stamen and Stadia Maps, rendered with MapLibre GL JS.
Facts on route pages — durations, fares, history, scenic sections — are referenced to their sources on each page, preferring official operators (like the Rhaetian Railway or Glacier Express AG), UNESCO, and established rail guides such as The Man in Seat 61. Each route page shows when its facts were last verified.
Found an error?
Timetables and fares change. If something on a route page is out of date, tell me via arinbjorn.is and I'll fix it and re-verify the page.