National Rail

This used to be a native Android app. Now it's just a web page in disguise. It's gone from clunky to almost unusable. It doesn't handle patchy internet connections well (too many adds, too many station name web lookups rather than using internal lists), and the on-screen keyboard keeps blocking the button I want to press. It won't plan journeys starting in the next 15 minutes. If I want a website, I'll use my laptop. The app needs to be responsive and usable when I'm actually on a train.

The latest iteration of the app is a serious backwards step, it's like the developers forgot to do any form of analysis of any process that a user might do. Let's make it a nightmare to select your common stations as the app keeps jumping up and down, not making it easy to select a station that you've already used. Then, we'll remove the easy option to have saved route that you may use on a daily route, forcing us to select both stations daily, oh the joys.

I SHOULD NEVER HAVE UPDATED!!! The upgrade spoilt a great app. All of its user friendly quirks have been removed. What's left is a daily annoyance. It's like finding Nemo to allow you to tap on a desired station ( which used to be set at a home station). Then massive keyboard covers 90% of the listing. It shouldn't have to be this difficult to use the app when they already had a great blueprint.

wow, this app is truly dreadful. It's purely a Web shortcut. The previous app was fine but I find my self getting absolutely frustrated with this when trying to use on the go, it's clunky, slow and never caches your previous search so it's lost when you try to open when you have no signal. We pay enough money for rail travel. Can you at least pay someone to develop a usable app!!!

New version of the 'app' seems to be a big step back. It's more a PC version than an app on a phone as it opens up in Chrome. Not as user friendly as before & not comfortable to use at all. Feels messy compared to the last version. I can't check the journey I'm on because it won't allow journeys in the past. There was nothing wrong with the way it was & I hope it goes back to the previous model. Gone from a 4 star to a 1, & everyone else seems to agree. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Awful!

It's completely useless. It's impossible to scroll up and down within the app, meaning you can not reach the relevant boxes to enter the information to plan your journey. Bring back the old version which worked. I have the paid, ad free version of the app, waste of money and time. How do I claim my £4.99 back?

So clunky, the new version of this app is awful. It takes more than twice as long to find information or do anything. It's like they've taken a web page and tried to just copy it into the app which doesn't work. The number of times I've tried to plan a journey and accidentally ended up searching live departures by accident is unbelievable. The old app needed better information on the different tickets available but it was far superior for the app's primary of, you know, planning a journey!

The old app was much better, because this is powered by chrome it seems to automatically try to update the page constantly. Meaning it reloads and I have to re-enter information several times. There also is nowhere to pin trains like the old version, which was the best feature. Being able to pin a few trains would make keeping on track of delays so much easier.

This app used to be purpose made, if a little clunky. It's now just a window to a webpage that is poorly optimised for a large phone screen, with tiny controls and text but no ability to zoom. The interface does not match the screenshots on the app's download page. You can no longer view the station that a train last passed when viewing a live train. You can no longer view all trains arriving at a particular station.

Replace a nice clear font app with one that looks like a website with tiny font it's impossible to see when your favourite live train is when you're running down the street to the station without your glasses on! Why change it? What user testing did you do? I cannot comprehend why a service would change app from nice and clear and accessible to tiny faint writing that is absolutely not acceptable. Shame on you.

Edit: Somehow, they've managed to make it worse with lots of ads and it sometimes doesn't even open properly. It prioritises ads, which is terrible when you have poor internet connection. Could be so much better given who develops this app. Can't even remember home and work stations after their own software upgrade, and really poor interface that's not designed as an app, but rather as a mobile web page that somebody decided would be worth just porting over.

Got a new phone and now the app is Chrome-based. The old app - which was a proper native Android app - was much better. For instance, where's "nearby stations" gone? It also takes a lot more clicks just to see a list of trains at my local station. Disappointing, still usable but other apps look better And so many ads now!

Was a really good app until the recent upgrade. Now it's lost functionality, and the important things, like which trains are running at what time, are difficult to see. Fares are ambiguous (they still don't show the cost of an open return) The app is buggy too. After you've looked up one train you can no longer scroll down and have to reset the app. Update 16/03/25 - still has the same bugs and the same functionality issues. I have the latest version of the app and can't see any improvements.

Not a fan of the gui refresh - previous one was much better. Also don't like the fact that Live Trains no longer allows me to track a train which has already left (ie no 'view earlier trains' function). This was handy for checking if you were still going to be able to make your connection.

The old app was genuinely useful. It maintained a list of my frequently used trains so I could instantly see the timetable, platform no. delays, etc. This new one doesn't offer the same functionality and the interface is cluttered. Also, is there a reason why the app consistenhly doesn't work on week ends? I sincerely hope that the developers and the person who signed it off have been all fired for producing this utterly useless app. Please bring the old one back.

(11/25: added a star for return of prev deps) A massive downgrade over the previous version. It simply doesn't work just to replicate the web interface on a phone screen. You need proper mobile optimisation. Many features missing, more awkward to use. Glad the view of previously departed services is back, though that should have been included from day one. Not remotely worth it for a slightly slicker look. What happened to actual field testing with actual passengers, rather than focus groups?

Update This is now just a mobile website rather than an app. It's so poor. It really has gone from being an excellent app, to something pretty useless in comparison Original As many others are saying. A previously excellent app has been made almost useless in updates. I've reinstalled, cleared cache etc. but it still will not let me plan a journey, always reverting back to today's date.

I only gave the old app two stars but didn't realise they would take all the least usable elements and put them into a new app. The new layout involves a lot of scrolling. If there's an alert at the top when you try to select a station, the screen sometimes moves down and you click on the alert instead, taking you to a different page. Something unintuitive about the layout means I always use live journeys before realising I'm not in the planner.

I get that it's national rail, but they fill the screen with "MAJOR DELAYS IN LOUGHBOROUGH" or wherever, and there's no way to mark this as read to get it off the screen if that's not relevant to you. Completely understand people around Loughborough might want updates on that situation, but for everywhere else, once we've seen it, it's just filling the screen. I hate how planning a journey it assumes I want to go via somewhere, and I have to click something to remove the option.

I used to love this app. Now it just doesn't work properly - e.g. selecting a new date and time just returns with them unchanged. It's totally useless, not fit for purpose. Where is pre-release testing and quality control? Oh wait, there isn't any. A shameful reflection on our rail network.