How to read live train running status
What scheduled, expected, delay and 'yet to start' actually mean, and how to pick the right start date.
A live running status screen packs a lot into a few lines. Once you know what each field means, you can plan a pickup or a platform wait to within a few minutes instead of guessing.
Pick the right start date first
Every train run is identified by the date it left its first station, not the date it reaches you. A long-distance train that departs Mumbai at 17:00 on Monday and reaches Delhi on Tuesday morning is still the "Monday" run. If you are meeting that train on Tuesday, choose Monday's start date. This is the single most common reason people see "yet to start" for a train that is already on its way.
On our train pages the date chips at the top list the runs that are currently tracked, each with a one-line position, so you can tap the run that is actually moving.
Scheduled vs expected times
- Scheduled (often written STA and STD) is the timetable time for arrival and departure.
- Expected or actual (ETA and ETD) is the current estimate. Once the train has passed a station, this becomes the time it really arrived or left.
- Delay is the gap between the two. "On time" usually means within a couple of minutes.
Why the delay can shrink near the destination
Timetables include recovery margins, especially over the last stretch into big terminals. A train that is 50 minutes late halfway can reach its destination only 20 minutes late. That is why we show the delay per station rather than one number for the whole journey.
Common status lines
- Yet to start from its source: the run has not left its first station.
- Departed from X at 07:29: the last confirmed event. Anything after that is an estimate.
- Arrived at X: the train is standing at that station now.
- Non-stopping station: the train passed through without a halt. It still counts as a position update.
- Cancelled, diverted or rescheduled: shown as an alert. A rescheduled train starts later than its timetable time, so every expected time moves with it.
How fresh is the information?
Positions are reported as trains pass stations, so between two stations the display can lag by several minutes. We refresh live data every few minutes and always show when it was last updated. For the final few minutes before a train reaches you, the station announcement and the display board on the platform are the most reliable source.