How to Add a Train Times Widget to Your iPhone

A live train times widget on your home screen means you can check departures at a glance. Here is exactly how to set one up.

What You Need

You need a UK train times app that supports widgets. Railtime offers the widest selection of widget sizes and themes of any UK train app, and is free to download.

Step 1: Install Railtime

Download Railtime from the App Store. The app is free and only 6 MB, so it downloads in seconds. No account or sign-up is required.

Step 2: Add a Favourite Station

Open Railtime and search for your home station or the station you travel from most often. Save it as a favourite. This is the station that your widget will show departure information for by default.

You can set different stations for different widgets, so you could have a morning commute widget showing departures from your home station and an evening widget showing departures from your work station.

Step 3: Enter Widget Edit Mode

Go to your iPhone home screen. Long-press on an empty area of the screen until the icons start to jiggle and a plus icon appears in the top left corner. Tap the plus icon to open the widget gallery.

Step 4: Find the Railtime Widget

In the widget gallery, scroll down or use the search bar at the top to find Railtime. Tap the Railtime entry to see the available widget options.

Step 5: Choose Your Widget Size and Type

Swipe through the available widget sizes:

Small (2x2): Shows the next train only. Good for a corner of your home screen.
Medium (4x2): Shows several upcoming departures. The most popular choice for daily use.
Large (4x4): A full departure board with the next six or more trains.
Interactive: Tap a service directly on the widget to see when you need to leave. No need to open the app.
Clock: A dual-purpose widget that works as your home screen clock while also showing your next train departures. Useful if you want to save home screen space and want the beautiful retro departure board look.

Each size is available in multiple themes. Select your preferred theme in the configuration in Step 7.

Step 6: Add the Widget to Your Home Screen

When you have chosen your preferred size and theme, tap "Add Widget". The widget will appear on your home screen. You can drag it to your preferred position. Tap "Done" in the top right corner to exit edit mode.

Step 7: Configure the Widget

Long-press on the widget you just added and tap "Edit Widget". Here you can change the station the widget displays, filter for trains which stop at your preferred station and adjust the theme. You can add multiple Railtime widgets showing different stations or routes.

Troubleshooting

Widget Not Updating

iOS controls how frequently widgets refresh to preserve battery life. If your widget seems out of date, tap the widget to open the app directly. This will trigger a refresh and you can see your departures full screen. If the problem persists, check that background app refresh is enabled for Railtime in Settings - General - Background App Refresh.

Widget Showing Wrong Station

Long-press the widget and tap "Edit Widget" to change the station it is configured to display.

Download Railtime Free