TRAINTRACK

NJ Transit Rail · iPhone

6:15 PM
NEC 3839
Trenton
TRK—
TRK13
In 8 min
Track 13 assignedTrain 3839 to Trenton departs New York Penn Station from track 13.

Stop staring
at the board.

TrainTrack watches NJ Transit's departure board for the train you're taking and tells you the moment the track is posted, changes, or it's boarding. On your lock screen, from wherever you're standing.

Get the beta TestFlight for now. App Store listing on the way.

What it tells you

Every alert, in plain words

These are the actual notifications. Each one names the train, the station and the track, so it makes sense from the lock screen without opening anything.

Track postedusually 10–15 min before

Track 13 assigned. Train 3839 to Trenton departs New York Penn Station from track 13.

Track changedthe one that matters

Track change: train 3839 to Trenton now departs from track 9, not 13.

Boardingand again for All aboard

Now boarding. Train 3839 to Trenton is boarding on track 13 at New York Penn Station.

Departedthen stop by stop

Train 3839 has left New York Penn Station. Next stop Secaucus Upper Lvl. Arriving Trenton 6:32 PM.

Running latewhen the feed says so

Train 3839 is running 6 minutes late. Now arriving Trenton at 6:38 PM.

ArrivedLive Activity ends after 5 min

Arrived at Trenton. Tracking for train 3839 is finished.

How it works

Pick a train. That's the whole setup.

The departures list from New York to Trenton, with departure and arrival times, line, train number and a track tile for each train.
STEP 1Find your trainChoose two stations. Direct trains and one-transfer connections show together, with live tracks and status.
The Tracking tab showing a card for train 3839, New York to Trenton, departing 6:15 PM from track 13, status All aboard.
STEP 2Tap itTrainTrack checks NJ Transit once a minute, in the background too, and starts a Live Activity on your lock screen and Dynamic Island.
A tracked train en route: the stop list from New York Penn Station to Trenton with the next stop highlighted and the arrival estimate.
STEP 3RideOnce it leaves, the app follows it stop by stop with a live arrival estimate, then quietly wraps up after you arrive.

Transfers

One change, both trains watched

Trips that need a transfer are planned as one itinerary. TrainTrack tracks the first train, and as soon as it departs it switches to watching the connecting train's track at the hub, with a realistic buffer for the walk.

  • New York Penn
  • Secaucus
  • Newark Penn
  • Newark Broad St
  • Hoboken
  • Summit
  • Rahway
  • Long Branch
  • New Brunswick
  • Trenton

Share

Send someone your train

Meeting a friend on the platform? Share the train from the app. The link opens TrainTrack on their phone and offers them the same train, live.

The fine print

Same data as the station board

Tracks and statuses come from NJ Transit's DepartureVision feed, the source behind the displays in the station. TrainTrack checks it once a minute, so what you see can trail the station's own boards by up to two minutes. When the track hasn't been posted yet, the app says so rather than guessing.

TrainTrack covers NJ Transit rail. Amtrak and light rail aren't included. It is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NJ Transit.

Support

Questions, bugs, ideas

Email support. Replies come from the person who built it.

I didn't get an alert.
Check that notifications are allowed for TrainTrack in iOS Settings, and that "Background updates" is on in the app's settings. Background updates use a low-power location session purely to keep the app awake between checks. If you deny location, alerts only arrive while the app is open.
The track showed up later than on the platform display.
The feed updates about once a minute and TrainTrack checks once a minute, so a posting can take up to two minutes to reach you. That is the trade-off for a battery-friendly app.
Does it work for trains later today?
Yes. The live board covers roughly the next two hours; beyond that, trains come from today's timetable and pick up live track and status about 90 minutes before departure.
Where does my data go?
Nowhere. There are no accounts, no analytics and no ads. The privacy policy is short and specific.