Live Train Radar: The Best Tools and Maps Compared (2026)

Search terms such as “Zugradar live” or “Zugradar 24” (German for live train radar) lead to very different map tools – some show useful live positions, others are just timetable information dressed up as a map. In this comparison we show you which train radar tools are really any good for passenger trains, where the limits of freight train radars lie, and how to put together the best combination of map, infrastructure knowledge and community sightings for your trainspotting hobby.

What a train radar really shows (and what it doesn’t)

The term “train radar” raises expectations of a real radar picture like flight tracking – every train as a dot in real time, available at any moment. The reality looks different:

• No public raw GPS data: Vehicle GPS from trains is generally not freely accessible. What you see is based on the timetable and operating data of the infrastructure managers.
• Interpolated positions: Between known reporting points (stations, block posts), the position is extrapolated from scheduled times and delay reports.
• Coverage varies by country and operator: In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, data quality sometimes varies considerably between long-distance, regional and freight services.
• Freight trains are the exception: Because they aren’t linked to passenger information systems, they’re almost completely missing from most train radar maps.

Tip: Think of a train radar as a “good approximation”, not an exact snapshot. For planning your spots, that’s usually quite enough, as long as you allow a time buffer.

The best train radar tools compared

There’s no single perfect train radar – depending on your goal (passenger services, freight, route planning), a different tool is better suited.

Tool	Live positions	Freight trains visible	Cost	Best for
marudor.de	Yes, as a map	Hardly	Free	Following long-distance and regional services in Germany live
TRAVIC (geops)	Yes, as a map	Occasionally	Free	Public local and long-distance transport in several European countries
OpenRailwayMap	No (infrastructure)	Not applicable	Free	Understanding lines, points and photo spots
DB Navigator	Yes, very accurate	No	Free	Following a single known train by its train number
ÖBB Scotty / SBB Mobile	Yes, very accurate	No	Free	Individual trains in Austria or Switzerland
Traintrack (community)	Based on sightings	Yes, via the community	Free	Up-to-date sightings, special trains, freight hotspots

marudor.de

Probably the best-known free live map in the German-speaking world. You enter a train number, a line or a station and see real-time data including delays, next stops and – in map mode – the approximate position. Particularly handy for anyone looking for a “live train radar” for long-distance and regional services.

TRAVIC by geops

TRAVIC visualises public transport (not just trains) live on a map and covers parts of several European countries. The density of visible vehicles depends heavily on the region and the data sources available.

OpenRailwayMap

Not a train radar in the true sense, but an indispensable complement: the open infrastructure map shows tracks, points, signals and gradients – perfect for understanding where a train is likely to appear next, even when no live position is available.

Official railway apps

DB Navigator, ÖBB Scotty and SBB Mobile provide the most reliable real-time data, but are designed for individual, known trains rather than a comprehensive map overview. Behind DB Navigator is the journey planner of Deutsche Bahn AG, which feeds in real-time data from ongoing operations. Scotty gets its data from ÖBB accordingly, and SBB Mobile from Swiss Federal Railways. You’ll find more details in our guide How do you track a moving train?

Zugradar 24: what’s behind the search term

“Zugradar 24” isn’t a single, official service, but a search term many users type when looking for a live map available around the clock. In practice, it leads to very different results – from reputable map tools to simple timetable information dressed up as a map.

⚠️ Warning: With unfamiliar “Zugradar” websites, check whether live data is actually being displayed or only static timetable information. The name alone doesn’t guarantee a real-time function.

Rather than searching for a single miracle tool, it’s usually more sensible to combine several established sources – more on that in the next section.

Freight train radar: why freight trains are a special case

If you’re specifically looking for a freight train radar, you’ll quickly hit the limits of classic train radar maps. The reasons:

• No passenger information needed: Freight trains don’t have to be linked to systems designed for travellers – so they’re missing from many maps completely.
• A varied operator landscape: DB Cargo, SBB Cargo and numerous private freight operators rarely publish uniform real-time data.
• Flexible dispatching: Paths, overtaking and crossing moves change at short notice, which makes a reliable live display even harder.

For freight train sightings, a combination of knowledge of the line, community knowledge and the occasional webcam at junctions therefore usually gets you further than any map on its own. You can read more about this in our detailed guide to tracking freight trains live, if you want to dig deeper.

How to combine train radar tools properly

The biggest mistake is relying on a single tool. A sensible workflow looks like this:

1. Get a rough overview: Open a live map such as marudor.de or TRAVIC to see what’s currently running on your target line.
2. Understand the line: Check curves, points and possible photo positions along the line on OpenRailwayMap.
3. Check community sightings: Look in a spotter app to see whether current sightings or special trains have been reported from your region.
4. Allow a buffer: Because no map is a hundred per cent accurate, always factor in a few minutes’ reserve at the spot.
5. Verify on site: Departure screens or announcements at the station confirm the final real-time information just before the train passes.

Tip: Save your two or three preferred tools as bookmarks or app favourites instead of searching for a “better” train radar before every trip. Consistency saves more time than the perfect tool.

Common mistakes when using train radar maps

⚠️ Assuming the position is exact: Always treat the position shown as an approximation, not a GPS-accurate point.

⚠️ Looking for freight trains on a passenger radar: Most train radar tools are built for passenger information and only show freight trains unreliably.

⚠️ No cross-check with the infrastructure: Without a map like OpenRailwayMap, you lack the understanding of why a train slows down at a certain point or uses a different path.

Checklist: your train radar set-up on the go

• A live map saved as a favourite (e.g. marudor.de or TRAVIC)
• OpenRailwayMap open for route planning
• A community app for sightings and special trains installed
• A time buffer of at least 10–15 minutes planned in
• For freight trains: knowledge of the line used rather than just searching the map
• On site: departure screen or announcement used for final confirmation

Conclusion

A perfect train radar that shows everything doesn’t exist publicly – and certainly not for freight trains. But if you combine a live map for passenger services, an infrastructure map for planning your spots and a community app for actual sightings, you’ll get very close to the idea of a true real-time radar. With the Traintrack app, you add to any map solution what algorithms can’t provide: real, up-to-date observations from the spotter community.