# OpenRailwayMap

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/openrailwaymap/

5 people recommended OpenRailwayMap in Hacker News comments and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

3 of the 5 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “World Train Map – 1247 train routes around the world”.

**Verdict:** Free, up-to-date rail-only world map that people use to find tracks and routes. Critics find it overloaded and poorly curated.

Summary written by Claude from 7 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 6 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Comprehensive, up-to-date rail-only coverage (2 comments in the sample): "for an up-to-date rail-only map of the world" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45958114)) "is much more comprehensive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49251982))
- Finds tracks and routes (1 comment in the sample): "I used it recently to find a land and sea route from Southampton to Marrakesh" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346061))

## What people warn about

- Overloaded and cluttered (1 comment in the sample): "The problem with every comprehensive map I've seen is that they are way too comprehensive." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49252060))

## What people recommend instead

- [Real-time rail map of Great Britain](https://hackerapproved.com/p/real-time-map-of-great-britain-s-rail-network/): 7 recommend, 1 mixed, 4 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "OpenRailwayMap", https://hackerapproved.com/p/openrailwaymap/ (5 recommend, 0 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.