Trains mean different things to different people. You probably know that choo-choo sound and the famous chugging motion from your Pre-K days. But in your adult life, chances are you’re more familiar with the musical whine of the subway. Or the dizzying speed of rapid transit lines above ground. But what does it mean when you dream about trains? Let’s see …
What Does It Mean When You Dream About Train?
1. You’re Scared You’ll Mess Up Your Big Shot
Your dreams are largely crafted from images and ideas in your subconscious mind. So it’s likely you’ll see trains that you’re already familiar with in your waking life. It could be the subway you ride to work every day or the steam version from your favorite period drama. If the dream is from your spiritual helpers, they’ll use a locomotive you can easily understand.
One of the commonest train dreams is when you miss the train. You may rush to the station and find it gone, or you may see yourself chasing it as it zooms away. This dream means you’re anxious about losing a precious opportunity. Maybe you have an interview coming up. Ask your angels to help you stay calm and prepare yourself fully. They’re always with you.
2. Your Tardiness is Pausing Your Potential
Some people have militant levels of punctuality. Others are always late – whether it’s ADHD or just a casual sense of time. These two people might both dream of missing the train, but the interpretation will differ. If you’re always early, then your dream is more about anxiety than any actual danger. But if you’re chronically late, your angels could be calling you out.
Your higher helpers are reassuring you that while they love and accept you as you are, your tardiness is a problem. It’s blocking opportunities for you, and your spirit guides are a little concerned that you’re holding back your progress. Take a moment to commune with them and see what they have to say. They’ll offer attainable tactics to improve your time-keeping.
3. You’re Worried About Your Baby Growing Up
Recently, Netflix started airing episodes of Old Enough. It’s a Japanese reality show where toddlers are filmed running solo errands for their guardians. To the rest of the world, it seems insane to send a two-year-old to the store unsupervised. On the show, the kids are trailed by a camera crew of at least 10, and local law enforcement keeps an eye on everything.
But even in everyday life, it’s common for kids under 5 to travel alone since the social fabric keeps them safe. So what if you dream about your toddler on the train? How did you feel in the dream? This would never happen outside Japan, so you were probably terrified! It’s a fairly common dream when your teens and twenteens are off to college or starting new jobs.
4. You’re Feeling Helpless in Your Waking Life
When you dream about your child (or younger sibling) alone on the train, it’s a reasonable concern for their safety and innocence. But what if the kid in the dream is you? Try to recall how you reacted in the dream. Did you hide in a corner and cry or ask a uniformed adult for help? Did you recognize anyone else on the train? How did your train journey end if at all?
This is still an anxious dream, but the focus is on you. Something in your life has you feeling like a terrified toddler again. It may be something you’re aware of, like a visit from your in-laws. Or it could be a hidden fear about a shaky romantic relationship, turbulence at work, or some other circumstance you can’t control. Talk to your angels. They’ll help you ground yourself.
5. You’re Overwhelmed by Responsibility
Our personalities are shaped by the way we grew up. So older siblings tend to parent everyone around them, including their colleagues and their partners. You’re used to taking charge at home, and it bleeds into other areas of your life. And depending on how you were raised, a part of you may resent always being the go-to grown-up in your social circles.
So what does it mean if you dream of driving a train? It fits your habit of making sure things run smoothly. Leadership is your default mode. But if the train runs off the tracks or goes too fast, it means you’re feeling bogged down by duty. You may think you have to do the hard things because no one else will, but it’s breaking you. Your angels want to help you delegate.
6. Good Things Are Rushing in Your Direction
You might find yourself riding a train in your dream, and the meaning will differ according to your feelings in the dream. Look into the details for context. Was the dream underground or could you see gorgeous scenery chugging by? How was the weather? Were you eager to reach your destination? Did you know where the train was going? Was it a work trip or a vacation?
If it was a happy dream, it means something good is coming your way, and your angels are letting you know you’re ready for it. Get their guidance so you can recognize the opportunity when it arrives. If the train stalls in your dream, this suggests delays in your good fortune, so check the dream for clues on how the higher realm wants you to handle things as you wait.
7. You Have the Momentum, But Something is Dragging You Back
Trains are typically fast, and they run on a set schedule. In some places, train delays are typical, so you bake them into your travel plans. In other places, train timing is so constant that a delay would make the news! (Here’s looking at you, Scandinavia!) But what does it mean when you dream that you’re inside a train that’s in slow motion? Look around you.
How did the other train passengers react? Were they worried? And was everyone else in slow motion too? Were your own actions slowed down as well or were you moving at a normal pace while the rest were sluggish? The dream could mean something – or someone – is holding back your progress. Ask your spirit guides to show you the saboteur and how to stop them.
8. Practice Patience and Trust the Process
In the previous slow-motion dream, that sense of sabotage could be someone that doubts your abilities, or it could be a character flaw of your own that’s messing with your plans. And if it’s the latter, your train dream can offer clarity. Suppose you dream of getting off a train. That’s normal – you have to alight at some point. But in a dream, this shows impatience.
After all, you know you’ll leave the train, so for your subconscious to focus on something so obvious, it means your timing is wrong. Your spirit guides want you to wait a while before you make a crucial decision. They’ll tell you when their heavenly clock is aligned with your earthly one, so don’t pre-empt them. You may end up rushing and overshoot your blessings!
9. Plan Further into the Future
Let’s get specific. Trains, buses, and trams are all forms of public transport. So what does it mean when you dream about all three? Maybe you were deciding which one to take and you opted for the train. This dream is a direct message from the heavens about your worldview. How so? Train trips are typically longer than commutes on the bus or tram. They go farther.
So if you’re dreaming of boarding trains instead of buses, your guardian angel wants you to take a long-term view on things. You’ve been living in the moment, which is usually a good thing. But as the saying goes, plan like you’ll live forever, but live like you’ll die tomorrow. Your angels know you have decades of life left, so they want you to consider the big picture.
10. Be a Bit More Flexible in Your World View
The dream above could have a bonus interpretation. Buses and trams – even when they’re crossing state lines – have a lot more stops than trains. If you take the wrong bus, you can get off within minutes, maybe even half an hour. But with a train, it may be ages (and several counties!) before you can get off and change direction. This is what your angels are saying.
They’re reminding you that you have a stubborn, rigid approach to life and you need to ease up a little. Give yourself space to change your mind. The angels might have a plan that will take you on a different path. But first, you have to be open to flexibility, so they’re sending you this dream as a primer. Once you’ve become more adaptable, they’ll show you the way.
11. You’re Disrupting Someone Else’s Life Path
Google the song Dog Days by Florence and the Machine. You don’t have to like the music – you can just read the lyrics. That first line is especially poignant. It says ‘Happiness hit her like a train on a track!’ Is that a dream you’ve had – getting hit by a train? You may have been excited before the accident. Or distracted. Either way, the crash came as a surprise.
This dream usually signifies your interaction with someone else. Things may be going well for you and your metaphorical train is on schedule. But the dream means you were so single-minded in your vision that you messed someone else’s long-term plans. Your tunnel vision derailed their train and they’re hurting. Ask your angels how and where to make amends.
12. An Important Relationship is Ending
Do you know anything about model trains? Many of them have a reverse switch, but it can take three or four steps to engage it if your toy has a three-gear switch, and most of them do. But life-sized trains rarely run backward. So what does it mean if you dream about being on a train that’s suddenly backtracking? This signal refers to a treasured long-term relationship.
It’s not necessarily a marriage. It could be a job you’ve held for years or a childhood friend. The dream means this connection is fading away, and the pace is expressed by the speed of the train. If you’re a passenger in the dream, you can’t stop it, but if you’re the driver, you caused the rift. Ask your guides whether you should try to fix things or accept it and let go.
13. Someone Significant is Coming … or Going
Movies love to set emotional scenes at train stations and airports. Less often at bus depots. It’s a shortcut to express longing and intense passion. So what does it mean if you’re at the subway or train station watching people get on or off the train? The clue is in your feelings. Are you sad or happy in the dream? Excited or full of dread? Are you crowded or isolated?
If your feelings in the dream are warm and positive, it could mean you’re about to meet a promising love interest in your waking life. Look back on your relationship history. Was anyone in your past connected with trains? This new person may have an aspect that reminds you of that past love. But if you’re down in the dream, you may lose somebody soon.
14. You Need a Change – a Big One!
In urban centers, the trains are mainly underground, though they do cross the surface on occasion. So what does it mean if you dream of an overhead view of the train station? You’re not sure whether you’re a bird in the dream – you might be a plane passenger instead, or you might be flying a drone camera. But you can see lots of trains getting ready to start running.
The dream signifies your desire for a big shift in life. All those trains represent journeys in various directions. Did you feel overwhelmed by the endless choices? Or terrified of them? Your angels know the best path for you, so you could ask them to point out which train you should take. They’ll let you know if you need a new job, new love, or a countryside vacation.
15. You and Your Partner Need to Talk …
For those who regularly commute by train, dreams can be personal. Some days, your train to work is full of moody morning people, and arguments are easily triggered. Your train home might have frazzled parents and antsy kids. Other times, your train ride is full of old couples, loud teens, and artsy theatre troupes doing interpretive dances and filming for their TikTok.
What if you dream of sitting next to someone who won’t shut up? They keep making small talk when all you want is to curl up in a cocoon. This dream suggests you feel trapped in your relationship. Your chatty seatmate represents a life partner that won’t give you space. You’re their captive audience and you feel claustrophobic. You may need to rethink your union …
When was the last time you had a train dream? Tell us all about it in the comments section!