Build your own railway empire on an island
Shape the landscape, lay track, build bridges over rivers, cut tunnels through hills, and run your own trains across the island. Rail Island is a relaxed railway-building game you can play for free.
Plays right in your browser on desktop and mobile — nothing to install.
Play instantly in your browser
Rail Island runs right in your web browser — just open the page and start building. Nothing to download or install.
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No download
Runs in any modern browser. Open the link and you are building within seconds.
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Desktop and mobile
Play on your computer or phone, and add it to your home screen for a full-screen app feel.
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Sign in with Google
Your islands are saved to the cloud, so you can pick up where you left off on any device.
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Publish and share
Publish an island and share a link anyone can open in their browser — no account needed to look.
Build the railway your island needs
Rail Island gives you simple tools for shaping terrain, laying track, building stations, and running trains. Start small, then expand the network as the island grows.
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Shape the terrain
Raise or lower the ground where the route needs it. Each island starts randomly generated, and you can adjust it as you build.
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Lay track
Place rails point by point with straight sections and curves, without being locked to a square grid. Connect them to existing track and add junctions or parallel sections when the route gets busier.
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Build stations
Place stations with one to six tracks, set the platform length, and choose a simple or roofed design.
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Cross rivers and valleys
Add bridges when the track needs to cross water, low ground, or a gap in the terrain.
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Tunnel through hills
Build tunnels with stone portals where going over the surface would make the route awkward.
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Run trains on your routes
Assemble trains from locomotives and cars, choose their stops, and add signals so a busy map can run with denser traffic.
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Add settlements
Place houses near stations to create towns and villages for your railway to connect.
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Use the terrain map
The minimap shows island height and your rail network, so you can plan routes without losing track of the layout.
Watch a player-built island in motion
Rail Island is a new game, and the first players are already building their own rail networks. This gameplay video shows one of those islands coming to life.
How to play
New island
Choose how the island starts
Set the basic shape of a new map: flatter or hillier terrain, fewer or more rivers, and the island size you want to build on.
Terrain tools
Plan routes through the landscape
Islands are generated with natural-looking coastlines, rivers and broad valleys where your railway can wind through the terrain. When you lay track, the ground can adjust automatically with cuttings and embankments so the line keeps a reasonable grade.
Rolling stock
Put a train together
Choose from nearly 300 railway vehicles, mostly Czech and European: steam, diesel and electric locomotives, multiple units, coaches and freight cars. Preview vehicles in 3D before adding them to a train.
Bridges
Select a bridge type
Preview each bridge type in 3D, then choose one that fits the height above the terrain. You can build multi-track bridges too, for both straight and curved track.
- Beam
- Truss
- Cantilever
- Arch
- Stone arch
- Tied arch
- Suspension
- Cable-stayed
From the first player islands
Rail Island is still new, so these screenshots come from some of the first players exploring what they can build.
Free to play, with an optional upgrade
Every build tool is free. When you want more room to grow, Rail Island PLUS lifts the limits in one upgrade.
Rail Island FREE
The full game, free forever.
- All build tools: terrain, track, stations, tunnels, roads, buses and trains.
- 10 island save slots.
- 3 bridge types (beam, truss and suspension).
- Up to 20 distinct model types per island.
Rail Island PLUS
More room to build, in one upgrade.
- 30 island save slots.
- All 8 bridge types, including arch, tied arch and cable-stayed.
- Up to 100 distinct model types per island.
- Everything in the free game, no limits raised the hard way.
Start building on your island
Choose a map, lay your first tracks, and send a train along them. Rail Island is free to play.
Rail Island is designed to play well on phones and tablets, with touch-friendly controls.
Play instantly in your browser on desktop and mobile — no download.