Interpreting timetables

Timetables are lists of times that present information about when something will happen.

They can also tell you how long something will take. This is also known as its duration.

When you read timetables, you often need to read across the rows and down the columns of the table.

On this bus timetable, each row shows the arrival times of a bus at different stops.

So reading across a row tells you the different times when a bus reaches that stop throughout the day.

Test out your knowledge of interpreting timetables with this quiz, then read on to complete the page.

Most timetables for travel, for example those for buses, trains, trams and aeroplanes, use the 24-hour clock. This is to reduce the risk that someone may read the time incorrectly on the timetable.

You can use a timetable to find a specific train to travel on and find out what time it will arrive at a destination.

This part of a train timetable shows trains travelling from Newcastle to Edinburgh.

To find a time that a train leaves Newcastle, first find the column labelled ‘Leaves Newcastle’, then read down the column to find the train times.

Look at the row for the train leaving Newcastle at 13:52. To find out what time it arrives in Edinburgh, read across the row to the arrival times. It arrives at 15:16.

Calculating durations using a timetable

On this part of a bus timetable, the buses leave Thornton Interchange every 15 minutes. However, some of the buses take longer than others to get back to Thornton Interchange.

Two of the buses on the timetable do not stop at every stop, so they have a shorter journey time.

You can calculate the duration of the 06:30 bus journey, from Thornton Interchange back to Thornton Interchange, by working out the difference in time between the departure time and the arrival time.

You can see the bus departs at 06:30 and arrives at 07:28.

You might use a number line to find the difference between these times or you might count on in your head.

06:30 to 07:00 is 30 minutes.

07:00 to 07:28 is 28 minutes.

30 minutes + 28 minutes = 58 minutes

Comparing durations from a timetable

You can compare durations from a timetable by first calculating the durations then comparing their length in time.

Chloe takes the 06:25 bus from Main Road to Saltwell Common. Then she takes the 07:40 bus from Saltwell Common to Thornton Exchange.

The first journey is 30 minutes as the bus leaves at 06:25 and arrives at 06:55.

The second journey is 25 minutes as the bus leaves at 07:40 and arrives at 08:05.

The second part of her journey is shorter in time than the first part of her journey.