If you miss a train, it indicates the frustrated hope for change or the desire to leave a real situation, but without a clear sense of direction. For Jung, the figure of public vehicles expresses that the dreamer has not found her own way yet, and that her behavior is the same as everyone else’s. According to Freud, dreams that imply movement represent sexual relations. In fact, Freud believed the train to be a phallic symbol.
In antiquity, dreaming of voyages presaged a change in fortune. This would be better if the destination were at the top of a hill or of a mountain. And if the voyage continued at large in a straight line, the good luck would appear very soon in your life. [1]
If you normally take the train to work and it is a part of your daily experience, closer attention should be paid to the other details of the dream. Going on a train ride may be symbolic of your life’s journey.
If you are the engineer, you may be reassuring yourself in the dream state that you are in control of a specific situation or life in general.
The train could also be symbolic of your need to move on and to do things in an orderly and sequential manner. Freud said that the train is usually a phallic symbol and that a train going through a tunnel represents intercourse. Freud also said that there are other possibilities to this symbol.
For example if you missed the train in your dream, you may be fearful of missing important opportunities. Jung thought that the train ride represented the way a person moves and behaves just like everyone else and that you the dreamer may be striving for wholeness. [2]
The train you have missed in the dream is the equivalent of a missed opportunity in real life. Traveling in a train: you are advancing quickly in life. Watching a train leaving the station: a separation is unavoidable. Seeing a train: you will have to say goodbye to someone. Being on a train that goes through a tunnel: you are giving away one of your secrets. In a woman’s dream, a train is a sexual symbol, particularly if it is driving into a tunnel.
Depth Psychology: Riding in a train is symbolic of your life’s journey. You are changing your emotional bearings—don’t miss your connections! The lead engine symbolizes your vitality; the railroad cars your experiences and adventures: the tracks the values that guide you and give you direction.
The trip itself is a symbol of how your life will unfold.
See also: Train Station. [3]
If the train is stuck on a platform, this may suggest a problem that needs ironing out before any further progress can be made in waking life.
If the train makes an emergency stop, this warns against moving too fast and if the train stops at a crossing, this suggests the need for patience. [4]
If you dream of riding on top of a train, you will be or have been wasting time with an unpleasant companion, who you will eventually seek to avoid.
If you dream of missing a train, you may have missed an opportunity recently in real life.
Dreaming of driving a train is a good omen, meaning you are on the right course in your life.
To dream about people getting killed by a train, or of being in a train wreck, suggests that progress towards your goals is not going according to plans. This may be because you lack the self-confidence to pursue them whole-heartedly. [5]
Feeling on-track (or off-track) in your life.
The idea of not being in control of your direction or progress, or not needing to be because someone else is in charge (since a train can travel only where its tracks go).
Riding on a passenger train can represent: a shared experience or a group in which you’re “all in the same boat”, a process or phase, your movement forward through life, or the means by which you do so.
See also: Vehicle, Traveling, Locomotive, Tracks, Railroad, Riding, Trip or Vacation, Teacher, Class, Repeating [6]
To be on a train and it appears to move smoothly along, though there is no track, denotes that you will be much worried over some affair which will eventually prove a source of profit to you.
To see freight trains in your dreams, is an omen of changes which will tend to your elevation.
To find yourself, in a dream, on top of a sleeping car, denotes you will make a journey with an unpleasant companion, with whom you will spend money and time that could be used in a more profitable and congenial way, and whom you will seek to avoid. [7]
A train is much faster than a car but slower than a plane. In this way, being on a train in your dream means that there is a medium amount of transformation going on in your life.
A train is a type of public transportation, so the changes that are taking place are more likely to relate to your public rather than your private life.
The state of the train, such as its age and the shape it is in, will offer you more distinctions to add to your interpretation. [8]
See also: Haste. Developing ones personality, striving for success and being sociable. Fleeing from the present situation.
Are you observing the train or are you traveling on the train (you are either wanting to move or you are part of the movement). What is happening on the train and how would you characterize the action?
According to Freud, leaving on a train and traveling on a train means death. However, Freud suffered from a phobia about trains. [9]
As with all such symbols, the dreamer’s prior associations with trains determines their meaning in a particular dream. [10]
Freudian: An emblem of the male penis, primarily when combined with tunnel imagery.
Similar to other vehicles in terms of movement and transitions (See also: Bus, Car, Horse).
Each car of the train may represent aspects of yourself, including hidden talents, knowledge, fears, hopes, and memories. So, exploring the train symbolizes introspection and integration of some of these portions.
For example, searching the caboose may symbolize routing out your feelings about death or endings. [11]
See also: Conductor, Railroad Tracks, Track. [12]
A freight train is indicative of manual labor, while a passenger train points to mental work.
If a passenger train you are carrying many people, pulling them along, which may be an unnecessary weight.
If freight train, you are moving with a heavy load.
2. Large Church; And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42) [16]
2. Progress of the dreamer’s life.
3. Progress of business deals. [18]
brakeman turning the, switch: al changes for the better wil happen eventual y.
buying tickets for a: are restless and yearn for the open road.
cargo, a: present complex concerns wil ultimately prove beneficial to you.
cogwheel, a broken: approaching money wil change your outlook.
many: plans wil succeed from now on.
conductor, being a: your ambitions are overburdened with too many steps to your goal.
engineer: your ambition wil be crowned as difficulties are overcome easily.
freight, a: improved business circumstances if you stay on track.
locomotive, of a: ask to be al owed precious time to observe travel.
coming toward you: your desire to relive an experience can’t be done.
going away from you: wil be jilted by a lover after your deceptive actions are revealed.
going full speed: quick rise to wealth for a contented life.
two hooked together: wish to move forward and solidify the relationship.
wrecked: loss of prosperity has left you with nothing but a movie of your life.
mail, a: are frustrated at a letter unanswered, or never sent.
missing a: opportunity wil pass you by, if you are not prepared.
connection: something to blame your inferiorities on; stop running others’ lives.
of a: wil take care of a contemplated project with speed.
sleeping cars, being in: your lewd actions taint your selfish struggle to amass wealth.
spending all night on a: wil arrive at the decision on another’s timetable.
station, arriving at a: take a deep breath and proceed with your journey of life.
leaving: check al systems and slowly gain momentum.
unable to get to the: that is one trip you should not take.
subway, riding in a: must keep stiff upper lip through irritating incidents.
being in a wreck: wil have a car ful of friends to support your next venture.
switching tracks in a: an outside source wil cause your change of direction.
traveling on a: are optimistic that a lawsuit wil be ruled in your favor.
through a tunnel: can avoid a mass of work by fol owing your instincts.
with the family: take advantages in your life; do not let yourself be taken advantage of.
friends: a major professional move is imminent; keep your approach to it rational.
watching one leave on a: your breadth of vision deters your accepting the first offer.
wreck with another train, in a: distress and many disappointments. [26]