Other Languages

Since its creation, Thomas & Friends has been dubbed into many languages other than English.

Azerbaijan
In Azerbaijan, the show is called "Tomas və dostları".

Trivia

 * The Azerbaijani dub of the fourteenth season credits Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The Azerbaijani dub of Thomas and the Magic Railroad is voiced over the English version.

Brazil
In Brazil, the series is known as "Thomas e seus amigos" and is narrated by Tatá Guarnieri from the first season to the fifth and Hero of the Rails onwards, with Dário de Castro having narrated from the eighth season to the twelfth.

Trivia

 * George Carlin is credited as the narrator on several DVD releases, despite being re-dubbed. The opening credits from the eighth - twelfth seasons also credit Michael Brandon as the narrator, even though the series was re-dubbed.
 * The sixth and seventh seasons as well as Jack and the Sodor Construction Company and The Adventure Begins were never dubbed.

Catalonia
In Catalonia, Spain, the series is known as "En Thomas i els seus amics".

Character Names

 * Bash and Dash - Paf i Crac

China
In China, the series is known in Mandarin as "火車頭日記" which translates to Locomotive Diary, although the series was later reintroduced as "托马斯和朋友", meaning "Thomas and Friends". The series is narrated by Jiang Guangtao.

Trivia

 * The Chinese narrations of the first season credit Ringo Starr as the narrator and the fourth season credits George Carlin as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed. The opening credits of the eighth to twelfth seasons also credit Michael Angelis as the narrator even though it was re-dubbed.
 * Thomas and Friends is one of the very few television programmes originally produced in English to have aired in mainland China, not including Hong Kong or Macau. This is due to China's efforts to protect their own film industry.

Hong Kong

 * In Hong Kong, both the British English dub and a local Cantonese dub entitled "湯馬仕小火車" are shown, literally translating to "Thomas the Little Train".  Additionally, home media releases in Hong Kong have both British English and Cantonese audio.

Croatia
In Croatia, the series is known as "Tomica i Prijatelji". The current narrator is Tomislav Stojković.

Trivia

 * The opening credits in the first season credits Ringo Starr as the narrator even though it was re-dubbed.
 * Only the first-third, eighth-twelfth and the seventeenth seasons have been dubbed. However, the last two episodes of the second season, Woolly Bear and Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree, were not dubbed.

Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, the series is known by several names, the most common being "Lokomotiva Tomáš" and "Mašinka Tomáš" (both roughly translating to "Locomotive Thomas"). It used to be known as "Tomáš a přátelé" (meaning Thomas and Friends) in the first and third seasons, or "Tom a jeho přátelé" (meaning Tom and his Friends) in the second season. The first to third seasons were narrated by Radovan Vaculík and since the fourth season it has been narrated by Bohuslav Kalva. The Thomas & Friends episodes were all aired on Minimax.

Character Names

 * Thomas - Tomáš
 * Edward - Eduard
 * Henry - Jindra
 * James - Jakub
 * Toby - Toby
 * Duck - Kačer
 * Flying Scotsman - Létající Skot
 * Duke - Vévoda
 * Toad - Ropucha
 * S.C. Ruffey - Ošumělý
 * Bulgy - Náfuka
 * George - Jirka
 * Caroline - Karolína

Voice Cast

 * Pavel Tesař - Thomas (Hero of the Rails - seventeenth season)
 * Jan Kalous - Thomas (Tale of the Brave onwards)
 * Radek Hoppe - Luke (Blue Mountain Mystery only)
 * Bohdan Tůma - Diesel (Blue Mountain Mystery onwards) and Luke (King of the Railway onwards)

Trivia

 * The opening credits from the first and second seasons credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The opening credits from the third to sixteenth seasons credit Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The opening credits from the seventeenth and eighteenth seasons credit Mark Moraghan as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.

Denmark
In Denmark the series is known as "Thomas og Vennerne" or "Lokomotivet Thomas og hans venner"and has been narrated by Povl Dissing from the first to fourth seasons and by Tommy Kenter from the fifth to seventh seasons. From the eighth-sixteenth seasons, Povl Dissing stepped back into the role of narrator, before Lars Mikkelsen took his place from the seventeenth season onwards.

Voice Cast

 * Caspar Phillipson - Thomas, Henry and Troublesome Trucks
 * Troells Toya - James, Percy, Paxton, Kevin and Sir Topham Hatt
 * Torbjørn Hummel - Spencer and Sir Robert Norramby
 * Tillie Bech - Caitlin and Millie

Trivia

 * The twelfth season and Jack and the Sodor Construction Company were never dubbed.
 * The show premiered in Denmark in 1998.
 * Harold is called Harald. 
 * Cranky is called Kranus.
 * In the seventh season intro, Michael Angelis is credited as the narrator even though it was re-dubbed.

Estonia
In Estonia, the series is called "Toomas ja Sõbrad".

Character Names

 * Thomas - Toomas
 * Toby - Tobyl

Finland
In Finland, the series is known as "Tuomas Veturi" ("Thomas the Locomotive") and is currently narrated by Aku Laitinen who also voices Sir Topham Hatt with a Finnish voice cast since the thirteenth season. The series is not so popular in Finland. The earlier seasons aired on Nelonen. The thirteenth to fifteenth seasons currently air on MTV Katsomo.

Trivia

 * The opening credits of the first and second seasons credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The opening credits of the third to sixteenth seasons credit Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The eighth season opening titles are used with the Finnish Engine Roll Call during the eleventh season.
 * The fifth and seventh seasons, Thomas and the Magic Railroad and Jack and the Sodor Construction Company were never dubbed in Finnish.
 * For unknown reasons, Calling All Engines! was released before the eighth season. The Great Discovery was released on DVD between the ninth and tenth seasons. Hero of the Rails was released on DVD in the middle of the tenth season. Misty Island Rescue was released during the eleventh season. Day of the Diesels was released at the end of the eleventh season. Blue Mountain Mystery was released in the middle of the thirteenth season.
 * The show was first dubbed in Finnish in 2007.
 * Thomas was dubbed from the third season, but Aku Laitinen also narrated the first and second seasons.
 * When Donald was re-introduced in the eleventh season he was called "Terho".
 * When Sir Handel was re-introduced in the tenth season he was called "Sir Hanski".
 * When Peter Sam was re-introduced in the ninth season he was called "Pietari".
 * Sir Topham Hatt is called "Päätarkastaja", which means "The Inspector".
 * The sixth and twelfth seasons are not available on DVD, but they have been broadcast on television.
 * The eleventh season episodes use the ninth and tenth season opening.
 * The broadcasted thirteenth season episodes have title cards, but on the DVDs the title cards are removed and the narrator reads the episode's title.
 * In 2010, the episode Thomas' Christmas Party aired on Boomerang Finland with UK English dubbing.
 * The songs written by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell were never dubbed in Finnish.
 * The last eight episodes of the second season, the first three episodes of the third season and the last sixteen episodes of the fourth season were never released on DVD.

France
In French, the series is known as "Thomas et ses Amis" or "Thomas le Petit Train" (Thomas the Small Train). The first five seasons were narrated by Gérard Boucaron and all seasons beyond included both a narrator and voice actors. Blanche Ravalec later narrated the series between the sixth season and the fifteenth season. Since the sixteenth season Philippe Catoire has narrated the series. In France, the series used to be shown on France 5 until the end of the fifteenth season; since then it has been broadcast on Gulli from the sixteenth season onwards. The fifteenth season was also re-aired on Gulli and was re-narrated by Philippe Catoire.

During production of the fourteenth season, some of the episodes from the sixth and seventh seasons were redone with the current voice cast.

Trivia

 * From the eighth season, Sodor is renamed "Chicalor".
 * For some reason, certain episodes from the eleventh season were only narrated without any other voice-cast.
 * Michael Brandon is credited as the narrator in the opening, even though it was re-dubbed.

Germany
In Germany the series is known as "Thomas, die kleine Lokomotive" (Thomas the Small Locomotive) or "Thomas und seine Freunde" (Thomas and His Friends). In the first seven seasons, Thomas is also sometimes called "Thomas die Rangierlokomotive" (the closest translation for "Thomas the Tank Engine", literally meaning "Thomas the Shunting Engine") but since the eighth season, Thomas is called a "Tenderlok" (tank engine). It was narrated by Manfred Steffen from the first season to the fifth. Since the eighth season Sky du Mont has narrated it.

Character Names

 * Whiff - Mief
 * Philip - Phillip
 * Etienne - Étienne
 * 'Arry - Harry (fourteenth season only)
 * Mighty Mac - Mac Nic (ninth season), Big Mac (tenth season onwards)
 * Troublesome Trucks - die widerspenstige Waggons (literally "the wayward wagons" or "the rebellious wagons")
 * Bulgy - Pfau
 * Dowager Hatt - die Witwe Hatt (literally "the Widow Hatt")
 * Sir Robert Norramby - Sir Robert Norrambie

Trivia

 * Seasons one to four have been dubbed and released on VHS in 1996-1997. In 1998, they first aired on television.
 * Thomas' Train, Thomas and the Trucks, Pop Goes the Diesel, Diesel Does it Again, and season 5 first aired in 2000 and Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree in 2001.
 * The sixth and seventh seasons, Percy's Scary Tale, Jack Owns Up and The Adventure Begins were never dubbed into German.
 * Only the Dinos and Discoveries, Start Your Engines! and Extraordinary Engines episodes from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth seasons respectively have been dubbed into German, while the rest of the seasons were skipped for unknown reasons.
 * For the eleventh and twelfth seasons, the eighth season's opening titles were used with the German Engine Roll Call.
 * In the Island of Sodor opening, only the last shot had the re-filmed footage and on some DVDs, the re-shot of Thomas' close-up was used, too.
 * In the eleventh season roll call, only the first two shots had the re-filmed footage. The whole new roll call was only released on the German Engines and Escapades release.
 * Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach, Thomas and the Rumours, Oliver's Find, Happy Ever After, Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday, Duncan Gets Spooked, Thomas Saves the Day (Season 8), Thomas, Emily and the Snowplough, Spic and Span, James Gets a New Coat, Percy's Big Mistake, Thomas Gets it Right, As Good as Gordon, Chickens to School, Mighty Mac, Respect for Gordon, Tuneful Toots, Rheneas and the Dinosaur, Toby Feels Left Out, Thomas Tries His Best, Thomas and the Statue, Thomas' Day Off, Keeping Up with James, Percy and the Funfair, The Green Controller, Duncan Drops a Clanger, Toby's Afternoon Off, It's Good to be Gordon, Seeing the Sights, Big Strong Henry, Sticky Toffee Thomas, Thomas and the Shooting Star, Edward Strikes Out, Topped Off Thomas, Wharf and Peace, Emily and the Special Coaches, Thomas and the Colours, Thomas and the Birthday Mail, James the Second Best, Thomas and Skarloey's Big Day Out, Dirty Work (Season 11), Thomas and the Stinky Cheese, Percy and the Left Luggage and the first fifteen episodes of the twelfth season are not available on VHS or DVD but they have been broadcasted.
 * The songs from Thomas and the Magic Railroad (excluding The Locomotion), Calling All Engines!, The Great Discovery, Misty Island Rescue, Day of the Diesels, Blue Mountain Mystery, King of the Railway, Tale of the Brave, Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, The Great Race, Journey Beyond Sodor, Engine Roll Call, The Narrow Gauge Engines song and Best Friends Express are the only songs that have been dubbed into German.
 * The UK end credits are always used.
 * Some changes were made in the translation troughout the series:
 * Season 4
 * Toby is now incorrectly refered to as a railcar.
 * Season 5
 * The Fat Controller is now sometimes called "Sir" rahter than "Chef".
 * Season 8
 * The Fat Controller is always called "Sir".
 * Thomas' catchphrase has changed from "Schlacke und Asche!" (slag and ashes!) to "Zunder und Asche!" (Cinders and ashes!).
 * Thomas is now called a "Tenderlok" (Tank Engine) rather than "Rangierlokomotive" (Shunting locomotive).
 * Season 9 (only)
 * Toby is called a "Dampfgrubenbahn", which is not really a word.
 * Season 10
 * Mighty Mac's name has changed from "Mac Nic" to "Big Mac".
 * Season 11
 * "Bossy Boiler" is now translated as "Dämlicher Dampfkessel" (stupid steam boiler) rather than "Herrschsüchtiger Heizkessel" (domineering boiler).
 * Season 13
 * Hiro is now known as the "Herr der Schienen" (Lord of the rails) rather than "Held der Schienen" (Hero of the rails)
 * Season 14
 * Ferdinand's catchphrase has changed from "Ja, genau!" (Yes, exactly!) to "Ja, richtig!" (Yes, right)
 * Season 17
 * Hiro is now the "Meister der Eisenbahn" (Master of the Railway).
 * Season 20
 * The local train is now the "Regionalzug" (regional train) rather than the "Nahverkehrszug" (local train).
 * The Fat Controller is known as "der dicke Kontrolleur" in Germany, but a "Kontrolleur" is actually a guard.
 * Calling all Engines! was released between the ninth and the tenth seasons, The Great Discovery between the twelfth and thirteenth seasons, Hero of the Rails between the thirteenth and fourteenth seasons, Misty Island Rescue during the fourteenth season, Tale of the Brave during the seventeenth season and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure during the eighteenth season.
 * King of the Railway and Tale of the Brave were released in the same year.
 * In the opening of season 5, the scene that showes the episode title is a freeze frame rather than a moving picture. As a result, Thomas is not seen in that scene.
 * When the fourteenth season was released on DVD in Germany, all the title cards had a different font, their position changed from the bottom to the middle and Being Percy even had a different name, than on the TV version.

Greece
In Greece, the show is called "Τόμας το Τρενάκι" (Tomas To Trenaki) which when literally translated means "Thomas the Small Train". It is narrated by Vina Papadopoulou, with character voices performed by Loukas Frangoulis.

Voice Cast

 * Haris Grigoropoulos - Thomas

Trivia

 * The show was first dubbed into Greek in 2001.
 * The original theme song is in a lower pitch and has lyrics.
 * The live action seasons feature a female voice actor who provides narration and female voices, while a male narrator provides voices for all male characters.
 * The second to fifth and eighth seasons intro featured scenes of Gordon, Henry and Edward over the first few seconds of the usual intro, so the title could be edited, as HiT did not provide a blank intro. In the original intro (first and second seasons), only the logo was changed.
 * The eighth season has the original intro.
 * Some DVD releases feature a blank version of the edited intro.
 * All episodes from the first to fifth seasons are listed in the credits as being made in 1984.
 * DVD releases of eighth season episodes feature the new theme during the credits, despite the original theme playing during the intro.
 * Ringo Starr is credited as narrator on all episodes from the first to fifth and eighth seasons; despite only narrating the first two in English. Michael Angelis is also credited from the thirteenth season as well.
 * All television broadcasts of episodes from the first to fifth and eighth seasons have the Thomas and Gordon title card.
 * On most DVD releases of the eighth season, the first episode has the Thomas and Gordon title card.
 * Some DVD releases of the eighth season, the bridge scene where the title card usually appears is cut out and replaced by the eighth season style title card.
 * From the ninth season until The Great Discovery, the original theme remained with the new intro.
 * The voice actors are not credited.
 * In Calling All Engines!, the narrator accidentally says James instead of Jimmy once.
 * When the thirteenth season aired in 2013, the show was revamped; the characters regained their English names and the Engine Roll Call was completely re-written.
 * The sixth, seventh, twelfth, fifteenth and sixteenth seasons, as well as Jack and the Sodor Construction Company, Hero of the Rails and Blue Mountain Mystery were never dubbed into Greek.
 * This is the only language to feature Duck as being a female character. Although, in the seventeenth season, he regained his English gender.

Hindi
In Hindi, the series is known as थॉमस टैंक इंजन और दोस्तों (Thŏmasa ṭaiṅka in̄jana aura dōstōṁ), which means Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.

Trivia

 * Like some of the Eastern European dubs the Hindi narrations of the fourth and fifth seasons credit Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The Hindi narrator is uncredited.

Hungary
In Hungary, the series is known as "Thomas a Gőzmozdony" which means "Thomas the Steam Engine". It is also known as "Thomas és Baratai" which means "Thomas and Friends." It was first broadcasted on Minimax in 2006 and was later broadcasted on M1 and recently on JimJamTV. It is narrated by Zoltán Csankó.

Character Names

 * Duck - Kacsa (Season 2 only)
 * Daisy - Százszorszép (Season 2 only)
 * Mavis - Rigó (Season 3 only)
 * Toad - Varangy (Season 3 only)
 * Bulgy - Butus (Season 3 only)

Trivia

 * The Engine Roll Call was not translated into Hungarian, except during the opening titles.
 * In the opening, Ringo Starr and Michael Angelis are credited as the narrators even though it was re-dubbed.
 * Since Hero of the Rails, uncredited voice actors have performed the character's voices.
 * The twelfth season, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company and The Adventure Begins were never dubbed in Hungarian.

Iceland
In Iceland, the series was known in Icelandic as "Tommi togvagn og vinir hans" AndThat Translates To "Tommi Trolley and his friends" and was narrated by David Thor Jonsson, but the series was not very popular, possibly since there are no longer any railways in Iceland.

Character Names

 * Thomas - Tommi
 * Gordon - Gyrðir
 * James - Jakob
 * Toby - Tobbi

Indonesia
In Indonesia the series retains its English title. The series was dubbed from the eighth season onward.

Trivia

 * Michael Angelis is credited as narrator in the opening credits, even though it was re-dubbed.

Israel


In Israel, the series was dubbed into Hebrew as "תומס הקטר" (Tomas HaKatar, "Thomas the Locomotive") and was later reintroduced as "תומס הקטר וחברים" (Tomas HaKatar VaH̱averim, "Thomas the Locomotive and Friends"). However, the series has still been aired as "תומס הקטר" on certain channels. The first and second seasons aired on the Hop! Channel in 2000, the eighth to fourteenth seasons aired on the Israeli Educational TV and the fifteenth, seventeenth and twentieth seasons have aired on Hop!. Each series was narrated by Simcha Barbiro, Ron Druyan and Dan Schatzberg respectively. When the Israeli JimJam TV channel began offering alternative dubbed versions of its content, Nir Ron narrated a different dub of the older seasons.

Trivia

 * The Adventure Begins, The Great Race and Journey Beyond Sodor have not yet been dubbed into Hebrew and it is unknown whether or not Jack and the Sodor Construction Company, Hero Of the Rails, Misty Island Rescue, Day of the Diesels and Blue Mountain Mystery have or will ever be dubbed either. The sixteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth seasons had to be skipped due to various reasons.
 * For unknown reasons, Tale of the Brave and King of the Railway were released after Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. The latter premiered in Israel at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque in Summer 2016.
 * Thomas' Christmas Party, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree, The Missing Christmas Decorations, Santa's Little Engine, Letters to Santa, The Christmas Coffeepot and Over the Hill were not dubbed into Hebrew due to being explicitly Christmas-themed episodes, since the respective seasons they were in were shown on Hop!.
 * In the first to seventh seasons:
 * The Island of Sodor was not mentioned by name in the Hop! dub of the first and second seasons.
 * Edward's nickname Eddie was used in the Hop! dub as his proper name. Since the Educational TV dub of the eighth season, his formal name has been used instead.
 * The word "Fireman" was mistranslated as "כבאי" (kabai, "firefighter"). The proper term for a steam engine fireman is "מסיק" (masik, "stoker").
 * Terence's name was mispronounced as "Trance".
 * Tender engines were referred to as "coal engines", with no specific term for tank engines.


 * In the Hop! dub of the fifteenth - twentieth seasons:
 * HiT Entertainment's name was mistransliterated as "היט אינטרטיימנט" ("Hit Intertaiment"), instead of "היט אנטרטיינמנט" ("Hit Entertainment"). Several names of the original production crew were mistransliterated as well.
 * The UK voice cast was credited, albeit with their names in Hebrew, even though the show was re-dubbed.
 * Sharon Miller was misidentified as male.
 * Den's name was mispronounced as Dan.
 * In the seventeenth season, Sharon Miller was incorrectly credited as head writer and writers from the thirteenth-sixteenth seasons were still mentioned in the credits, as well as Nitrogen Studios, even though the Arc Productions logo still appeared.

Italy
In Italy, the series is known as "Il Trenino Thomas" which translates to Thomas the Small Train. It has been narrated by Angelo Maggi, Giorgio Locuratolo, Cristina D'Avena and Francesco Facchinetti. The series was first aired on Jim Jam TV and after on Cartoonito.

Character Names

 * Edward - Edward / Eddie (from the fifteenth season onwards)
 * Flying Scotsman - Scozzese Volante
 * Whiff - Whiff / Soffio / Sbuffo
 * Bash - Bifo
 * Dash - Bofo
 * Scruff - Sciatto
 * Gator - Drillo
 * Hurricane - Uragano
 * Salty - Salty {pronounced like Solty [since the fourteenth season (except Sodor's Lost Treasure Legend)]}
 * Rheneas - Rheneas / Rhene (since the sixteenth season)
 * Captain - Capitano
 * Sir Topham Hatt - Signor Topham Hatt (his first appearance only) - Pallone Gonfiato / Sir Topham (from the twelfth season onwards)
 * Sailor John - Mariano John

Voice Cast

 * Marco Vivio - Thomas
 * Ambrogio Colombo - Henry
 * Simone Crisari - James
 * Mattia Nissolino - Percy (twelfth - eighteenth seasons)
 * Chiara Oliviero - Percy (nineteenth season onwards)
 * Chiara Gioncardi - Emily
 * Micaela Incitti - Rosie
 * Giò Giò Rapattoni - Ashima
 * Teo Bellia - Diesel
 * Gaetano Lizzio - Salty
 * Marco Barbato - Philip
 * Enzo Avolio - Sir Topham Hatt

Trivia

 * The Italian dub of the first and second seasons credits Ringo Starr as the narrator and the third season credits Michael Angelis, even though they were re-dubbed, but the rest of the credits are in Italian.
 * Because in Italian the term "Locomotive" is a female term, all the engines are referred to as females from the first to the fifth season.
 * Jack and the Sodor Construction Company and Thomas and the Magic Railroad were never dubbed in Italian.

Japan
In Japan, the series is translated as "きかんしゃトーマス" (Romaji: "Kikansha Tōmasu" - Thomas the Locomotive). Thomas is extremely popular in Japan due to the prevalence of railways in everyday life. This version of the show has also had individual voice actors since the model series. It was broadcast on Fuji Television from the first season until the eighth season and broadcast from the ninth season to the thirteenth season on TV Tokyo and recently on NHK and Cartoon Network. Leo Morimoto was the narrator from the first to the eighth season and since Calling All Engines!, Jon Kabira has been the narrator.

Trivia

 * In 1973, Kaye and Ward released the Japanese translation of Awdry's 26 Railway Series books. The series was translated by Kuwabara Saburou and Shimizu Shuyu. Genyuu Kuroiwa supervised the technical terms of the railway. Christopher's books, however, have yet to be translated into Japanese.
 * This is the first country that gave the show its own individual voice cast and dubbed in a language other than English.
 * In this version, the nameboards are used for introduction of the characters who appeared in each episode. From the eighth season, the narrator calls the title of the episode at the end of each episode.
 * 'Arry is called "Harry".
 * After the eighth season, the original voice cast was replaced due to the show switching to another broadcasting station.
 * The eleventh season episodes use the ninth and tenth season opening.
 * It is unknown why the twelfth season was not aired, but it is believed that Japanese kids would be confused of seeing the mixture of live action with CGI. However, Heave Ho Thomas!, Saved You! and Best Friends have been shown at Thomas Land's 3D Theatre and Excellent Emily, Saved You!, James Works it Out and Percy and the Bandstand were released on Unaired Video Collection.
 * In the seventeenth season, the opening credits credited Greg Tiernan as a director from Steamie Stafford, the first episode of the season in Japanese broadcast order, but it was fixed from Gone Fishing, the thirteenth episode of the season.
 * Jack and the Sodor Construction Company was never dubbed.
 * Some of the CG movies are slowed down to 24 FPS, adding an extra two minutes to their length. As a result, their audio is slightly distorted and low-pitched.

South Korea
In South Korea the series is translated as "꼬마기관차 토마스와 친구들". It was narrated by Jang Gwang in the first-fourth seasons, by Shin Yong-u in the fifth-seventh seasons and by Kim Seung-jun from the eighth season to the present.

Voice Cast

 * Kim Eun-a - Thomas (Thomas and the Magic Railroad), Emily and Millie
 * Shin Yong-u - Thomas (thirteenth season onwards)
 * Um Sang-hyun - Edward, Gordon, James, Percy, Sir Topham Hatt, Stephen, Toby and Victor
 * Nam Doh-hyeong - Hiro
 * Kim Seung-jun - The Mayor of Sodor

Trivia

 * Calling All Engines!, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company, Day of the Diesels and The Adventure Begins were never dubbed.
 * Characters got individual voices since the twelfth season.

Latin America
In Latin American countries, the series is called "Thomas y sus Amigos" and is currently narrated by Óscar Gómez. It is often broadcast on Discovery Kids. It currently airs on Canal 5 in Mexico but used to air on Azteca 7.

The narration was previously provided by Pedro D'Aguillón Jr. in Shining Time Station. Diego Brizzi later narrated from the first-twelfth seasons.

Trivia

 * The series was first dubbed in 1994 during Shining Time Station.
 * The Fat Controller was referred to as "The Fat Inspector" ( El Inspector Gordo in Spanish) in the first seven seasons, but from the eighth season onwards he is called his real name "Sir Topham Hatt", although he has been referred to as "The Fat Controller" a few times.
 * For the first to fifth seasons, the sixth season intro is used and afterwards, the engines are introduced.
 * The opening credits from the eighth season to the seventeenth season credited Michael Brandon and Mark Moraghan as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The official website had not been updated since the release of Misty Island Rescue. Also, the videos on the site use the narration for Spain.
 * Jack and the Sodor Construction Company has never been dubbed.

Latvia


In Latvia, the series is called "Tomas un Draugi" and is narrated by Robert Dreija. The narration uses a voice over method similar to the original Ukrainian dub of the first four seasons and the Lithuanian dub.

Trivia

 * The Engine Roll Call for the seventeenth season is a voice over of the English version.
 * Mark Moraghan and the UK voice cast can be heard in the background of the seventeenth season Latvian dubs.
 * The Latvian dub of the seventeenth season credits Mark Moraghan as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.

Lithuania
In Lithuania, the series is called "Tomas ir Draugai". The episodes are voiced over the English dub, similar to the Ukrainian and Latvian dubs.

Trivia

 * In the seventeenth season, the opening credits sequence and the Engine Roll Call are voiced over the instrumental, but in the eighteenth season, they are voiced over the English dub.
 * The Lithuanian dubs of the seventeenth and eighteenth seasons credit Mark Moraghan as the narrator, even though they are dubbed over.

Middle East
In Arabic speaking countries, the series is known as توماس والأصدقاء (transliterated: Tumas Wal'Asdiqa).

Character Names

 * Thomas - توماس - Tumas
 * Edward - إدوارد - 'Iidward
 * Henry - هنري - Hinri
 * Gordon - جوردون - Juridun
 * James - جيمس - Jims
 * Percy - بيرسي - Birsi
 * Toby - توبي - Tubi
 * Emily - إميلي - 'Iimili
 * Sir Topham Hatt - سيدي توبهام هات - Sayidi Tubiham Hat

The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the series is known as "Thomas de Stoomlocomotief" and is narrated by Erik de Zwart from the first season to the eleventh season and up to Day of the Diesels for the specials and Michiel de Jong from Blue Mountain Mystery onwards for the specials and the thirteenth season for the television series.

Character Names

 * Whiff - Snif
 * Duke - Jonker
 * Smudger - Knoeipot
 * Mighty Mac - Jut en Jul, Mega Mac (The Great Discovery only)
 * S. C. Ruffey - Schoffie
 * Troublesome Trucks - Trammeland Trucks
 * Toad - Padde
 * Bulgy - Dikkie
 * Thumper - Bonkertje
 * Cranky - Krik (fifth season only)
 * Sir Topham Hatt - Meneer Hoogsma Hoed
 * Sailor John - Zeeman Jan

Trivia

 * The opening titles (excluding the narrator card) were not translated into Dutch until the eighth season.
 * The sixth season and the seventh season are not available on DVD but they have been broadcast.
 * The twelfth season was never dubbed into Dutch.
 * Currently, Erik de Zwart ties with Polish narrator Stefan Knothe as the longest serving narrator for a non-English dub of the series.

Norway
In Norway, the series is known as "Lokomotivet Thomas" (Thomas the Engine) or "Thomas og Vennene Hans" (Thomas and His Friends). It has been narrated by Ane Barmen since the eighteenth season. Trine Lossius Borg narrated seasons one-four. Gro Solemdal narrated the fifth season. Terje Strømdal narrated the sixth season and Kalle Øby narrated the eighth season until Tale of the Brave. The thirteenth-fifteenth seasons currently air on TV2 Junior.

Character Names

 * Duck - Anda (The Thomas Way onwards)
 * Whiff - Piff
 * Bash and Dash - Krutt og Futt
 * Scruff - Rusk
 * 'Arry - Harry
 * Den - Drift (fifteenth season onwards)
 * Dart - Dag (fifteenth season onwards)
 * Peter Sam - Sir Peter (later Peter Sam)
 * Henrietta - Henriette (eleventh season onwards)
 * Old Slow Coach - The Old Snail
 * Troublesome Trucks - Brysomme vogner
 * Captain - Skipper
 * Ol' Wheezy - Gamle Snøfte
 * Hee-Haw - Hiv-og-Ho
 * Sir Topham Hatt - Kontrollsjefen/Herr Flossenhatt/Den Tykke Kontrolløren
 * Mr. Percival - Jernbanesjefen/Smalsporsjefen/Kontrollassistenten
 * Kuffy the Clown - Klovnen Krølle
 * Mr. Bubbles - Herr Boblemann

Location Names

 * Shake Shake Bridge - Vaklebrua/Vinglebrua
 * Brendam docks - Brendam havna
 * Misty Island - Tåkeholmen
 * Tidmouth Sheds - Tidmouthstallen
 * Gordon's Hill - Gordon bakken
 * Wellsworth station - Edwards stasjon
 * The Mainland - Fastlandet

Trivia

 * The show was first dubbed to Norwegian in 1986.
 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad, the seventh and twelfth seasons and Jack and the Sodor Construction Company were never shown in Norway. This meant that the audience would not know about Splatter and Dodge, Fergus, Flora, Hank, Nelson, Patrick, Colin or Buster's names. The eleventh season never aired on television, it was released direct to DVD, except for Thomas and the Stinky Cheese and Percy and the Left Luggage, which were only released on the internet. The last six episodes of the fifth season were never released on VHS or DVD.
 * For unknown reasons, Calling All Engines! was released before the eighth season, The Great Discovery was released on DVD between the ninth and tenth seasons, Hero of the Rails was released on DVD in the middle of the tenth season, Misty Island Rescue was released during the eleventh season, Day of the Diesels was released at the end of the eleventh season and Blue Mountain Mystery was released in the middle of the thirteenth season.
 * The opening titles credited the UK narrators and not the Norwegian narrator.
 * During seasons 1-4 and 6, the narrator read the episode's title. This stopped after the eighth season. Although, in some eleventh season episodes, the narrator says the episode's title because the title card is missing.
 * Gordon's catchphrase changes between "Oh, so undignified!", "Oh, how nefarious!" and "What a humiliation!"
 * Since the thirteenth season, Tidmouth Sheds is referred to as "Tidmouth Station". In the fifteenth season, it is sometimes referred to as "Tidmouthstallen" which means "Tidmouth Sheds".
 * In Trine Lossius Borg's narration, Duke is called the Norwegian word for Duke, "Hertugen".
 * Since the thirteenth season, Engine Roll Call is in Norwegian.
 * When the Fat Controller's name is used, they do not say "Bertram", they say "Topham".
 * The eleventh season episodes use the eighth-tenth season opening, end credits and Engine Rollcall. The fourteenth and fifteenth season episodes use the thirteenth season Engine Rollcall.
 * Like in the UK and US, the fifteenth season aired before Day of the Diesels, barring the last three episodes.
 * Since the fifteenth season, Arlesdale End is called "Arlesdale Station".
 * Bash and Dash often switch voices.
 * Dart's catchphrase is "Digre Dieseler" which means "Giant Diesels".
 * For unknown reasons, the last three episodes of the fifteenth season aired five months later than the rest of the season when it first aired.
 * The thirteenth season episodes on television have title cards, but on the DVDs the title cards are removed and the narrator reads the episode's title.
 * The first six seasons aired on NRK1 until 2006. TV2 started broadcasting in 2007 starting with the eighth season. In autumn 2014, the series was made available to RiksTV (seasons 1-4 and 8-9) and CMORE play (seasons 1-4) users. Some of these episodes were re-dubbed because they did not have any digital copies of the Norwegian narration. In these narrations, Peter Sam is referred to as "Sir Peter", like he is in the Danish narration. As of 2016 the show once more airs on NRK via NRK Super starting with the 18th season.

Poland
In Poland, the series is known as "Tomek i przyjaciele". It has been narrated by Stefan Knothe since the first season.

Trivia

 * The twelfth season, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company and The Adventure Begins were never dubbed in Polish.
 * The series' logo was not translated into Polish until the fourteenth season.
 * The opening credits in the eighth to sixteenth seasons credits Michael Angelis even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The opening credits in the seventeenth season onwards credits Mark Moraghan even though it was re-dubbed.
 * Currently, Stefan Knothe ties with Dutch narrator Erik de Zwart as the longest serving narrator for a non-English dub of the series.
 * In various season 10 and 11 episode titles, the characters regain their English names.

Portugal
In Portugal, the series is known as "Thomas o Trem Azul" translated into "Thomas the Blue Train" or "Thomas e os seus amigos" translated into "Thomas and his Friends". This is narrated by Pierre Borsan.

Character Names

 * Mighty Mac - Big Mac

Trivia

 * The Portuguese dub of the thirteenth - fourteenth seasons credits Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.

Romania
In Romania, the series is known as "Locomotiva Thomas și prietenii săi". The show was first broadcasted in 2006 on MiniMax TV Romania, starting with the eighth season, followed up by Calling All Engines! in 2007 and the ninth season in 2008. Also, in 2007, HIT Entertainment's JimJam TV channel. JimJam TV Romania is currently broadcasting the first to eleventh seasons, Calling All Engines! and The Great Discovery. All of the original seasons are in restored format, except for the third season which only has the restored intro and credits. Since 2010, MiniMax TV Romania has broadcasted the thirteenth season onwards and movies.

Voice Cast

 * Daniel Vulcu - narrator (seasons 8, 9 and Calling All Engines!)
 * Alexandru Rusu - current narrator (all the seasons and specials which have not been narrated by Daniel Vulcu)
 * Richard Balint - Thomas
 * Ioana Perneș - Emily, Mavis and Girls
 * Corina Cernea - Belle
 * Ion Abrudan - Oliver
 * Armando Bungău - Toad
 * Andrian Locovei - Timothy
 * Alina Leonte - Marion
 * Cosmin Petruț - Duncan
 * Rin Tripa - Sir Topham Hatt

Trivia

 * Ringo Starr, Michael Angelis, Pierce Brosnan, Michael Brandon (for Calling all Engines!) and Mark Moraghan are credited as the narrators in the openings even though everything was re-dubbed.
 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad, the Jack and the Sodor Construction Company series and the twelfth season have not been broadcasted yet.
 * Even if starting with the thirteenth season all the next seasons had the intro dubbed, the eighteenth season was the first one to have Engine Roll Call dubbed, the Calling all Engines! and The Great Discovery special versions of the song were also dubbed. All the songs in specials have been dubbed, except for Thomas, You're the Leader and Go, Go Thomas.
 * In 2011, the episode A Bad Day for Sir Handel aired on JimJam Romania without narration.

Russia
In Russia, the series is known as "Томас и его друзья" and was first dubbed into Russian in 1995. From the fifth season until the seventeenth season, the Russian version was shown in Ukraine.

Trivia

 * The Russian title sequence of the first to twelfth seasons credits Ringo Starr and Michael Angelis as the narrators, even though it was re-dubbed. This is common in most dubs, but the title and credits in the opening were audibly translated in Russian.
 * From the seventeenth season till The Perfect Gift, the narrator has read out each episode's writer along with its title.
 * The twelfth season, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company, Hero of the Rails, Misty Island Rescue, Day of the Diesels, Blue Mountain Mystery, Tale of the Brave and The Adventure Begins were never dubbed in Russian.
 * The Russian dub of Thomas and the Magic Railroad is voiced over the Hebrew version.

Scotland
In Scottish Gaelic, the series is called "Tomas is a Threud", which in English translates to "Tomas and his flock" and is narrated by Ian MacAmhlaigh. It is often shown on BBC Alba

Character Names

 * Thomas - Tòmas
 * Edward - Eideard
 * James - Seumas
 * Percy - Pearsaidh
 * Toby - Tobaidh
 * Emily - Oighrig
 * Diesel - Dìosail
 * Duncan - Dhonnchadh
 * Annie - Annag
 * Clarabel - Clarabeileag
 * The Fat Controller - Riaghladair Reamhair (The Fat Ruler)
 * Farmer McColl - Farmer MacColla

Trivia

 * The narrator did not read the episode's titles from the point that the ninth season was released.
 * To date, only the eighth and ninth seasons have been translated into Gaelic.

Serbia
In Serbia, the series is known as "Tomas i drugari" (or "Томас и другари" in Cyrillic writing), but is also recently known as "Thomas, parna lokomotiva". It is currently shown on Minimax in Serbia and is narrated by Bojan Žirović.

Trivia

 * The Serbian dubs of the first and second seasons credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed.
 * The Serbian dubs of the third to sixteenth seasons credit Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * The Serbian narrations from the seventeenth season onwards credit Mark Moraghan as the narrator, even though it was redubbed.

Slovakia
In Slovakia, the series is known as "Thomas a jeho priatelia".

Character Names

 * Thomas - Tomáš
 * Edward - Eduard
 * Duke - Vojvoda
 * Sir Topham Hatt - Tučný kontrolor

Slovenia
In Slovenia, the show is known as "Lokomotivček Tomaž in prijatelji" and is narrated by Vladimir Jurc.

Trivia

 * Early VHS / CD episodes credit David Mitton as the narrator even though the show has been dubbed.
 * The seventh to twelfth seasons were never broadcast, but the names of the characters introduced in those seasons can be found in magazines.
 * The first to fifth seasons were highly localised with location names replaced by Slovenian ones with similar roles. The island of Sodor was referred to as "otok" (simply "island"). In Coal, Welsh coal is replaced with "Trbovljski premog" (coal from Trbovlje - Slovenia's largest coal mine). In The Flying Kipper, Crewe works is referred to as "Zalog" (town near Slovenian Railroad's largest railroad workshop). In Break Van, it is said the twins came from the Gorenjska region of Slovenia instead of Scotland, more precisely from Jesenice (city in said region, home to Slovenia's largest steelworks) instead of Glasgow. Their accent is also different as it is not Scottish but is regional dialect from Gorenjska.
 * Since the thirteenth season, several names of characters changed.
 * Since the thirteenth season, episodes are plagued by incorrect literal translations of (British) technical terms and jokes. For instance, "trucks" are often referred to as "tovornjaki" (lit. lorries - correct term would be "tovorni vagoni" - freight wagons), "funnels" are called "lijaki" (lit. funnels -correct term would be "dimniki" - chimneys/smokestacks), and so on. In Charlie and Eddie, for example, Charlie's jokes are translated literally and since the puns are english exclusive, they do not function when translated.

Spain
In Spain, the series is known as "Thomas y sus Amigos". It is currently narrated by Pepa Castro. It was previously narrated by Salomé Larrucea from the eighth to nineteenth seasons, while Roberto Cuadrado did the voices in the live action seasons.

Trivia

 * The series was first dubbed in 2007.
 * The first to seventh seasons were never dubbed.

Sweden
In Sweden, the series is currently known as "Thomas & vännerna" (Thomas & Friends) today, but it has also gone under the names "Det lilla ångloket" (The little steam engine) and "Thomas Tåget och hans vänner" (Thomas the train [sic] and his friends). Louise Raeder narrated the first versions of the first two seasons. Håkan Mohede later re-dubbed the first two seasons and narrated the third–seventh seasons. Since the eighth season, the series has been narrated by Claes Ljungmark.

Character Names

 * Duck - Ankan
 * Stepney - Stepney blåklockslokomotivet.
 * Salty - Saltis
 * Peter Sam - Sir Peter
 * Duke - Hertigen
 * Mighty Mac - Strong Adolf
 * Old Slow Coach - Gamla snigeln
 * Bertie - Bertil (Bertie)
 * Bulgy - Butter
 * Cranky - Gnällis
 * The Fat Controller - Kontrollchefen (The Control-Chief)/Direktörn (The Director)

Location Names

 * Sodor - Rälsö

Voice Cast

 * Nick Atkinson - Thomas
 * Roger Storm - James and Timothy
 * Adam Fietz - Percy

Trivia

 * The show was first dubbed into Swedish in 1991.
 * The original Swedish dub of the first and second seasons credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad and Jack and the Sodor Construction Company were never dubbed into Swedish.
 * Only the eighth-fourteenth seasons were titled with the Swedish logo of Thomas & Friends.
 * Peter Sam was called Sir Peter in the Swedish dub but also in the Norwegian dub.
 * Sir Topham Hatt is called "Herr Cylinderhatt", which means "Sir Tophat". Although, in the original dub of the first to seventh seasons, he was called "Herr Rälsson" which means "Sir Railsson".
 * The episode title cards were not read aloud by the narrator in the original Swedish dubbing of the first two seasons, but were so in the redub.

Taiwan
In Taiwan, the series is known as "湯瑪士小火車" and is narrated by Guan Zhihong. The series is shown being re-dubbed into Mandarin.

Location Names

 * Sodor - 多多島 (Dou Dou Daw)

Trivia

 * The fourth season's narrator is credited as George Carlin, the fifth season with Alec Baldwin and the sixth season onwards by Michael Angelis, even though the series was re-dubbed.

Thailand
In Thailand, the series is known as โทมัสและเพื่อน.

Character Names

 * Thomas - โทมัส
 * Edward - เอ็ดเวิร์ด
 * Henry - เฮนรี่
 * Gordon - กอร์ดอน
 * James - เจมส์
 * Percy - เพอร์ซี่
 * Toby - โทบี้
 * Emily - เอมิลี่
 * Sir Topham Hatt - ควบคุม ไขมัน

Trivia

 * The Thai dub of the eleventh season credits Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.

Turkey
In Turkey, the series is known as "Thomas ve Arkadaşları".

Trivia

 * The Turkish narrations of the third season and the thirteenth to sixteenth seasons credit Michael Angelis as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.

Ukraine
In Ukraine, the series is known as "Паровоз Томас та його друзі" and was later introduced as "Томас і Друзі" and was narrated by lector Mykola Koziy (Микола Козій) with the translations done by Oleksa Nehrebeckyj. The narration for the first four seasons uses a voice over method, as the Ukrainian voice track is layered over the original English track, a common practice in Eastern Europe. The first four seasons were the only seasons dubbed until seasons seventeen and eighteen were dubbed, most likely because of how big Russian is in Ukraine's culture.

The Ukrainian dub of the first four seasons were only ever aired from 1997-1998 and were never re-broadcasted.

Trivia

 * The Ukrainian dubs of the first and second seasons have Ringo Starr's voice in the background, season three has George Carlin's voice in the first thirteen episodes and the last thirteen episodes and season four have Michael Angelis' voice.
 * It is unknown if Thomas and Gordon, Edward and Gordon, The Sad Story of Henry, Edward, Gordon and Henry, Thomas' Train, Thomas and the Trucks, Thomas and the Breakdown Train, James and the Coaches, Troublesome Trucks, James and the Express, Thomas and the Guard, Thomas Goes Fishing, Percy Runs Away, Coal, Dirty Work, A Close Shave, Wrong Road and Edward's Exploit were ever dubbed into Ukrainian. They likely were, though due to the archive nature of this dub, were not recorded from their airings.
 * The opening credits from the seventeenth season onwards credit Mark Moraghan as the narrator, even though it was re-dubbed.
 * Since the seventeenth season, uncredited voice actors have provided the character's voices.

Vietnam
In Vietnam, the series is known as "Thomas và những người bạn".

Voice Cast

 * Gia Trí - Thomas
 * Anh Tuấn - Edward
 * Trưởng Tân - Henry
 * Quổc Tín - Diesel
 * Thanh Hống - Emily
 * Tiến Đạt - Peter Sam

Trivia

 * From the point the thirteenth season was released, the twelfth season intro was still used. The twelfth season Engine Roll Call was still played, too.
 * The engine roll call's lyrics in Vietnamese were written by Thanh Hống.

Wales
In Wales, the series is called "Tomos a'i Ffrindiau" (originally "Tomos y Tanc a'i Ffrindiau" and is narrated by John Ogwen. It is often broadcast on Cyw, S4C's children's block. Episodes are available for catch up on the S4C website and the BBC iPlayer for a week after they have aired.

The Railway Series
Welsh was the first - and for many years only - translation of The Railway Series books. In 1950, Welsh minister Sir Ben Bowen Thomas suggested that Edmund Ward publish the engines' adventures in the Welsh language. As a result, J.T. Jones, a former winner of two National Eisteddfod literary awards, was paid seven guineas to translate the first four titles - Y Tri Injian Tren, Thomas yr Injian Danc, James yr Injian Coch and Thomas Injian-Danc Eto - each of which were produced in a print-run of 5,000 volumes.

Trivia

 * Only the first seven seasons along with the thirteenth and fourteenth were dubbed. Old Iron, Thomas and Trevor, Percy Takes the Plunge, Pop Goes the Diesel, Better Late Than Never, Break Van, The Diseasel, Wrong Road, Horrid Lorry, A Better View for Gordon, Lady Hatt's Birthday Party, Baa!, Toby and the Flood, Haunted Henry, Thomas and the Rumours, Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday, Make Someone Happy and Duncan Gets Spooked were also seemingly not dubbed.
 * Jack Frost, What's the Matter with Henry?, Rheneas and the Roller Coaster and Not So Hasty Puddings were never given home video releases, though they were dubbed and aired on Cyw.
 * The first eight episodes of the fourteenth season used the thirteenth season's version of the Engine Roll Call.
 * Unusually, the Welsh dub is the only known version of the show to translate most of the signs within the episode.

"Thomas und seine Freunde" in anderen Ländern Inne Języki