Le départ du train est prévu à huit heures.

Because départ is a noun meaning departure. French often uses a noun phrase where English might prefer a verb.

So this sentence is structured more like:

• The departure of the train is scheduled for eight o’clock

rather than:

• The train leaves at eight o’clock

Both are natural in French, but le départ du train sounds a bit more formal or timetable-like.

Because de + le contracts to du in French.

So:

• de le train → du train

Here, du train means of the train.

This is a very common contraction:

• de + le → du
• de + les → des

For example:

• la porte du wagon = the door of the carriage
• les horaires des trains = the train schedules

It means of the train.

In le départ du train, the phrase du train tells you what is departing: it is the train’s departure or the departure of the train.

This is not possession in the strong English sense, but simply a relationship between the two nouns.

Est prévu means is planned, is scheduled, or is expected.

It is made from:

• est = is
• prévu = past participle of prévoir (to foresee / to plan / to schedule in some contexts)

So est prévu is a passive-style construction meaning something like:

• is scheduled
• is planned
• is expected

In this sentence, it gives the idea of an official or planned time.

Because prévu agrees with départ, and départ is masculine singular.

So:

• le départ → masculine singular
• therefore prévu → masculine singular

If the subject were feminine, the form would change:

• L’arrivée est prévue à huit heures.
  The arrival is scheduled for eight o’clock.

So the ending depends on the gender and number of the noun being described.

Because à is the usual French preposition for clock time.

So:

• à huit heures = at eight o’clock

This is the normal pattern:

• à une heure
• à trois heures
• à midi
• à minuit

French uses à where English uses at for specific times.

Because French tells time with hour(s), and after numbers greater than one, heure becomes plural.

So:

• une heure = one o’clock
• deux heures = two o’clock
• huit heures = eight o’clock

This is completely normal in French time expressions.

Yes.

French often uses the present tense for scheduled or planned future events, especially with timetables, transport, and official arrangements.

So est prévu is grammatically present, but the meaning refers to a future scheduled time.

English does this too in some cases:

• The train leaves at eight.
• The meeting starts at nine.

So this idea is not very different from English.

Yes, absolutely.

Le train part à huit heures means The train leaves at eight o’clock.

The difference is mainly nuance:

• Le train part à huit heures = direct and everyday
• Le départ du train est prévu à huit heures = more formal, more like a timetable, announcement, or written notice

So both are correct, but they do not sound exactly the same in style.

It is pronounced as one smooth group because heures begins with a silent h.

A simple guide is:

• huit heures ≈ weet-er

More exactly, the t in huit is pronounced here because the next word starts with a vowel sound:

• huit
  • heures

So do not treat the h in heures like an English h sound. It is silent.

Not always. Depending on context, prévu can mean:

• planned
• scheduled
• expected
• provided for

In this sentence, scheduled is often the most natural English choice, because it is about a train time.

So while prévu literally comes from prévoir (to foresee), the best translation depends on context.