Route Birmingham - Crewe Feedback Thread

Looking at the network mapping, plus May 2025 National Rail mapping noting not all lines are shown on this map.

But somehow I can't work out where Stoke on Trent branch is at Stafford, unsure where the crossover line goes to prior to Wolverhampton a short distance from station where 60mph post is.

Evidently the branch south of Wolverhampton station towards Birmingham New Street is the Walsall kind of branch, plus Shrewsbury branch somewhere along their.

Not that it matters has these aren't included in the add on but referenced instead, either by part route or AI.

 

With respect, and I do mean that, the delays on this are unacceptable and now when I hear ‘coming soon’ or ‘good news’ I have no faith.

a detailed explanation of what, why and how this route went so incredibly wrong would be appreciated and what (if anything) is being done to prevent it happening again would be appreciated.

 

With respect, that will be discussed internally. there's no need to publicise such details as it will only feed the witch hunt.

If I was a betting man ( and i'm definately not! ) I would say DTG failed to do their due diligence with a comprehensive QC process, ESPECIALLY since All Aboard are new, and it's more than likely ( Like ATS did ) they did what they considered to be correct, that then turned out to be not quite right. ATS had a second pass through QC and delivered a solid route. It seems All Aboard were fast tracked to release and didn't receive the support they needed to nail it, whether it needed 2 or 10 QC reviews.

Obviously DTG aren't going to hold their hand up and say ""Guys, we should have given All Aboard more quality support"" they'll just bury their heads as usual, and All Aboard get a bad rep for a less than perfect first DLC.

 

To be fair, when the route is behaving itself, and you're not driving a 350 it is actually very good. I'm currently continuing my "Driver's Shift" with a Pendolino from New Street to Crewe and I have to say blasting through those reverse curves between Stafford and Crewe at 125 MPH is exhilarating. In fact I'd have to check, but I've probably spent more time/distance on this route than the Riviera Line!

 

It’s not you we (or at least I) feel abandoned by. It’s DTG & AAS who have not given us a route that works properly or who themselves have not communicated properly with us about the problems.

you don’t type too much and what you do type is appreciated.

 

Is this game worth playing yet I had to get a refund last time coz I was sick of getting red lights when I wasn't even near 1 at all

 

No.

 

I’ve spent the last two evenings on the route, different runs and not encountered stuck trains or AI SPAD’s including loading in from a save. That’s not to say there aren’t still issues. I started an 350 run back from Crewe to Birmingham and it was immediately announcing approaching the final stop at Euston. The timetable still lacks arrival times and all the Manchester XC services are described as going to Stafford only. However, when it works well the route is doing okay, just as stated previously the glue that holds it together needs far more polish.

 

To elaborate on my previous response.
Wait until the long awaited ‘fix all’ patch is released and if everyone says it’s working better after that then get it. You’ve already refunded once, so don’t give them a bean until they’ve delivered on their promise to fix it.

 

So the 153 and 158 both have two moves into crewe station and thats it. So where is it they go then from there. I thought they would have gone down to Stafford because the platform you go onto is the dead end one.

 

It would have been nice to see an either/or layer for the TfW 150 or 2 x153 rather than just the 150.

At Crewe the TfW sets could be doing through Marches to Manchester services, or trains starting at Crewe for Chester and the North Wales Coast. Though I’m guessing they should really be Class 197’s at this point. The EMT 158 I would imagine is for the Crewe to Derby (and beyond) services.

 

Ha! The route finally bit me in the bottom. Working 9Y20 about 3 miles after departing Wolverhampton I had the service terminate due to an AI SPAD.

****Get this sorted please, DTG DTG Matt . Player should not be penalised because a service elsewhere on the route has a SPAD. The core needs to be changed so the train(s) involved are removed from the game not the player one. If need be put up a warning note to the player that the timetable may behave erratically as a result but allow the run to continue.

So much for my attempt at a Driver's Day on this route.

 

The TFW sets from those bay platforms go via Shrewsbury to Newport via the Welsh Marches route, so they head to the south west past Gresty Lane depot on leaving Crewe.

 

XC 1M41, when you start this service the train (8 car) is set to depart platform 7B which makes the front set foul the signal (you can still play it as the next signal is on a proceed aspect). The consist should be set to start at the middle of platform 7

 

Was initially put off buying this route, but seeing how the feedback has been received (well done candacedtg ) I decided to buy it. Definitely no regrets, what an amazing route. There is such a great attention to detail. I love the 'RA' showing up, that was an excellent surprise. It's also a great route for the 390 and 220. It is running well on my PC too, only dips in frame rates are at BHM and CRE. My feedback is mostly around the Class 350.

• Door open button always illuminated, should only be illuminated when doors are released.
• Doors locked light in cab doesn't work
• Make the TMS the first thing you see when you press the right arrow on the keyboard.
• Coupling up - should it be the same as the 380 (as in confirm formation)?
• No slow speed control?
• No BIL illuminated when cab door open.
• Interior cab door doesn’t close automatically.
• Doors locked light not illuminating at guard panel.
• Missing 30MPH speed sign just south of WVH.
  
• Missing 60 mph sing south of Crewe (seen from 87 run)
• Having to stop right on the marker in BHM, stopped 5 yards away and had to move to the exact point to finish task.

 

So figured id give the route another run on the ps5 today (wanted to give it a better look now the annoyance about buying a broken product has settled down)... Ignoring the blurrys.. took out the Class 87.. couldn't help but notice Neutral sections (I think is the right term) do nothing.. no trip of the MCB.. just plow right through them!

While i appreciate this is at the bottom of the queue to fix.. is this something that will be getting implemented? Thought it had become a "core feature" in 5? (Could be wrong on this part)... And is one of the main things that makes the 87 & 86 more challenging to drive!.. aswell as adding immersion in the other trains!

Again not a high priority! But i felt note worthy..

 

Just a couple other things I've noticed.

• 350 announcements in two of the scenarios I've done. After every stop “we are now approaching WVH (or CRE), our final station, thank you for travelling with please mind the gap when leaving the train….” Etc.
• OFF indicators at Dudley Port are always illuminated.
• OFF Indicators at WVH don’t seem to work.
  

 

And still no sign of the magic fix all patch !

 

I really wanted to get this route on release but held back due to the negative feedback . When it’s patched to an acceptable standard , will probably get it . Does seem like the route was released unfinished from what I’ve read .

 

Mentioned this earlier in the thread. Before my latest run terminated due to an AI SPAD I was getting fed up of hearing , “We are now approaching Euston which is our final stop”. In addition, on departure when making the announcement for upcoming calling points it was getting as far as Marston Green then decided the train was fast to Euston!

The route artwork itself is okay though subject of debate as to whether stuffing the lineside with high poly foliage may be responsible for the performance issues. Though the finger of suspicion still points at the 350’s on that. No, it’s everything else that brings the route down, the AI SPAD’s, Class 350 odd physics and as stated possible bottleneck on performance. The timetable lacking arrival times or trains incorrectly described on the menu page. The wacky and over abundant announcements. And most of all the now radio silence from AABS and DTG over where we are with fixes, apart from the occasional tie off by “Candace” that she’s noted and passed on feedback to that point.

 

this is the most concerning bit for me.
If there’s no update coming, tell us that please instead of this deafening silence where once there was a promise it would be sorted.

 

Well I think I will still hold off getting it , sounds like still quite a few issues . Missing arriving times is odd , why release it in this state ?!

 

The simple answer probably that the £££€€€$$$ were beckoning.

However it does raises concerns that those responsible for creating and snagging/testing the route and timetable were not 100% au fait with the processes and that both AABS and DTG QA waved it through when it should have been sent back for another pass, with the release slot cancelled and rescheduled for a future date.

 

Although the funny thing is if they had delayed it they would have made more money , as more people would have bought it, as long as it was in a good state!

 

Indeed by the time the fixes are in, at this rate it will be getting its first sale discount, on Steam anyway!

 

Ooooo I should have read this before I spent 45 dollars on this route! Is it being fixed anytime soon? SMH

 

it’s been released for over a month mate with promise after promise of it being fixed. So, don’t hold your breath!!

 

Any updates on the super fix update that was promised? Or did I imagine the messages on here about the problems being fixed in a patch?

not heard anything about fixes since 18/11. It’s not a good look guys.

 

Im sure they said a patch is coming sometime in December.

 

One of the things that people (understandably) complained about with the route was that it rushed out way before it was ready.
Now people to want updates to be rushed out probably way before they are ready...

Don't get me wrong, I want the route fixed as much as everyone else, but clearly rushing stuff isn't good, and the release was a prime example of that...

 

I don’t want the updates rushed out.
A timeline was given of about 2 weeks ago and since then it’s been radio silence. My concern is that there is no update coming and as with most of the other routes it will just be abandoned.

 

Fair enough, hopefully it won't be like that

 

Same here, but there’s taking time and there’s the inevitable concerns the customers have that some of the issues are beyond the ability of the dev to fix (like the AI SPAD’s).

 

A common saying is "no news is good news".

Which is both a good and a bad thing: good because it may mean they're actually hard at work, bad because it could also mean they simply aren't bothering.

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/crewe-to-birmingham.95241/page-3#post-1068442

 

The DLC was finished in June as a TSW5 release, and was submitted to DTG for testing and QC. It was then held back deliberately by DTG until after TSW6 was released. Any issues with the DLC should have been found by DTG and relevant feedback given to the All Aboard team. It's clear that DTG chose not to do this, instead the DLC was held back to capture sales from the jazz surrounding TSW6 and DTG gave a green light to the project. That's why TSR and Train Faults are missing, the DLC is a TSW5 one, released under the guise of TSW6, same as the Skyhook (only 4 timetable services for the class 20) Nuclear pack, completed back in July and the more recent JT Pacer pack which also suffered from the DTG "hold it back till after TSW6 is out" mentality.

It seems that DTG are doing less and less "testing in QC" and relying on customers to find faults, and then promising customers after launch fixes, some of which come quickly, some that come eventually and some that never come as DTG do their best to sweep things under the carpet till customers "just live with it".

It's more than likely that All Aboard have submitted fixes, but are now relying on someone at DTG coming back from the coffee machine and green lighting them for release... could be months....

 

1. Start any timetabled service at Crewe
2. Leave the train and walk onto track at an empty platform.
3. Spawn a freight service
4. Set a path to Basford Hall
5. Drive to Basford Hall and once there set another path to anywhere south of the yard
6 Drive there and you will now be fitted into the normal timetable
PS the distance to destination will stay at 0 but that will make you learn the route. Also be patient with adverse signals.

 

They also have announcements listing the Riviera stations on BCC.

That was the final straw that made me disable them entirely in every form game-wide, as their existence is too immersion-breaking.

 

Appreciate what you are doing with this Candace, but we also need some feedback from the “coal face” whether AABS or internally at DTG what is regarded as a bug and not just a manifestation of player dissatisfaction, what is being worked on and some indication of when we can expect a patch to go live?

 

I'm really hoping there'll be a proper post-mortem for this route in which a full autopsy of the systems is performed in order to provide loads of helpful data points from which lessons can be provided to DTG and disseminated to third parties on how to avoid causing these issues in the future.

 

Like the route overall, but quite a few random bugs:

On the Class 86 railtour heading North the game terminated at the new slow lines Norton Bridge flyover due to me passing a signal at danger, but there wasn't one (assume it does this no matter what you are driving)

The 350/3s all have a correct unit number showing outside, but in the cab the number show is a 350/2 (so 350322 outside shows 350222 in the cab)

A few people have picked up the random announcements for the next station being the terminus station on the 350, rather than the actual station

The announcements and PIS state Runcorn East rather than Runcorn.

Where is the freight? Line between Stafford and Crewe is dead without it. I do own packs, but even then nothing moving and a handful of services. Also find this part of the line deathly quiet - assume the 805 pack may address?

The 350 will randomly just die. Assume this is a "train fault" but can't move the reverser and have to reset the physics - usually at Penkridge for some reason.

As many have said no target times for arrival for many of the stations.

There's probably more, but I do like the route and it has potential.

 

Sounds like an update is either live or due this week from the article.

 

From the Season of Reveals article
Update should be pushed sometime tomorrow

 

Great and look forward to seeing how this runs tomorrow.

Is there any word on increasing the freight traffic? It is what the route is known for after all!