Road Map Train Sim World 6 Roadmap - February 2026

TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) Summary

• Festival of Rail 2026
• Content Up Ahead
  ▹ Great Western Express Remastered - Out Now!
  ▹ Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen Remastered - Arriving Thursday!
  ▹ East Coastway Remastered - Coming Soon!
  ▹ NEC New York to Stamford - First look at the M8!
  ▹ Progress update on the DB BR 147
• Partner Programme
  ▹ Announcing the Freightliner Class 70 from All Aboard Studios!
  ▹ HST Farewell Tour from Grumpdog Games - Coming Soon!
  ▹ Southern BR Class 171 & BR Class 377/3 from Rivet Games
  ▹ WCML: Crewe – Milton Keynes via Trent Valley from All Aboard Studios
  ▹ West Coast Main Line: Crewe - Preston from Just Trains
  ▹ Expert DB BR 145 from TSG
  ▹ BNSF Electro-Motive GP60M from High Iron Simulations
  ▹ Southern Pacific Ore Lines from High Iron Simulations
  ▹ The Tadami Line by Union Workshop
  ▹ Liberec - Stará Paka from Vector Simulations
  ▹ Medway Valley Line from Firefly Simulations
• State of the Game - February 2026
  ▹ Outlining Key Issues
  ▹ PS5 Add-on Mounting Limitations
  ▹ Blurred Textures & Optimisation
  ▹ Train Sim World Update Cadence
• Patches and Updates
  ▹ Previous Improvements
  ▹ Train Sim World 6 Upcoming Patches
  ▹ Epic Games Compatible Content
• Community Corner
  ▹ Festival of Rail 2026 - Ending soon!
  ▹ February Monthly Mastery – Live Now
  ▹ Introducing Thomas & Friends™: Wonders of Sodor
  ▹ Train Simulator Classic - New Add-ons Coming Soon
  ▹ Metro Rivals: New York - First Dev Blog tomorrow

The Train Sim World Roadmap
Hello everyone - we're finally back to welcome you to the TSW February 2026 Roadmap!
With alot of preparation in January for our upcoming announcements and news, we're now back with a huge update on everything Train Sim World 6, taking a closer look at future TSW Add-ons with a huge section from our Partner Programme, new remastered routes, as well as an update on other Dovetail titles, such as Metro Rivals, Train Sim Classic and the newly announced Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor!
We also have an important discussion regarding the state of the game; including further information on optimisations and improvements, our current approach and progress, as well as a clear plan forwards on how we're addressing this.

Festival of Rail 2026 - Discounts Ending Soon!
Don't miss out on one of the biggest sales of our year at Dovetail, with our Festival of Rail publisher event, including a huge range of discounts and sales across Train Sim World and more of our titles, and all-new content with remasters and new releases!



Discover more on our Festival of Rail 2026 Article or on our Festival of Rail Event Page.

Let's jump right in!

Content Up Ahead
Before we explore the new updates and announcements from our various development partners, let’s check in on our announced remasters, and a couple of our in-house Add-ons being progressed.

Great Western Express: Remastered - Out Now!
The much-anticipated Great Western Express Remastered from Grump Dog Games was finally released earlier this week, delivering an overhaul to the entire route, all the included stock, and introducing a wealth of new services and liveries.



There is so much packed into this remaster, so if you haven’t jumped in yet, read about all the details in our GWE Remaster Launch Article or take advantage of the current sales, where you can get up to 60% off GWE and further discounts on layered content!



You can also catch up on Dovetail Matt’s 5-hour mega GWE Remastered Preview Livestream!
We’ve loved hearing your feedback so far, and it's great to see many of you enjoying the refresh! Please continue to send us your thoughts on our GWE Feedback Thread on the forums or in The Dovetail Discord.



Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen Remastered - Arriving Thursday!
Who's ready for another Remaster? We're off to Germany to give Köln-Aachen to uplift it deserves, with development from the FolezzWorld team, and following on from the previous timetable overhaul we shared last year.



Here's a list of what you can expect:
Remastered Improvements

• Implemented TOD4 Lighting to the route and stations
• New OHLE rendering and materials
• New Landscape Ballast Material
• New grass and vegetation textures
• Added Night Lighting to Dense city areas (i.e. Köln Hbf)
• Added lighting to the churches in Aachen
• Updated Signal Materials
• Updated Display board Materials
• Updated Track Descriptors
• Replaced green bridges for newer models

BR442 (Talent2)

• Updated Displays, FIS, Headlights and all emissives to work with new TOD4 lighting *Added GSMR Textures in the cab

BR406 (ICE3M)

• Added new widget to make screens look better in TOD4 lighting
• MTD adjusted to be more realistic, now including Schalten, Werkstatt pages
• AFB on the ICE3 is now selectable (via 9 -> 1 and Beleuchtung 9 -> 6)

BR423 (S-Bahn Köln)

• Updated Displays, FIS, Headlights and all emissives to work with new TOD4 lighting
  
  

This remaster will be releasing to all platforms on Thursday, 12th February 2026 at 10am UTC - and we can't wait to hear what you think! Be sure to pass our teams any thoughts in our Köln-Aachen Remastered Feedback Thread when it opens.



East Coastway Remastered - Coming Soon!
Finally, let’s talk about the third announced, highly requested remaster; East Coastway - developed in partnership from Grumpdog Games and Rivet Games. In case you missed it, the route will be seeing an extensive overhaul, including brand new lighting, scenery improvements, new stations and depots, as well as brining the locos and content up to TSW6 standard, with Guard Mode, announcements and more!



Here’s a refresh of what to expect with East Coastway Remastered:
Remastered Improvements

• ToD 4 lighting upgrade
• Updated landscape and foliage assets
• Updated track and ballast, including new track shadows
• Updated signal visuals
• Updated light baking for tunnels and stations
• New and updated scenery
• Updated distant scenery
• Opened Lovers Walk Depot
• Updated depot and yard areas around Brighton station
• Updated yard area around Eastbourne
• Added disused Newhaven Marine station
• Added rail singing
• Added AI whistle boards for stock with AI whistle functionality
• Fixed scenery issues which caused some assets to vanish when screenshots
• Station Announcements

Train Upgrades (Class 377/4 and 313)

• Train Faults: Pantograph, Wipers
• Onboard Announcements
• Suspension
• Wheelblur Update
• Guard Mode
• Driver Assist

Additionally, the team have added DSD sounds to the Class 313 so drivers will no longer get emergency stopped without warning.



As a reminder, the remaster will be completely free for all existing owners of the East Coastway Add-on, coming in the form of an update for players in Train Sim World 6.

NEC New York-Stamford from Dovetail Games
Progress on NEC: New York - Stamford is continuing to progress well, as our our next US route coming to Train Sim World 6, and we're happy to announce that we're now in the final stages of it's development.
This route offers a huge range of variety, including local, express, and several semi-express patterns, trains which short-turn at New Rochelle or Harrison, and deadhead positioning moves. You'll be hopping aboard the Metro North M8 EMU and exploring the Northeast Corridor - from Grand Central or New York Penn to Stamford!

Let's take a first look at the M8 EMU!



NEC New York-Stamford Collectables

• Statue of Liberty - Torches light-up once collected
• Two types of Pizza - New-York style Pizza and '“ah-beetz” New Haven style
• Toy New York style Taxi - Starts light on doors open, door shut light off
• Route Maps

As for the Mastery reward, expect an uplifting Helium balloon parade near Stamford!

Working with Licensors and Content Adjustments
With this release, similar to what we’ve done to Add-ons in the past, specifically LIRR Commuter, we’ve had to make changes as part of our agreement when working closely with the licensors.
This will include mandatory ATC and ACSES safety systems for the Metro North M8. This may result in some players needing additional guidance, and we’ll be providing an in-game tutorial that details these systems, as well as promoting tutorial guides on how to operate trains on the NEC New York-Stamford route with safety systems enabled.

Expect much more information coming in the next few weeks as we get closer to release, so stay tuned, and get ready for another adventure to the United States!

DB BR 147 from Dovetail Games
Announced in our Season of Reveals 2025 event, the DB BR 147 will bring more German traction arriving to Train Sim World 6, with gameplay for the Frankenbahn: Stuttgart-Heilbronn route.



This will bring a wide variety of services based on a 2018 timetable, including a wealth of AI traffic to really bring new life to German routes.
These services will include:

• NRM BR 101
• BR 110 for Bremen - Oldenburg
• ICE 3M appearing at Mannheim, with a limited number of playable services

And additional AI services with appropriate content:

• BR 425
• ICE 1 in Kassel - Würzburg
• ICE T in Frankfurt - Fulda
• TGV in Stuttgart
• OBB 1116 in Stuttgart

A reference trip was conducted for main sounds of the loco such as traction motors, horns, brakes, bogies, hvac, pantograph. The only exception is some buttons/levers/switches we didn't record because we have those already from other recording trips (and they're the same sounds.)



Additionally, the BR 147 will include train faults and announcements as Train Sim World 6 core features, which will help enchance the immersion as you play.

Keep your eyes out for further info on the DB BR 147 in future Train Sim World 6 updates!

Partner Programme News

Announcing the Freightliner Class 70 from All Aboard Studios
Are you a fan of UK Diesel traction? Perhaps freight locos too? Well, here comes the perfect combination, bringing a brand new diesel freight loco to TSW, and finally giving the Class 66 some competition – It’s the Freightliner Class 70, coming from the All Aboard Studio team!

With a primary layer on their recently released Brimingham-Crewe route, ABS are so excited to share this with you all today.

As a special way to accompany the announce, we’ve been sent a short teaser to show you all today, giving you the running sounds in all their glory! Let’s have a listen:



We’ll be back in future roadmaps and articles with specifics and details on this release, but in the meantime, we hope all you freight-fans are eager to find out more!

 

HST Farewell Tour from Grump Dog Games
Following on from the GWE Remastered release, Liam of Grump Dog Games is hear to talkabout the progress on his next project!
As a tribute to the HST’s final years in service with GWR, as well as a celebration of 200 years of modern railways, the HST Farewell Tour Add-on, coming soon, will bring new services and scenarios to Great Western Express Remastered and the Riviera Line, including 7 iconic HST power car designs that were worn by the GWR HST’s along with 2 Mk1 HST Barrier Coaches designs.



Today we have new screenshots from Liam as progress on the add-on continues, and we look forward to sharing more as the pack comes closer to release. Just look at these stunning images!





Inspired by real-world events, the six included scenarios will range from depot open days to helping crowds of passengers from Dawlish get to the air show while keeping your cool (and keeping them cool) on a hot and busy day!



We’ll be back with another update in March but be sure to check out the GWE Remastered route before the pack releases and discover the GWE bundles available on sale now in Festival of Rail on Steam.

Southern BR Class 171 & BR Class 377/3 from Rivet Games
Rivet Games will be supporting the East Coastway remaster with the release of their next Add-on, adding the Class 171 and additional timetable services to the route – Let’s take a look!
We have some further details from Rivet Games on when the ECW Class 171 timetable is due to be set, along with some added information on what layers you can expect to see along the route! Let's hear more from Tyler at Rivet Games on the details:



Tyler: “The new timetable is built from scratch using the December 2017-May 2018 Working Timetable. There are two versions included: one where the Seaford and Lewes services are operated by the Class 377/3 and the other operated by the Class 313. They are otherwise identical.”

“Compared with the original route timetable, this adds Class 171 services between Brighton and Ashford International and the previously-missing 377/4 services between London and Eastbourne via Lewes. Seasonal layers include the Railhead Treatment Train and a variety of railtour, diversion, and other unusual services. Additional AI traffic includes Gatwick Express and Thameslink AI to Brighton.”



“I created this timetable nearly two years ago as a free mod, and I've updated and expanded it as the basis of this DLC.”
The timetable is specifically set for 2018 due to that being the last year the Class 171 routinely ran all the way to Brighton. After this point, they were cut back to Eastborne. Around the same time as the start date, the Class 700 was still entering service, so Rivet wanted to include this as AI at Brighton.



You can expect the Class 171 & BR Class 377/3 Add-on to launch alongside the East Coastway Remastered, coming very soon. Be sure to follow our social channels and keep your eye on our community spaces for the release date confirmation!

WCML: Crewe – Milton Keynes via Trent Valley from All Aboard Studios
Continuing All Aboard Studios’ roadmap run of updates, we have further info on their Trent Valley route. This is one of the most dynamic and heavily worked sections of the West Coast Main Line that will be brought to Train Sim World, and AABS have more info for you on what you can expect to see on the line!



AABS: “At the heart of the route is the modern Trent Valley corridor itself. Once a two-track railway, it has been transformed into a high-capacity four-track main line designed to keep fast intercity services, regional stoppers and heavy freight moving side by side. Large sections are now equipped with bi-directional signalling, allowing traffic to flow flexibly in either direction during disruption and engineering work. This modern layout unlocks a huge variety of operating scenarios and is being carefully recreated to deliver authentic overtaking moves, traffic regulation and high-intensity main line running.”



“Even with the extra capacity, the route still features several famous bottlenecks that shape real-world operations and will provide added challenge for drivers. Between Brinklow and Attleborough South Junctions, services converge and weave between fast and slow lines, demanding precise signalling and careful pathing. Further north, Shugborough Tunnel forms another naturally constrained section where gradients, line speed and traffic density combine to create a true test of main line driving.”



“Major stations bring the route to life. Rugby has been extensively rebuilt as part of the WCML modernisation and today stands as a key interchange and regulating point on the southern section of the line. In Train Sim World, players can expect a detailed modern station, complex track layouts and a constant flow of intercity, regional and freight traffic. Nuneaton offers a very different experience, acting as a vital interchange with cross-country routes and a major hub for freight traffic moving across the Midlands. Its busy junctions and platform activity make it one of the most varied operational locations on the route.”



“Two modern electric trains headline the route. The Class 807 makes its Train Sim World debut as the latest member of Avanti West Coast’s AT300 Evero fleet, building directly on the technology and experience gained from the Class 805. Featuring bespoke interior and exterior modelling, authentic cab equipment and performance tuned to its electric-only configuration, the 807 will handle high-speed intercity services across the route, including regular workings towards Liverpool and Blackpool North.”



“To support this new fleet, the route also introduces brand new signal upgrades and MU speed implementation, ensuring the Class 807 can fully exploit higher line speeds and operate exactly as intended across the modernised WCML infrastructure.”

West Coast Main Line: Crewe - Preston from Just Trains
Artallreet? Originally announced during the 2025 Dovetail Direct, all the way back in August of last year, the Just Trains team have been working hard quietly in the background to deliver another fantastic Add-on. We have an update straight from the development canaries at Just Trains, so we’ll let them sing this next part!



Just Trains: “Following our previous look at the Class 47/3 we now begin to take a glimpse of the freight operations that will be carried out by this and the Class 20 locomotives in the upcoming West Coast Main Line: Crewe to Preston route. For this update we're focussing on the ‘Merry Go Round’ coal trains and their constant cycle from Pit to Power Station. The term Merry Go Round came about in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when Power Stations such as Fiddlers Ferry opened, requiring a high intensity input of coal to keep the national grid online. Merry Go Round trains utilise circular tracks at Power Stations such as Fiddlers Ferry meaning that they never have to stop once they depart the colliery, and can, operations willing complete an entire round trip to the power station without stopping, hence the “Merry Go Round” (MGR) term that these trains received.”



“Bickershaw Colliery is the first one that we’ll take a look into. This four mile branch leaves the West Coast Main Line with a trailing junction to the south heading off at Wigan Springs Branch. By 1986 this colliery had seen a downturn with just a single line leading to the loader and a cripple siding connecting, which was used to dump faulty HAA hoppers for collection by trip workings at a later date so that repairs could be enacted. The lack of a run round loop meant that trains serving Bickershaw were top and tailed, most commonly by pairs of Class 20’s in this era, with locomotives added/removed at Wigan Springs Branch during the reversal. From Springs Branch the trains would head south along the Up Goods, crossing under the WCML via Bamfurlong Flyunder before climbing up the other side to join the main line for onward transit to Warrington.”

“Parkside Colliery was in reality more of a spur off the Chat Moss line just east of Newton-Le-Willows, connecting in via two loops on the approach. A run round loop was in use at Parkside during this era meaning that trains could use just a single loco, though again pairs of Class 20’s were commonplace. Upon departure from Parkside these loaded trains would travel via Earlestown before linking up with the WCML at Winwick Junction for the short run into Warrington.”



“These trains, once they arrived in the MSC Sidings at Warrington were faced with an interesting task to reach the line to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station, which goes east to west directly under Warrington Bank Quay station. Whilst some trains saw the locomotive run round in MSC sidings, others saw a pilot attached to the rear for onward haulage for around a mile to Latchford Sidings, where another reversal took place to access Fiddlers Ferry itself. During the mid-1980’s this pilot was occasionally a Class 08 shunter, which was certainly put to the test hauling 45 loaded HAA hoppers and two dead locomotives on the rear, this is the scene we have chosen to portray in some of our operations, though there are a variety which do double run rounds at both MSC Sidings and Latchford, thus adding to timetable complexity!”

Please note, the West Coast Main Line: Crewe - Preston route will be exclusive to PC (Steam, Epic Games, Microsoft Store) and Gen-9 console (PS5, Xbox Series S/X) platforms.

Catch up more details on the Just Trains WCML: Crewe Preston Blog.

The team at Dovetail (especially our 'Wigan-er') are very excited for this route, and Just Trains are keen to show you further updates on this, including some extra screenshots and further details in their upcoming development blog! For now, willsithee soon!

 

Expert DB BR 145 from TSG
Staying in Germany and following on from our October 2025 Roadmap, we have a further update from TSG on their upcoming Expert DB BR 145 locomotive.



Following from the success of their previous Expert DB BR 101 release, the team are looking to push themselves further on the realism and functionality. As an Expert-level loco, the 145 will feature a range of trains faults that go beyond what we’ve offered in TSW so far, including the already known electronic faults from the Expert DB BR 101, but TSG have gone even further by adding external faults, leaky wagons, overheated brakes and coupling faults.

The 145 itself will come in DB and RBH Livery, along with a 'Nahverkehrspaket' variant that includes all relevant changes for passenger operation, like PIS and door controls.



TSG: "These are all actual faults that would happen on the real-life 145, including information on all the diagnostic screens, and TSG have provided guidance and support for how to fix the faults available within the cab screens of the Expert 145, which will now be available in English."

"Brake heat and ice simulation have also been added to the 145, meaning brakes can get stuck and will need to be hammered free to prevent them from overheating. All screens, fuses and valves are now fully interactable, including the full Bremsgerüst and machine room."
"The newest star of the show is something TSG call ‘Expert Coupling’. When this is applicable, players will now need to manually couple, drag and screw in the coupler along with connecting the air hoses."



As an accessibility feature, TSG have also developed an automatic Brake Sheet (Bremzsettel) that will be available inside the cab, which can provide all the information needed on the wagon’s length and weight to calculate the PSB parameters, removing the need to know that information beforehand.

In terms of rolling stock, the 145 add-on will include the new T3000e wagon, which have the capacity to carry trucks and containers. Additionally, there are three older freight wagans; the Zacns, Habblins and Sggmrss 90; all of which have been ‘expertified’ with the new expert coupling systems mentioned above, working angle cocks and updated audio.

Be sure to join us for a detailed Deep Dive article soon, where we will explore new screenshots, more information on the advanced tutorials and scenarios included, substitutions and layering details in depth.

BNSF Electro-Motive GP60M from High Iron Simulations
Let’s head over to the US and High Iron Simulations with an update on the BNSF GP60M. We’ll hand over to their team for this month’s developments.



HIS: “Development of the locomotives and rolling stock and the gameplay are in process. The pack will feature the GP60M and its cabless sister, the GP60B. The GP60M will be included with both its “as built” console control configuration and its “Dash 3” rebuilt configuration featuring a Wabtec AAR control stand. The GP60M will wear BNSF H2 and H4 liveries while the GP60B will be dressed in BNSF H1 livery.” 



“A featured addition to the pack will be an all-new three-unit articulated “spine” intermodal car accompanied by multiple loads, including standard truck trailers with and without lower skirts, 28-foot “Pup” trailers, and containers. Joining the spine car will be an ex-Santa Fe Ga-series cement hopper in three liveries and an 89-foot auto rack in BNSF livery.”



“The Pack will include a comprehensive services timetable and selection of scenarios on the Cajon Pass route and four bonus scenarios on the San Bernardino route.”



We’ll keep your posted on more information on the GP60M but for now, let’s hear more about High Iron Simulations’ first route!

Update on Southern Pacific Ore Lines from High Iron Simulations
During Season of Reveals Week 1, we announced that High Iron Simulations are working on their first route; Southern Pacific Ore Lines: Hayden Branch, which is continuing to advance further down the development pipeline.



HIS: “Work on the route itself is nearing completion and development of the locomotive, an all-new Southern Pacific EMD GP35 along with a full range of appropriate freight rolling stock, is ongoing.”



Santa Fe Gameplay Pack Improvements
As a final note from HIS, based on constructive advice from the TSW community, the crew are finalising an update to the Santa Fe Gameplay Pack. Included are fixes to the GE C40-8W cab, bugs related to the content’s use in livery and formation designers, and several other systems and visual refinements. Of special note is an update the C40-8W cab console to match the configuration of Santa Fe C40-8W units, including revised gauges and a digital speedometer. The update is in testing now and a full change log will be provided at time of release.

The Tadami Line by Union Workshop
This month, Union Workshop have provided further details on their progression on the Tadami Line, giving an update on the collectables you’ll find across the route.

Union Workshop: "The collectables have been inspired by the ‘red cow’ legend; a symbol of the Aizu region. The local people there believe that the red cow can bring luck to them, while keeping illness away."


"On the route you will be able to find a range of inspired items you can collect, including guestbooks, sparkling water from Oku-Aizu region and traditional Japanese pottery!"

• Station Guestbook: A visitor notebook placed at some of the rural stations on the route.
• Aizu Nature Water: A unique natural sparkling water from Oku-Aizu region.
• Bizen Yaki: The traditional style of pottery that originated in Okayama Prefecture. It features an unglazed but unique surface.

We will continue to keep you updated on Union Workshop’s progression with the Tadami Line. But for now, enjoy the following screenshots of these collectables!

Liberec - Stará Paka from Vector Simulations
It’s time for an update from the Vector Simulations team on the first-ever Czech route coming to TSW, especially with the add-on getting closer each month, with the release coming very soon!

In case you missed our Liberec - Stará Paka gameplay showcase in December, be sure to watch that back now:



For this month’s roadmap, the Vector Simulation team wanting to share more details about the route, and information on their progress this year so far!

Vector Simulations: “The line will feature a total of 11 stations and 9 stops. Trains will run between Stará Paka and Liberec, climbing and descending over 250-300 meters on the 75 km long run. You’ll also find 8 tunnels with overall length of 2421 meters and over 80 bridges of various sizes and lengths as you travel!”



“This route will represent the northwestern half of a single-track line connecting the regional capital city Liberec with an Eastern Bohemian conurbation of Hradec Králové and Pardubice. The construction of the route was approved in 1854 and began in 1856. Today, it sounds almost unbelievable, but all major works were done within just three years, and the last part of the route was inaugurated on the 1st of May 1859.”





The route starts at the Stará Paka station that sits in the foothills of the Krkonoše mountains. Multiple routes meet in Stará Paka, including the route from Chlumed nad Cidlinou to Trutnov (not to confuse with Turnov!) and another route to Lomnice nad Popelkou. It then runs along the Oleška creek towards Semily, the smallest county town with just 8 000 inhabitants, but almost 800 years of history. The line here joins the Jizera river, which it will follow all the way to Turnov. The line passes through a narrow canyon with multiple tunnels and galleries between Semily and Železný Brod stations. Another line joins the route, this time being a route to Tanvald, the heart of the Jizera mountains. Fun fact, you can find a miniature model of a railway station right across the station building at Malá Skála!



Now follows Jeřmanice station, the highest point of this line, and a quick descent into Liberec. You can find a lot of interesting facts about this line on this site - Trať 030 Jaroměř - Stará Paka - Turnov - Liberec.

Please enjoy a range of new screenshots provided by Vector Simulations, showcasing key parts of the route!

Liberec Station


Rychnov u Jablonce nad Nisou viaduct


Gardens and huts near Rychnov u Jablonce nad Nisou


The team also want to note that they will be releasing a detailed manual on release, that will also aid players for the Czech signaling systems. Be sure to follow for more information in a Coming Soon article and get ready to explore a whole new country with Czechia joining the TSW map!

 

Medway Valley Line from Firefly Simulations
DTG James adorns his unofficial Firefly Simulations hat to bring you the team’s latest progress on the Medway Valley Line, coming soon to Train Sim World 6!




James: "Since the initial announcement in Season of Reveals, work has been apace with some of the remaining stations going in, particularly Paddock Wood and Tonbridge. As the largest stations on the route, these can often provide the greatest challenge in capturing the correct dimensions and layout and achieving the right level of detail - I’m pleased to say that both are looking stunning so far! One can already picture all the virtual trainspotting opportunities Tonbridge will provide."





"With the bulk of the work on the Medway Valley itself wrapping up, attention has been turned to updating the existing North Kent & Chatham Main Line areas to a higher standard. This includes tons more detail on roads, a wider range of more accurate buildings and clutter being placed, all new foliage and more. Please note these updated sections are for MVL only, SEHS itself remains unchanged, but it’s still a remarkable improvement!"

Another key area of focus across the route has been the night lighting, ensuring driving after hours is just as, if not more enticing as enjoying the scenery during the day! Other James/aka 'JetWash' takes you through some of the details, and there’s even a preview compilation of some nighttime scenes:


JetWash: "When we set out to do the night lighting scene I had a good think about what it was that we wanted to achieve. I looked at other sim games, at how they did night lighting and then at whether it was feasible to use those techniques within UE4. Ultimately, it was to make it so that players would be just as happy to drive the route at night (maybe even actively look forward to it) as they were during the day. The dark, and particularly the transition from dawn to dusk, is capable of giving the player some of the most spectacular lighting effects in the game when combined with the right weather settings. Further developing some of the techniques I have used previously I've really been able to dial down on where and when to put light sources both 'real' and for effect, making the route feel alive and lived in. Having access to the full range of TSW Unreal tools has also given me the opportunity to learn new techniques and apply them to Medway Valley."

"One of the things I really wanted to add was distant lights at ground level. Drive down any dark road at night and in the distance you will see lights from houses, industry, commercial areas, roads etc. The reality, however, is that we can't just throw hundreds of lights all over the map as there has to be a balance between performance and visual fidelity. I've co-opted a technique for distant lighting, where we have detailed lights immediately where the player is, a mixture of detailed and 'fake' distant lights in the medium distance then in the far distance entirely 'fake' emissive sources."



"In addition to this I can use the same technique for boat lights, structure lighting, carparks and so on. Completing the night-time scene we have various other inexpensive light sources (traffic lights for example) that all contribute to you not driving a train down a dark track, only seeing lights when you come to a station. In addition, we have applied our own lighting setup to the route which also carries over into night time, where I've tuned the darkness of the sky, the brightness of the stars, the moon, clouds etc so it all sits together harmoniously and looks as realistic as I believe it is possible to get in a dynamic UE4 game like Train Sim World."

"Finally, one other area I wanted to mention is that we have put a lot of effort into adjusting the day/night cycle as best we can and have really refined the sunrise and sunset times so the environmental lighting doesn't just switch off at an arbitrary time, whether it remains dark or not. We've tested the route an awful lot and I think, within the scope of Medway Valley, we have achieved our aim. It goes without saying though, it's only the tip of the iceberg of where we want to go next."



DTG James: "The detail on the route at night is going to be incredible to explore - hopefully you watched the video with audio on as well to get a sneak peek at the new sounds, platform announcements, and even the first snippet of GSM-R audio! You may have also noticed that the Class 375/3 is in the route too now with its distinct 3-car formation, we will have more information on the Class 375s in next month’s roadmap."





Lastly for this update, the gameplay is also shaping up nicely - the timetable features most Southeastern services at this point, including the Class 395 peak time services to Maidstone West, and some freight action courtesy of Skyhook Games’ Cargo Line Vol. 2. In a nice use of free will, a bonus layer has also been implemented for the Class 700 which depicts a what-if nighttime test run along the full length of the valley and back. This lets you give the 700 an extra stretch of its legs, but the panoramic window is also the perfect way to enjoy that stunning night lighting!





So many details shared and still only scratching the surface; you best be expecting some hefty deep dives from me in the future...
Thanks James, and James! We’re excited to show you more on the Medway Valley Line from Firefly Simulations in the coming months!

Community Corner
Festival of Rail 2026 - Sales End Thursday!
Festival of Rail is now live until February 12th, so you only have two days left to grab some great deals! Make huge savings on Steam with the Festival of Rail Sale, get ready for the release of the Great Western Express and Schnellfahrstrecke Koln-Aachen Remasters in Train Sim World 6.

Up to 90% off routes!


Save a huge 90% on three route add-ons and add to your Train Sim World collection! * San Bernardino Line: Los Angeles – San Bernardino, challenge yourself on this single-track line in the Metrolink MP36 and EMD F125. Owners of Cajon Pass, which is 60% off, will also get access to the route-hopping feature and additional timetable gameplay in the BNSF ES44C4, SD40-2 and SD70Ace.

• Bahnstrecke Salzburg - Rosenheim, featuring cross-border action between Austria and Germany. Grab TSG's Expert DB BR 101 & IC Steuerwagen add-on for 30% off and get 3 more scenarios and an alternative timetable!
• Northern Trans-Pennine: Manchester - Leeds, traverse the back-bone of England in a bygone-era. Why not also take NTP’s Class 40, 45 and 47 across the picturesque West Coast in Just Trains’ WCML: Preston – Carlisle, now 40% off!

We also have some first time discounts!


First-time discount on TSG's Mittenwaldbahn: Innsbruck - Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Featuring steep gradients, stunning scenery and the iconic “Krokodil”, embark on a nostalgic adventure between Germany & Austria! Mittenwaldbahn is now 25% off!
To enhance your experience of this route, also on sale are both Niddertalbahn: Bad Vilbel – Stockheim (35% off) and Linke Rheinstrecke: Mainz – Koblenz (70% off) adding in the DBB BR 365 and the DB BR 103 respectively into the Mittenwaldbahn timetable.
Be sure to take a look at our full Festival of Rail Article for all the details!

February 2026 Mastery Challenges
New month, new Mastery challenges! These are well under way! We have a special Festival of Rail poster that can be earned by completing Festival of Rail Mastery Challenges, along with the February 2026 Decal for the February Challenges - take a look:


Festival of Rail - Mastery Challenges Live Until 16th February!

• British Brilliance: Complete 1 scenario or timetable on a British Route.
• American Dream: Complete a scenario or timetable on an American Route.
• German Efficiency: Complete a scenario or timetable on a German Route.

New February 2026 Mastery Challenges
Tier 1:

• Working 9 to 5: Complete 5 timetables.
• Living for the Weekend: Play a Free Roam Session and do whatever you want! Take a screenshot, do some trainspotting, or hunt some collectables in new locations!

Tier 2:

• Groundhog Day: Complete 5 scenarios.
• February Ferry: Complete 8 timetables.
• Live, Drive, Repeat: Drive 33 miles/482km

 

Introducing Thomas & Friends™: Wonders of Sodor!
A brand-new standalone title from Dovetail Games, in partnership with Mattel, Inc.



We’re absolutely thrilled to announce, in collaboration with our friends at Mattel, Dovetail will be releasing a brand-new standalone Thomas & Friends™ experience across the Island of Sodor. Thomas & Friends™: Wonders of Sodor will be coming soon in 2026.

What to expect: Experience the sights, sounds, and feelings of Sodor as you explore iconic Thomas & Friends™ locations like you’ve never seen them before, including Tidmouth Sheds, Knapford Station, and the famous Windmills.





A total of 8 stories await including Thomas & Gordon, Thomas & Bertie’s Great Race, Percy’s Troublesome Day, and more. Each story features full narration by the legendary Mark Moraghan for the ultimate storytelling immersion.

Join us in the run up to the Launch, as we’ll be showing off all the characters you can experience within Wonders of Sodor. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming days!


Want more Wonders of Sodor news, as soon as it’s available? Join our Discord server. Here, we’ll share all the information about the new game, and you’ll be able to chat to other enthusiasts (including our wonderful team!) about all-things Thomas & Friends and Wonders of Sodor. Come and join us!

Wonders of Sodor will be playable soon on PC (Steam & Epic), PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S | X and Nintendo Switch (Switch 2 via backward compatibility).

If your preferred store isn’t available just yet, don’t worry! You can sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date when they’re ready, using the link here..

Train Simulator Classic - New Add-ons Coming Soon!
During Festival of Rail, alongside a range of great discounts available on the Train Simulator Classic feature page, we've also unveiled some new information on some great new add-ons on the way!
Coming Soon in TSC

• Northampton Loop – welcoming Alan Thomson Simulations (ATS) to the TSC store, pick up a recreation of the WCML Northampton Loop, as an expansion for WCML South, adding two new stations, Kings Heath Depot and 10 new scenarios – plus an improved version of the DTG Class 325 mail train.
• China Railways ND5 – From Just Trains comes something new and different for the Longhai Railway; The ND5 is a dedicated freight loco serving China’s rail network.
• Hoofddorp – Hilversum – in development with Jasksoft, Train Simulator Classic’s first Netherlands route is really starting to look fantastic!

Northampton Loop Preview Livestream


Discover all the details, including new screenshots, in our TSC Festival of Rail Article!

You can sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date when they’re ready, using the link here.

Metro Rivals: New York - Dev Blog Coming Tomorrow!
We're finally back to share more information about one of our newly announced upcoming games, Metro Rivals: New York, and talk deeper about the development progres from our teams since October, as well as how we're building this game using your feedback!





Woah woah woah, hold up - if you're someone who hasen't heard about Metro Rivals, let's give you a quick lowdown:

• Metro Rivals is a new simcade game developed by Dovetail Games
• Utilising UE5 technology for the first time in our studio
• Race subway trains across a semi-fictional, near-future New York City
• Face fearsome Track Titans in singleplayer or race your friends in online multiplayer

If that sounds exciting to you, then check out the Metro Rivals Website, or join our Dovetail Games Official Discord server for more!




You can expect the first Metro Rivals Dev Blog to land tomorrow, with a news post on our Metro Rivals DTL page and a livestream on the Metro Rivals channel.


And don't expect us to slow down either - following this Dev Blog, we'll be sharing more frequent updates and Q&As with you all as we boost ahead to launch this year!

State of the Game – February 2026
Over the last few months, we have been talking about key sets of improvements that will fundamentally help improve the TSW experience for all players – there have been areas our teams are not happy with – and whilst we’ve been making good progress for improvements, it’s worth us taking a chance to review where we are at today, our next steps coming up in the months ahead, and how we plan to deliver this to players.

We’ll be covering three key topics today, with PS5 Add-on Mounting, Blurred Textures and Performance, and also reviewing changes to our update cadence to ensure our teams are able to prioritise these two key areas of work. Let’s dive in:

PS5 Add-on Mounting Issues [Ongoing] – Fix Estimated for February 2026
Firstly, we’ve recently had reports from players on PlayStation about issues loading their content if a large volume of DLC is installed. From talking to Sony to understand more, we’ve discovered that there is a limit to the number of add-ons that can be “mounted” (loaded into the content) at any one time, with certain timetables mounting too many additional add-ons and causing services to go missing or prevent content from being available by breaching this platform limit.

Our teams will have to work within the platform limitations in some places, however we’re working to ensure that we can’t find new ways to help support mounting and efficiencies that allow us to work around this issue.

Current Status: We’re working towards an improvement, and we’ll be sharing progress with you later this month. If you have been affected, we thank you for staying patient and we hope to address this quickly.

Blurred Textures & Optimisation [Ongoing] – Fix Estimated for March 2026
Time to talk more about our arch nemesis – blurred textures and optimisation. For those new, our teams have been aware for some time of players, primarily using consoles, finding that after playing certain add-ons, the textures of locos or other assets can become “blurred” to a lower resolution than you’d expect.

The heart of this issue stems from two key sections – Memory usage of textures, and how they’re optimised on an asset, and then how our TSW engine fundamentally works when loading content.


We’ve been working hard on this fix for some time and continuing that effort to address both sides of the issue.


On a case-by-case basis, we’ve found assets and textures we can reduce, that do not impact the final visual quality.

A good example is when we talk about “4k resolution textures” being applied to locos in TSW – these are generally well optimised, but where we’re looking at reducing the texture memory required, is with the Normal and Roughness textures (required for UE4 alongside standard material/colour maps). Typically, these have been used at the same resolution (think of it as loading 3 separate 4k texture images), however we’ve found optimisation from that can show almost no difference in quality when we reduce these other texture maps to 2k, or even 1k resolution, resulting in up to 94% reduction on a per-texture image basis.




It's a promising first step, and from some of our tests, when these reductions are applied across all the locos on a route, we may be looking at saving over 200MB of memory when playing content – critical amounts for keeping everything looking smooth and the resolution you’d expect.

Current Status: Our plan is to get a V1 of these fixes to you in March 2026, but it’s worth us defining what you can expect. Because of the nature for these improvements being partly core, and partly add-on dependant, it’s something we need to assess individually for released content, and it’s important to note that some add-ons are impacted more than others, meaning that we can and will aim to prioritise add-ons which tend to pass the “texture memory budget” at a higher frequency, from community reports and our testing.

Train Sim World Update Cadence
We wanted to note that, whilst our teams are dedicating the time to focus on the above core issues, it will have some impact to the frequency that we can deliver other improvements. We’ve generally stuck to a ‘2 updates per month’ cadence, but we may not be able to keep this up every month, and ideally when the two improvements have been covered, we can return to a healthier schedule.
We believe these prioritises and changes are for the better health of the game for everyone, and ideally, we can start seeing a general healthier state of the game in the coming months. We’ll keep at it, and keep you informed of our progress as we continue each month in roadmaps, and in any Q&As we host in the interim.

Thank you for everyone sharing thoughts, frustrations and useful feedback to our team – we’re working hard to make TSW the best experience it can be and ensure the core experience is in a healthy state for the future ahead.

Our next core update is currently being built, using feedback from the community, and can be expect in early March.

As a final note, we’re also looking at building an internal “strike force” group of developers who can target specific add-ons for improvements to performance and optimisations, and can help us ensure the back-catalogue of content for TSW is well supported.

February 2026 Roadmap Livestream
Exec Producer of Trains, Matt, and Senior Community Manager, Alex, will also be live tonight to discuss the entirety of the roadmap in full and answer your questions!


Send us your questions in advance on our February 2026 Roadmap Q&A thread, and we’ll answer as many as we can tomorrow!
The stream will begin from 19:00 UTC on our YouTube and Twitch channels, and we can’t wait to see you there!

Join us in the Community!
Be sure to join our New Dovetail Games Official Discord channel to hear more from our teams and catch exclusive events and join our new community!

Make sure you’re joining our teams on our Dovetail Live forums and Train Sim Community community-led Discord that we are active in – and let us know what you’re looking forward to most.

Discover more on Train Sim World 6 by following @trainsimworld on Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and Discord

 

I'll see if this can get added to roadmap questions tonight as I'm not 100% sure. However, I know that PC players haven't really had trouble experiencing blurred textures and have the option to change these settings in game.