So I've tried multiple timetable services from Boston South Station to Stoughton with safety systems enabled. Right now I am driving MBTA Stoughton #919. The problem is that arriving at every station, the departing signal is red, so I have to start a red signal approach for every station, and that has delayed me a lot. I am at Canton Junction and still haven't been able to reach 60mph due to the safety systems. Is this a bug, or is it realistic/supposed to happen? Am I the only one with this problem?
Not a bug. There is a feature in the timetable for instructions called "Dispatch Beyond Instruction". If enabled, the dispatcher will reserve signal blocks ahead of the instruction. If disabled, no signals past the instruction point are reserved until the instruction is complete. Disabling this feature has its uses in that it can allow a train that will be standing for a while to not reserve signal blocks it doesn't need at the time, allowing other services to reserve those blocks. On the downside, it creates a signal progression to the stop signal which reduces speed and causes delays. I can't speak to how this feature is utilized in the route (as I haven't thoroughly examined the revised timetable), but it seems to be overutilized. It MAY be realistic if another train is routed through the area with higher priority than you. In which case you'll be sitting at a Stop signal until it passes. But it seems to be used in cases where there aren't any higher priority trains in the area.
I thought i'd picked up all of these but clearly not. I'm going to re-visit them as part of the work to get the depot services back.
Second that. They work, but they only stay closed for 30 seconds or so, and by the time you start moving out of the station to actually cross the road they've long since opened again. As for the original topic, I'm also having a bad time with the safety systems. If I have ACSES enabled there's just no way to keep to the timetable of most of the services I've tried. It just keeps dropping you down to 30-45mph when it doesn't need to, because when I play with it off, I get there on time without encountering any reds of the same exact service.
Another + for the thesis of the signaler (dispatcher) absence. Without proper signaler there cannot be any interesting services. But that is probably intentional. In this way DLCs get repetitive and boring fast and you always look for the new one.
cActUsjUiCe while I have you. Do you know why I'm getting mysterious brake applications from the F40 safety systems? Just past Route 128 heading for Sharon, following the timetable. Green signals, under speed limit, no alarms at all, and it still brakes me. From what I can tell no upcoming restrictions either. When it comes to safety systems, I'm the first to admit that most of the time it's operator error, but this time I just can't figure it out. Also as a side note, thank you for your work on this project. I'm really loving the new route so far!