My suggestion today is for an upgraded and redone Great Western Express. It was the first UK and first passenger route in TSW and understandably lags behind newer UK tsw3 routes (and TSW3 routes in general) so I would like to see it redone. Firstly I would like to see it set in 2018. This would allow to have the class 387 and 800 but without need for class 345 or 802. The 387 is already in the game and the 800 is new but would be a fantastic addition. At the time Class 387s ran on London - Didcot services and the class 800s ran on shorter fast services. HSTs still ran to Cornwall as the class 802s were not in service, and class 165s ran on the Reading slow and branch line services. GWR class 387s stand at Reading Class 387 and 800 at Paddington Secondly, I would like to see the extension of the route to Didcot Parkway and Newbury. At the moment the route is boring and linear with no way to branch off. This would add some variety. The line to Didcot is electrified but the line to Cornwall (ending at Newbury here) was not at the time. This means that class 800 services have to change from electric to diesel at Reading. Newbury Stn Lastly there are 2 branch lines that I would like to see. The first is the Windsor branch that runs a one stop shuttle from Slough to Winsdor & Eton Central. This is run by a class 165. The other is the branch from Maidenhead to Marlow branch, also run as a shuttle by a 165. Marlow Station Windsor & Eton Central Station Scenarios: Diesel to Paddington - Class 800 Due to failure of the overhead wires, it is diesels only. Take this train from Newbury to Paddington. Full run - Class 165 Take this commuter train from Paddington to Slough and back. Special Service - Class 800 Due to increased passenger numbers, a special London - Reading fast shuttle has been bought in. Take the service to Reading. One line down - Class 387 Heavy snow has come in and closed the fast lines so the slow line is congested. Take this Class 387 to Didcot from Paddington while navigating the treacherous conditions. High Speed Rain - Class 43 Rain has flooded the tracks near Hanwell so trains must terminate at Slough. Take this HST from Newbury to Slough.
I whole heartedly support this suggestion, except that ALL of the branches, both passenger and freight, between Paddington and Reading need to be included. A different era should be considered as 2015 was a strange limbo period on GWE. It needs to be post or pre electrification. Surely this route is screaming for the same kind of attention as SEHS received. Also some realistic locomotive dlc should be considered as GWE NEVER got a single authentic dlc. Please please please DTG.
Fully agree we need an electrified GWR, however Matt has said there’s no plans to do anything more with GWR at the moment.
Great suggestion though I think the route should go up to oxford as it I would make sense more service wise as most networker services we have terminate at oxford allowing for a proper run. With class 800's still turning it's diesel engines on for any services to the cotswold line which isn't electrified.
If enough people are wanting it, then it is a no brainer for DTG unless the company objective is to NOT make money. It seems to be highly requested and worth keeping in consideration for the near future. To recap, I personally wish to see... 1. ALL branch lines on existing section (except Heathrow for obvious reasons). 2. Extension to Oxford or at least Didcot. 3. Change of year set (for full OHLE or none). 4. More dlc types to reflect real world operations.
A rework on GWE is possible but heavily unlikely because it was released in 2018 and they build everything such as routes and locos completely different and the effort they put in just to rebuild and modernise GWE would be useless and would make more sense to put that effort into making a modern GWR DLC someone away from what is already in game. But IET's would be amazing to have in game and as Ant Craft has mentioned in one of my suggestions IET's (or the Hitachi fleet with IET's, Nova's, Azuma etc) are rapidly growing on the railway nowadays it's possible we could see them soon.
If it is being rebuilt from scratch, then the old version is redundant anyway, so that part of the argument is null and void. It has to be the most (if not amongst) unloved routes in the franchise with almost everything else getting at least one dlc accurate to its setting. I will bang this drum until I no longer can as I believe that so much can be gained from a rebuild.
I agree, so much can be gained from a rebuild but I just wanted to express that the effort being put into a rebuild could be implemented into making a new route that could be better than GWE and will have good potential. But that's my opinion and I respect yours.
I agree, thing is, what else would be better than a GWE set in say, 2010 or 2020, going to Newbury and/or Didcot/Oxford/Swindon? The framework is there already.
No new licences required, Crossrail isn't needed if it is set prior to 2019 and Heathrow Express wouldn't be included as that is a non starter when it comes to licences. It would just be freight and GWR/FGW which there wouldn't be any issue with.
If set at some point in 2018 like original suggestion then Newbury would not be electrified as the wired extended there in December 2018.
Great suggestion mate, a refurbished GWE is out of the question but a new route which covers the same tracks plus more is just as likely as any other route. I think 2018 is a decent year (if we are keeping it modern) as it allows the existing HST and 166 from GWE to be used, along with the already existing 387 and the new class 800 which could come in handy for future routes as well. Absolutely brilliant suggestion mate!
No, we can have Heathrow. The TfL license should allow for Elizabeth line trains to run there, shouldn't it?
The problem with the Heathrow branch is that Heathrow Airport itself will not allow it in Tsw due to security reasons.
Makes sense, also Heathrow Express and even Heathrow Connect would not be allowed even if the branch wasn't included
Sadly not. The line belongs to Ferrovial and they won't provide the licence for security reasons. I am sure if it were still in BAA control, they would have found a way to oblige.
I don't quite like the current GWE (it's decent, but not much more than that) and it doesn't make me want more GWE. Improvements and all are nice, but I don't see myself spending any notable amount of money on an update GWE. I never quite understood the hype around GWE because to me it's a pretty boring route.
It could be much more interesting if it had the dlc classes added, such as Class 57, 165 and 180 which fit the current rendition for era, as well as the various branches for both freight and passenger services. These are... Northolt passenger (limited services) Greenford passenger and freight Brentford freight Colnbrook freight Windsor passenger Bourne End and Marlow passenger Henley on Thames passenger Basingstoke passenger and freight
It's not about the trains... it's about the route. It's a straight 4-track railroad running through flat landscapes with no notable scenery. Adding more trains isn't going to change that. But that's just my personal opinion. For anyone looking forward to a GWE update, I hope it happens for you.
Oh, I didn't know that. Well that's annoying. Maybe DTG could work something out and sacrifice a little bit of realism to alleviate their concerns, idk.
I think you'd be better having an extension to Oxford and/or Bristol. Have two minor branch lines doesn't seem worth the money. If you want a branch line I'd include the one to.Heathrow with the Heathrow express class 387.
Yet again, Heathrow is a non starter (read previous posts). Also there are no fewer than 8 branch lines on the existing section of GWE, not just 2. This figure obviously doesn't include the Heathrow branch which would make 9 in total. As for Bristol, it is way too ambitious and too far. I would think Oxford or Swindon would be a reasonable limit.
Personally, I’m happy with the GWE we have now. The route still holds up quite nicely and I think it looks more detailed some of the more recent releases, not to mention how silky smooth it performs fps-wise. If we were to get a remake of the Great Western mainline though, I wouldn’t be opposed to this suggestion but I’d personally much rather see DTG take the route in the other direction era-wise…
You are correct furthermore the company is based in Spain perhaps they might be able to do a bundle if willing to do so combine Heathrow Branch with a Spanish route they have. That will satisfy both Ferrovial and Focus Entertainment DTG Parent company.
If set in the steam era, as in your photo, I would love to see the branch lines to Staines West, Uxbridge Vine Street and High Wycombe plus the large versions of Henley on Thames and Windsor Central stations.
Excellent idea for freight services might as well bring in train simulator classic locomotives frequently requested in-game the classes 58 59 and 60. Class 60 is stronger than a class 66 by trading horsepower for attractive effort and there will be trains on this rebuilt Great Western Main Line that require the use of class 60. Like the TEA Jet fuel train. Alongside the electric trains 800 802 and 387/2 in GWR Colours
The last 58 was withdrawn from the Mainline in the early noughties. I think they have a few 70s on trains down that way, and possibly 56s though not 100% on that.
If we got a new GWML route I wouldnt mind it more westwards - Maybe the SDML would be good? I just think itd be way to much of a hassle to rebuild it from scratch.
Thank you for telling me about that speaking of the class 56 which version should that be because you have the first batch communist Romania while later versions BREL York.
Pretty certain DTG have ruled out any further extension or augmentation of GWE…despite it being requested nearly as often as ECML and WCML.
Thanks for that mate, it's been a few tears since I have visited that part of the GWML. As I have said before there were more BREL built units, and apart from the real world reliability the difference between them is not very large.
