How Many Miles Of A Route Would You Like To Have

Hi guys I been wondering for new route dlc how many miles would you like be like as in 40 miles 60 miles 100 miles or more let me know what you all think

 

Around 60-80 miles including branch lines

 

Depends in the route thats represented. Can't be too short or too long.

 

I would like some well known Heritage routes so short routes are not a problem for me.

 

Depends on the speed, amount of stations and variety...

 

As many have stated, it depends. Some of my most enjoyable sessions in TSC were servicing lineside industries from an interchange yard. Overall distance was only a couple of miles but the industry tracks were complex. Long commuter routes with frequent stops, to me, are tedious and not very enjoyable. Long single track routes runs through scenic environments that are well represented can be relaxing.

So in my opinion, length of a route is very low, if not last, on my list for a deciding factor if I want the route or not. It all has to do with the activities, environment and quality of the scenery.

 

It really depends, but it should be based on logical end points.

Peak Forest was not - should have been Derby and Manchester which would have added around 25 miles.
Birmingham Cross City is right as you get the terminating points at all three outposts (though not including Soho Depot was an ommission).
Routes like RSN were frustratingly short compared to the TSC equivalent. TVL should have gone to Boulby and Bishop Auckland; GWE to Oxford and included the Thames Valley branches.
I know it is difficult to decide when is enough, enough but and there is the danger that quality suffers if you go for quantity.
And SKG was 160km of largely sheer boredom.
But then we get sawn off routes like Glossop or the forthcoming Goblin Line which are frustratingly short. If the latter had included the North London Line from Richmond to Stratford then very few of us would be complaining and far more Day One as opposed to Day Never purchases. Oh and not forgetting Rivet's looney decision to start the Bernina Line in the middle of an upland wilderness.

So there is no real easy answer to actual length, just give us something that feels complete.

 

I agree with all that with one caveat.

I do prefer routes with scenarios and services that can be completed in one session which, for me, is about an hour ( maybe two, if the honeydo list is short )

Not being a teenager with unlimited hours to play the game, I sometimes have to use the save function and might not get back to an unfinished service for a day or two. This can be a problem because it prevents me from starting another service in the meantime.

I wish the save function were better with more instances ( like we had 20 years ago with MSTS), but it looks unlikely to improve any time soon.

 

I don't care about total length. What I do care about is being able to do proper end-to-end runs between sensible end-points.

For example, while Arosa Line is shorter than the upcoming Bernina Line add-on, at least Arosa Line is a full and complete route. Bernina will be an incomplete, half route, regardless of length.

 

Yea I think it completely depends upon the route in question. Though longer the better.

 

For me? No more than 30 miles , i can accept anything no more than 30 miles

 

I do wonder then is SEHS or BML a bad route in your view as they are over 30miles long ?

 

I'd say a minimum of 60 to 70 Kilometers at this point in TSW4, found it a bit sad what they did with Bremen Oldenburg, it could've been so much longer but it wasn't.

 

For me? No more than 30 miles , i can accept anything no more than 30 miles

 

It greatly depends on what type of route we're getting. Stopping Commuter? Something like BCC. Decent length with plenty of stations in between. High speed? ECML had decent length, but would be better if it continued on to York. Ideally I'd want something like WCML North in TSW that runs over 100 miles from Glasgow To Carlisle. Long distance high speed is my cup of tea and I'm desperate for a UK route that fits that criteria.

I'd even be happy with more regional routes like BML given the route choices are sensible and start/end points make sense.

 

Personally I like more of 50-60 miles of track if it’s a passenger route. When it comes to Freight, I like more 40-50 miles because long freight routes can get quite boring after a few runs. Something like Kassel-Würzburg sounded like a nice route on the surface but it got too boring. So no more than 70 miles personally.

 

30 miles is so short?? To put it in to context your favourite route ECML is 3x that. 30 miles is only acceptable if its a commuter line with frequent stops and a busy timetable OR the full line is 30 miles.

 

The miles/kilometres are not evertything. There are many shorter routes, that have a lot of traffic and on the other hand there are also very long routes, that have too little variety.

 

When it comes to SEHS I do the short services such as on the 465, I mainly do Dartford- Gravesend services, on the 375, I do Rochester to Gillingham services , the 395, I mainly do London St Pancras International- Maidstone west services and the 700? its am amazing train so I Really don't care how quick or long I take in it
As for BML:
On the 377, I mainly do London Victoria- Balham, Reigate & Selhurst Services as well as from East Croydon- Clapham Junction and Purley- stretheam common services which mainly take no more than 40 mins for me which I enjoy but sometimes I also enjoy 377 london-brighton cos there are more stops to do & Vice Versa for all.
On the 387, I Never do London-Brighton via Gatwick services, It's just way too boring, So I always do London Victoria-Gatwick services & vice Versa so...

 

I'd accept a route as short as 30 mile long so long as you can use EVERY siding and platform on it.
(If it is not terminus to terminus then it must also have useable portals at every off-screen point).
There is no use at all in having longer routes if all you can do is go from A to B and back again.

Think of something like Glossop with the ability to use the sidings in Manchester and Guide Bridge properly and also have AI services going in and out of Piccadilly using portals (including heading West to Oxford Road).
Think of BCC with more platforms in use at New Street, with a selection of portals throughout the Birmingham area (freight / Walsall / London services) and with the fast lines to Longbridge in use. More or less the same line but so much more playability.

 

For me, I’m gonna echo the same responses here. It depends on the route. I personally don’t mind a long route. I like Antelope Valley being 76 miles. When I sit down to run a train in TSW, or TSC for this example, I do it when I can spend hours uninterrupted at it. Many may not like that and get bored after a short time but I’m not one of those people. To each their own.

So with that said, I much prefer a longer route over a short one. If it is a short route, like Caltrain, I’ll likely do multiple runs over it in one sitting. That’s why IF we get Pacific Surfliner, at roughly 130ish miles, I’d be more than happy with that. It’s a passenger route and I have no interest in freight. I like the high speed, 79-90mph running with station stops. A long route is no problem for me.

 

Hi Folks and Happy New Year
For me i prefer longer routes, main reason for this is when i have the time to do a full route i really enjoy it, and if i dont have the time i can run a shorter service on the same line, even tho i prefer freight over passenger, but i am happy having both, there is a caveat to that tho, i prefer routes that feel alive with plenty of AI traffic like BPO and to an extent ECML.
Take Care
Gary

 

As long as it has sensible end points, or is an end to end route, length does not matter.

 

I completely agree with this. I’ll add it on to my comment I made above. I can’t stand routes that are incomplete. I want to run a route full length, end to end, with its proper start and end points. If DTG would have release Antelope Valley from like, only LA to Vista Canyon and had it end there because the thought was maybe that people wouldn’t like the slow, mountain/canyon running up to Lancaster afterwards, then it would have HARD pass from me on TSW4. Either do the full length route end to end or don’t do it at all.

 

But its high speed, so it doesnt take that long

 

For lenght, i want LGV route extended to Paris GDL

 

The best kind of the route is a route that is complete between realistic end points, but also contains playable shorter services, maybe peak time shorter runs or other destinations driving off the map somewhere (like on BML). And some kind of freight layer and/or shunting operations, then the lenght itself doesn't matter that much. If you have lot of time then you can drive from A to B then back to A on the same train, if you don't, then you can pick one of the shorter runs. I'm never using the save funcionality, I would rather start over if I need to do something else while playing. Don't feel like going back and start in the middle next day.

 

Don't you do the Rochester to Faversham ones. They only take around 30 minutes.

 

Sometimes But Naturally They Bore me

 

Iirc its 70 mins?

 

The full route? Stopping at all stations?

It takes a lot of time.

Even on an all stops on ECML, there is around 30 miles between Peterborough and Grantham.

 

Yeah so his point makes no sense then. I dont play ECML so i didnt know

 

Oh i forgot to mention some times when it comes to high speed i can go for about an hour max but ecml is a scenic imo so that what i mostly enjoy in it

 

I wonder if you're only saying that because you got caught out, or you genuinely forgot to mention it.

 

How? It is literally just slightly longer than the Dartford to Gravesend runs.

 

Ok yeah your right, I have been caught, i will surrender now

 

Its Really not...

 

On the topic of scenic i want some 1 - 2 hour long single track routes with a 150 / 153 in wales

 

10 minutes. Not that long.

More enjoyable than to/from Ashford.

 

Yes it is have a look on a map and tracksy

 

Mileage is kind of irrelevant as you could be driving a slow freight train or a fast intercity train and cover a completely different distance in the same time played. Really the question should be how long are you prepared to sit down and drive a service for. That would be up to an hour for me, ideally the sweet spot is around 30-45 minutes with routes that allow end-to-end journeys, giving you the option to switch cabs and take the same train back in the opposite direction if you have the time to make a return journey.

 

He doesn't even need to do that. All he needs to do is select a service in game between Rochester and Faversham and it'll show him the time to complete.

 

Asking how long a route should be is like asking how many wheels a train should have. All routes and trains are different and there can’t be one answer to either question. Variety is the key, especially with service length in minutes and different types of experience. Sometimes I want to drive a slow freight up a hill at 25 mph and other times I want to whizz along in an ICE1 at 300 km/h and sometimes I want a stop/start commuter run. I may want to play for a couple of hours or just 20 minutes. TSW has me covered for everything.

 

Distance is like era and region: there needs to be variety in it between each release.

 

Oh wait I thought you said slightly quicker than Dartford - Gravesend runs and yes Your Right it is more enjoyable then ashford runs

Yeah I just realized

Your Right Actually my sweet spot is 20-40 mins

true

 

Rochester - Faversham 30 mins Dartford to Faversham 54 mins

 

We were never talking about dartford- faversham we were talking dartford-GRAVESEND

 

You were talking about them. Someone else asked you why you dont do Rochester to Faversham and said it is only slightly longer. You then replied you dont do them as it bores you. So not everyone was talking about Gravesend.

All these branches get confusing lol

 

I'll take that. West Wales network, Carmarthen to Milford Haven, Pembroke and Fishguard. Even better if extended back to Swansea.

 

Yeah i just looked up again, i was meant to refer to Rochester - Gillingham and Rocherster
But Jack FYI I do Gillingham-Faversham services rather than Rochester-Faversham