I'm an SNCF employee and frankly disappointed not to see a second French route. There have been three in Scotland and Switzerland, and new countries like the Netherlands and the Czech Republic have been given a very nice route. Japan and Portugal are coming soon. I'm a little sad that France is barely represented, but are there really no developers anywhere who would be willing to become a third party and develop a route in TSW? "Classic" driving with signals outside the cab is almost never used, but the signals and safety systems are already built. DTG, what are you waiting for? (And France will sell very well!)
I am surprised we haven't seen any more French routes. I would certainly be interested to see some French routes. France is not that far from Chatham either.
Yeah Honestly, even though I think many people wouldn't like this route because of the 50km of tunnel (and the length of the route obviously...) , personally I think this route would be a new experience. (Of course I wouldn't play it all the time like usual route)
Yes Perhaps set around 1995, just at the start of proper Eurostar services and before the LGV to Brussels was operational around the Lille area. You could have Calais Fréthun to Lille Europe (LGV) and Calais Ville to Lille Flanders via St.Omer (classic) or possibly Tournai, which would also include some Belgian signalling. You could have a TGV or Eurostar 373 for LGV line and a SNCF BB type locomotive.
What’s the rest of the scenery like after the Tunnel ??. I think if they ever did do this route they would need to make it a very long one to make up for the lack of scenary due to being inside an extremely long tunnel. 50KM or Tunnel is insane lol and I thought . I’ve seen very mixed feelings from people on here when this route gets mentioned. Some really want it and others don’t want it at all.
I would love to see a classic French route along the Riviera, but DTG just don’t seem to have the will. One of my favourite train journeys in France was Clermont Ferrand to Nimes along the Cevenol. Very loud diesel loco and SNCF style UIC stock with opening windows and superb scenery but the chances of that appearing in TSW seem very remote.
I would like to see some long distance French routes before the channel tunnel route. Or some local routes. I rode some of the local trains around Paris in 2010 and it seemed quite an interesting network. I do remember being surprised at the amount of graffiti.
I couldn't find a full ride with the driver's view, but I have this in time-lapse and yes, there aren't many scenary (except when you arrive at train stations) : Personally, if it ever comes out, I'll buy it just for the symbolism.
Pretty unremarkable! A couple of slag heaps between Lille and Arras, a station Haute Picardie (Eurostars never stopped at) a glimpse of Charles de Gaulle airport as you leave the LGV running into Paris, Apparently between Lille and Calais there's a hill that the Grand old Duke of York marched his men up and down!!
We so don't. If the thought of the amount of light baking puts DTG off doing another London Underground route, there's no way on this planet that they'll do the flipping Channel Tunnel! That's before you get into the consideration that that much time in a tunnel would be the most boring experience possible.
Yes it's very special. About twenty years ago, one could access the catacombs by going through the PC too. I find that the atmosphere on the Goblin and WLL lines is somewhat reminiscent of that of the PC.
Yes to a French Rivera route yes to AN other French traditional route Maybe to a French high speed No, no, no to the Channel Tunnel
We wouldn’t get all sadly, Id be happy with just Nice to Ventimiglia as a way to add Italy to the game
That would be nice. Or Marseille - Les Arcs - Draguignan, so that we can reuse the existing scenery (less work), and we would have complete, end to end local stopping services. PS : RIO82 PACA as a DLC for this !!!
Of course, I didn't suggest otherwise! I'm all for French routes, and have commented in favour of various suggestions, but 20-odd minutes in a tunnel is never going to happen, sorry.
Agree with many of the comments above. A high speed route would be the height of boredom for me, even worse if 22 miles of it is in single bore tunnels. The thrill of the TGV route in TSW fades quite quickly. France is a beautiful country with some fantastic traction, a regular regional main line like Limoges to Toulouse or the "Classic" Mediterranean coastal route from Nice to Marseilles would be a great drive and feel more French. Alternatively one of the RER lines through Paris would be great. I know our friends at DTG are very busy so if they want me to spend the summer traveling around the country to get some ideas/proposals together, I'd be more than happy to give up my spare time.
The problem with the France route we do have is that it’s too short a run… I really hope we see more France soon. What you described sounds great. I suppose they could extend the route if they wanted to TOD4 / Remaster it of course.
The Eurostar line is indeed very interesting, but when I mentioned French routes, I was referring to lesser-known ones. Unfortunately, I can't blame the TS and TSW communities for not knowing about certain lines when the developers seem reluctant to expand into France. Here are the most interesting route proposals in my opinion. 1/ Large Route | Transilien J (groups V and VI) from Paris St Lazare to Mantes-la-Jolie, via Poissy, or via Conflans (go check out the Line J map!). This opens up the following missions: → Paris - Poissy - Mantes (Group V) → Paris - Argenteuil - Conflans - Mantes (Group VI) → Paris - Argenteuil - Ermont (Group IV) = This offers a truly remarkable diversity of service for a distance as long as the Frankfurt S-Bahn (double branch). + Pontoise & Gisors services which use Group VI Rolling stock: Z50000 (Nat) in Île-de-France Mobilités livery + Z56000 for regional express trains which only stop at Mantes but use both branches! (two new rolling stock, as used for road trains in the Netherlands) DLC: Z27300+ControlCab (older rolling stock before NAT) DLC: RER NG (new generation) which will soon replace the NAT trains 2/ Medium-length route | I was thinking of a medium-length line with low traffic, similar to the LGV Méditerranée high-speed line in the south of France. The route is Cannes La Bocca → Ventimiglia (Italy). It's a route that passes through Cannes - Antibes - Nice - Menton. The tracks sometimes pass just a few meters from the water, with breathtaking scenery!! Go see the views from the cab, it's exceptional! With (like Berninalini) a small section in Italy with the last station. Equipment & Route: → Cannes La Bocca - Ventimiglia | Z55000 TER in Zou or SNCF Sud livery (by the way, the line is no longer SNCF but a subsidiary, perhaps simpler for licensing?) → Cannes - Nice | TGV Duplex (Inoui livery) from the LGV Méditerranée, used for trains coming from Paris, terminating in Nice. This allows for TGV operation without in-cab signaling, making for an interesting driving experience. DLC: TGV Réseau (virtually defunct now) I know this is very utopian for DTG, who seem to care nothing for the country! But I hope this has made France seem more appealing to potential future third-party developers interested in producing content in France. Feel free to tell me what you think!
It feels strange that French signalling has been developped and is only used in such a small part of a route.
There’s a movie called “As above, So below”, where a bunch of urban explorers access the catacombs down a shaft leading off from one of the PC tunnels.
Not a bad idea to include Waterloo, but personally I think the HSL1 line to Brussels should be included. I’d even say set the route somewhere between 2003-2007 when the first portion of HS1 opened, as I can’t see a lot of people willing to drive all the way to the tunnel on the BR lines, given how long it’d take.
How about this French route? Running through 9 miles of lovely French countryside. Shouldn’t take too long to make the rolling stock either
DTG says that the first French Route was popular, but I find that hard to believe because surely they would have tried to repeat something Like that. I somehow doubt that any French Route from DTG will happen in near Future. You'll probably have to hope for a new Third-Party Developer
The Paris region lines are the ones I'm most honestly waiting for. RER , Transilien, Metro.... there is something to do, in the 2010 period, it would be great to have a mix of old and new rolling stock.
It's probably not busy enough for TSW but I'd love the Dordogne line from Sarlat to Bordeaux. It is my favourite railway, from my favourite town, in my favourite region of my favourite country in the world. Likewise I love Corsica and its narrow-gauge railways but it's probably a bit niche for TSW. The scenery is sublime though. I'd be happy to just ride as a passenger around Corsica.
I seem to remember reading on this forum that SNCF are a bit uhm aah about licencing. Pity because I find the SNCF co-co's with, to my non-french eyes, the odd angled in front windows rather intriguing. Given that I should really learn more about them. If DTG want to really spoil us the 60cm Calvados system. It'll never happen but if it did I would be sort of speechless.
Matt debunked this urban legend; SNCF and DTG have no problems, they've even acquired licenses for freight and TER.
So it is indeed a film then, because there's no need for a shaft as the quarries are at the same level as the PC tunnel under Montsouris Park ! Eh eh, lol, tu veux ton MS61 ! Perso je préférais l'époque avant qu'ils soient modernisés... The old stock, as depicted in ElBriseto avatar, was really looking good... and what a racket in the long tunnel between Châtelet and Gare de Lyon ! My only regret is never having had the opportunity to travel on board beyond Torcy towards Disneyland, where it could reach its maximum speed...
Comme je suis né en 2004 , j' ai pas connu avant sa modernisation malheureusement (en tout cas j'ai pas de souvenir) MS61, Z2N with the SNCF/original livery, MI79/84 with their original livery and before their renovation , les petits gris, Z6400 I want them all !
Wow, I actually travelled on that line 25+ years ago. It was the first time I went to the Dordogne with my then-girlfriend (now wife) to stay with family. Paris to Libourne then Libourne to Lalinde.
As a Frenchman and a rail enthusiast, I share your frustration 100%. France has such a rich variety of rolling stock and landscapes that are perfectly suited for TSW, yet we are left with almost nothing. You're absolutely right about 'classic' driving—systems like BAL and KVB provide a much more engaging experience than just staring at a cab display on an LGV. There’s massive potential for routes that mix V200 speed with dense regional services. France is consistently a top-requested country and, as you said, it would sell incredibly well. It’s high time a Third Party developer or DTG themselves finally looks at our network again. Hopefully, your message as an SNCF employee carries some weight!
The 1995 setting for the North is a very solid choice. The Eurostar 373 and early TGVs on the LGV, combined with BB 22200 locomotives on the classic line, would provide a lot of variety. It’s a great era to showcase French signaling and the transition to high speed. Whether it's this period or a more modern one, the French network is a goldmine for TSW and it's definitely time to see it back in the game. Total support for this."
