[poll] Future Expansion Of Nec: New York

Many people in the run up to the release of NEC: New York have pointed out how the route is short and would be better if expanded. In a previous post, DTG Jay has said that one of the reasons this was chosen was because of the potential for future expansion. There are many directions which the New York route can be expanded so which ways do you think are best? You may choose up to 2 options.

 

I'd prefer LIRR and the Metro-North Hudson Line.

 

I say Hudson line because cActUsjUiCe already has plans to expand on the NEC north and south when build tools are released.

 

In the event that, DTG happened to expand upon NEC, prior to the tools coming out later this year (as well as the other DLCs already in game being expanded upon), i believe they should expand towards New Haven, first. Thus, they could incorporate the ~16 miles of track that link up GCT to the New Haven Line, via New Rochelle. If they happen to want to stick to their short routes, they could also incorporate the ~17.5miles of track, going towards Stamford, from New Rochelle. That way, we have a much more reasonable amount of track to work with, which would give proper operation to ACS-64, Acela Express operations (once it comes out as a DLC. Though, still very limited but would be in a better place than the initial NEC NEW YORK release), more CSX operations and any other trains that operate to and from GCT -> Stamford (and vise versa). The Hudson Line would probably come after this is all done being that they won't give us 75miles worth of route expansion (based off their route release patterns in TSW thus far), all at once, which includes what i mentioned above and going from GCT- Croton Harmon (~ 35miles).

--- I would still want to see the LIRR get some love, too. ---

 

It seems like New Jersey Transit is not that popular, even freight is quite surprisingly more popular. I live in Connecticut, so metro north to New Haven would be really cool. I don't live on the Hudson Line, but I've ridden it from Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie. It was an AWESOME experience!

 

Maybe most don’t want NJT at this point is because DTG gave it a lot of love in TS and now we want them to give more love to MTA content like LIRR and Metro North. I believe that we’ll be getting a shorter LIRR branch sooner then we’ll be getting anything from the Hudson line because they’ve got Penn done and that’s a big obstacle and we are yet to see the LIRR, which is content that is on really high demand. I think DTG could do better justice with a branch off the LIRR because then it’s technically complete and it meets the criteria of the route lengths they do, but doing GCT-Croton is far from complete. At some point we’ll get both, but I’m putting my money on the LIRR which has branches that are 30 to 40 miles and it’s complete. I hope maybe the Long Beach Branch because of the nice scenery and it uses both Penn and Atlantic Terminal and runs through Jamaica. Unfortunately the only way to get both diesel and electric trains, you must have a bigger route and the smallest branch to have both is the Port Jefferson Branch and it’s 60 miles. At this time it won’t happen but definitely in the future with 3rd parties.

 

LIRR and NY&A freight routes is what I chose. I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to anything else though. The logical choice is to expand on what would already be established and extend the NEC but as stated before, Cactus and his team are planning around that.

 

I hope DTG takes that into account, is that when they release the tools Cactus is gonna make the route, thus allowing them to do something else like the LIRR or Metro North.

 

New Haven & Philadelphia

but ideally 2 routes: Washington - New York and New York - Boston

 

Thats why i think LIRR and the Hudson should be the expansions.

 

Maybe that’s the plan and DTG knows that their will be a 3rd party route and they just started it off for them and the future for the routes that they’ll make like the LIRR.

 

The cool thing is that in the future our infrastructure will improve, so imagine riding the Avelia Liberty in Train Sim World?

 

Since the end points on this route are so off, I say extend it to either New Haven's Cedar Hill Yard with the entire New Haven Line to New York's Grand Central Terminal and New Canaan Branch Line and have Metro-North trains included in that extension. Or extend it to Philadelphia with the Princeton Branch Line and the line to Hoboken Terminal from Kearny and have New Jersey Transit trains included in that extension.

I believe the Hudson Line or any Long Island Railroad route could be fine as a standalone route in Train Sim World and therefore have more time and money focused on making them complete and not half-baked.

 

I just hope that they won't take incredibly long to expand upon this route. It maybe nearly the same length as other routes, but like it starts and ends really abrupt. Those two end points aren't fitting to begin or end an introduction to TSW, of the NEC. Should've started at NY Penn and ended further into either NJ, or somewhere further north of New Rochelle. This would allow for some decent Amtrak operationa via the ACS-64. It kind of makes sense in having it setup for future expansions but that brings me back to my first point. How long before we get the next expansion, knowing that their are 3 other DLCs must be worked on before that? It'll be nearly 3/4s of a year, before we get see any expansion to the NEC. I'm assuming based on the patterns of release.

 

Absolutely. The MN Hudson Line or LIRR would be really well received amidst the US Train Sim fanbase.

Pretty much. I agree with the entirety of your statement because I, and a couple others, have said something similar in other posts. Hopefully, it won't be that long but, we need more information on DTG's part. We have no choice but to wait and see, or receive the general and common responses from them, sadly.

 

Not even half baked, just a whole mess of things! I think that the next act of DTG is to make an LIRR route when they decide to return back to the USA after their cycle of releases because it makes a ton of sense since the main portion of release is the NY area and Penn is a huge step towards creating an LIRR route. I also believe that they know that Cactus is releasing the FULL Northeast Corridor when editor tools come out, so hopefully they’ll prioritize elsewhere like the LIRR or Hudson line.

 

I’d also like to see the Harlem line in that poll because that’s another route I’d love to see! I know the Hudson line is far more popular but maybe we can get the Harlem line after the Hudson line, thus completing the third rail district of Metro North for TSW.

 

Added the Harlem Line in, thanks for the suggestion. Any other routes anyone think I should add?

 

No problem, I feel the Harlem is the “forgotten” route from Metro North and nobody really knows about it. I don’t really have much preference between Hudson and Harlem but I do like Metro North’s electric operations more then the diesel operations (bc of those awesome M7’s) and the Harlem line has a longer route for the M7’s then the Hudson. It also has grade crossings on the electric portion and the Hudson line doesn’t allowing me to use my horn more then I would on the Hudson, and it has more variety with service, like local GCT-North White Plains or express form GCT-NWP and then local to Southeast, while the Hudson line is normally local from GCT-Croton Harmon except on peak hrs. All are good though and I’d love to see the LIRR and Metro North very much!

 

Yeah they said the same about the UK route, they make it short to addon later.....it doesnt look that way to me, they make it short and push it out to make money and work on a different DLC instead of perfecting one.
The UK and german DLC still have around 20% of passengers than they do in real life and still no hard plans to expand or improve certain core features......missing the trick with the realism.

 

It takes time for them to make these extensions. GWE was released in September, so there hasn't been enough time for DTG to extend the route yet.

 

Yes but Jay has outright said that more content is coming for this route. I don’t remember him confirming anything more for the other routes but we know more is coming for NEC NY.

 

6months down the line and still no improvements? It just seems so rushed to me and no feedback.....its alright asking for feedback from us but why not answer us? Id like to know what the plans are.....as when there are many good suggestions from all aspects, and they say we'll take it on board then months later they bring out something different with no core updates to the game.....i.e....working platform signs.....bug fixes......correct passenger levels.....it seems yoir being ignored and the realism slips away.
I love TSW but only for the graphics...... trying to drive a train in the uk or germany on a passenger route i dont feel the realism, of a train pulling into a 'popular station' with around 4passengers getting on and the train still sits there for a whole minute to load with nothing happening even if your late? Or a HST service that lasts 30mins? Then this comes out and it will be short.....so frustrating you offer so much with one hand and take away with the other.

 

Well, they've gotta give a little something for everyone. You must not forget, this sim is still in its infancy, and DTG is still trying to find their groove with the new engine, maybe even finding ways to do things better, faster so that they can create content as fast as they are able to with TS.

 

I would love to see either the LIRR or the Hudson Line for the sim. I think it would appeal to a lot of users not only in the US but globally as well, especially with the beautiful scenery of the Hudson Line!

 

Your handle alone implies this.

 

I don’t see a reason for DTG to continue on the NEC because Brandon Phelan is making the NEC as third party as soon as route tools come out. I do hope DTG is aware of that and instead of them doing more NEC they do the LIRR or Metro North Hudson line. Time will tell and I think maybe one of the reason for DTG making the route in the NY area was for the purpose of continuing soon for the LIRR and Hudson line too because Amtrak uses Penn for the Hudson line whilst Metro North uses Grand Central Terminal as theirs (dying to see GCT in the sim!). I hope DTG continues doing MTA content because we only have the NYNH routes from TS and we are yet to see the third rail district (which is the biggest section) of the LIRR and MNRR.

 

rare_common_sense Dead give-away, lol.
Lawjester I totally agree with you. Hopefully DTG will add either the Hudson Line or LIRR (or both in due time) because I see that it's in really high demand. Personally, I'm attached to the Hudson Line more since me and my grandpa used to take trips along every rail line in the tri-state and the Hudson Line was our favorite of them all. It's really a beautiful route. Does anybody know on average how long it takes for DTG to build a route? I'm just curious about that since he applies a lot of detail in them.

 

Based on the patterns of release for TSW, ~ 3 months, in all, per DLC release. This is as of current, since the game is still being developed, on a multitude of levels. So usually, its 2 months and some change of work and like 2-3 weeks of advertising and teasing (the pre-order time period). This is for routes that are no longer than 30 to 35-ish miles in length.

As for the Hudson Line, I myself got family up in Newburgh, NY. Many times in a year, I'll take the Line up to visit them, taking a train from GCT to Beacon station. Its always nice to see that river almost always (when there aren't trees or tunnels blocking your view), all along the left side of the train heading northwards, towards Poughkeepsie. Especially, in the winter (after a few inches of snow has settled). Its breathtaking at times and absolutely beautiful. We most definitely need this route in TSW (and we need portions of the LIRR, too).

 

Well that’s why I now believe that the Hudson line will go to TS whilst the LIRR will go to TSW. The Hudson line is bigger then some of the LIRR branches and GCT is already done for TS. I believe we’ll get an LIRR route 30-40 miles (Long Beach Branch, Far Rockaway branch, Hempstead branch, etc) because that will fit the criteria of DTG and then we can get the full Hudson line to Poughkeepsie and not get it just to Croton. This way we can get a complete LIRR Branch and a complete Hudson line!

 

USRailFan007 Ah I see, thanks for that detailed description! So the DTG crew takes a trip to a route in real life in order to recreate it for game? And yea, the view of the river is nearly constant, and I have yet to travel along the line in snow, which is what I really want to experience!
Lawjester I haven't been up to par lately with TSW, but based on everything I read throughout the forum it seems that it would be best to add an electrified version of the LIRR to TSW. And I agree with you 100% by adding the Long Beach Branch or the Hempstead Branch. I suppose Ronkonkoma would be too lengthy to work with for TSW. If the Hudson Line was to be made, I would go for DTG to release it for the regular Train Sim rather than TSW.

 

Only thing is, that they'll leave the route in a weird place (Newark - New Rochelle, in the case of Amtrak based ops) for a much longer period of time, rather than expand upon it (assuming they do LIRR first). Since LIRR does not host any Amtrak operations, as we very well know, I believe it will possibly be withheld from coming to TSW by DTG, as the first expansion to the route. Especially, if they plan on introducing more NEC-based Amtrak related content; the Acela, AEM-7 and the HHP-8. I'm not saying LIRR won't have a chance in coming to TSW, but if they don't release those tools and allow community and third party devs to expand NEC, LIRR might get placed on the back burner, for the time being. Hudson Line won't be seen for a long while either (as is evident), if they choose to drop it in TSW, for the future. Either way, both routes are welcome to expand upon the already existing NY-NH DLC, back on TS 20xx, as many are okay with this potentially being a possibility. We most definitely want these lines to come sooner than later but, as repetitive as I get with this phrase, we'll have to wait to hear from the legend himself, TS-Jay.

 

Well since DTG favors Amtrak based stuff, I read an interesting article about a future plan to extend Acela into Long Island and up to Connecticut (via a new tunnel under the Long Island Sound). I can only imagine the amount of delays occurring though lol.
It would travel all the way to Ronkonkoma and up to Connecticut. Maybe that's partly why the LIRR decided to implement the third track project on the main line.

 

The reason for the third track project on the Main Line is definitely not because of this plan for the Acela, it’s because the main line runs the LIRR’s 3 biggest branches that run half hourly off peak and less then half hourly during peak hours causing tons of congestion and no room for reverse peak service. Additionally the LIRR uses third rail, while the Acela is only compatible with the cantenary system so if this project is gonna happen I’m putting my money into Amtrak installing third rail compatibility with the Avelia Liberty because the LIRR will not want Amtrak to install cantenary on their lines.


I’d honestly love to see the Ronkonkoma Branch in this sim, but since of all the work happening we couldn’t see a Ronkonkoma Branch until the double track is done after the Summer, so earliest we’ll see the Ron. Branch is probably in a year (assuming DTG will do the LIRR). Although that would be great, I’d prefer to see an LIRR route much sooner then that so it’ll have to be something else. We also must see the Hudson line of course, but I’ll honestly take either of these routes in TS if it means just getting a bigger route or a route less cut down, which is pretty much inevitable since TSW is still in its early stages.

 

Seems this thread took off without me. Can't deny that this weekend on base was especially hectic with the storm and all...

Precisely.

Yup!

DTG can do what they like, but they seem to have laid the groundwork. It may be a good idea to continue where DTG left off.

That'd be awfully generous. I think they genuinely wanted to make part of the NEC. If we continue making it, that is our business.

 

Lawjester I see, I didn't even think of the cantenary that Acela uses, must be quite a while for Amtrak and LIRR to pursue that project. The Ronkonkoma Branch is nice too, at this point any LIRR branch will do, along with the Hudson Line.

 

I would like the East Coast main line to be added with 91's

 

This thread was made for NEC NY area extensions only, your request is definitely important though but you should probably put that elsewhere in these forums, good luck!

 

I think it would be great to get the LIRR in TSW. Mostly want the Babylon-Montauk branches for a pretty lengthy and scenic route ! I posted on MN Hudson Line a few minutes ago and I think this would also be a really great addition for expanding the NEC New York . It would mean that DTG has to expand towards New Haven for both routes to link up at New Rochelle which someone above mentioned.

 

The Northeast Corridor has tons of potential for the future. I am hyped to give this DLC a run.

 

I’m hoping a Twitch stream will be soon! If I remember correctly, DTG normally does it a week or so before initial release, so we’ll probably be seeing something soon!

 

A live twitch stream would be nice. Hopefully, its not 100%, just about showcasing what to expect of the NEC - NEW YORK DLC; since we pretty much know what we're getting. Besides, they'll have a showcase video up, via steam and on the forums, by this Thursday, if I'm not mistaken. I hope that the twitch stream, at least, covers some of the other stuff we can expect coming to the game (and I don't mean a bug fix list since we'll be getting a list upon the new DLC's release date), in the proceeding month of March and possibly April. Heck, anything further than April would be awesome. Though, I know that I'm just engaging in wishful thinking q.q. Bottom line --- The more information we obtain, the merrier.

 

It's possible of a twitch stream for the new route to being released, they have done for all the others in TSW so far.

 

Wait so DTG ususally does a stream revealing a project that would come out soon? Since you guys are talking about it, is he potentially coming out with another release for train sim in the coming weeks?

 

I think we’ll be seeing something US soon on TS, because if you look at TS on SteamDB you’ll see they’re working on something and we’ve barely seen US content lately on TS that’s not Steam era so who knows. We also used this website to track the development of NEC NY add on coming soon. Jay also said earlier that they’re discussing something exciting for the MTA content earlier today, so hopefully we’ll get some better details soon.

 

Lawjester Ah ok, I'll check out the SteamDB, I have a good feeling about the next release being US related. And that's awesome to hear! Was it on another thread that Jay said that?

 

Yes sir and here it is,
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/long-island-railroad-network.3263/page-3#post-23649

 

I agree with what NEC_FanRailer said. Between New York and Philadelphia and then just ends doesn't make sense. What made them chose New Rochelle and Newark, we don't know. It would be nice to go from Washington to New York but I want t be able to run the ACS-64 properly

 

I would also like to see some New Jersey Transit and Septa in the route aswell so there is something else to do other than drive ACS-64 and GP38-2

 

Lawjester Nice! Now my mind is racing on what the "cool stuff" might be about lol. Sure good to hear that from Jay!