It's overhead lines only in that section. So only the 395 can go between St pancras and ebbsfleet in service mode. However you can put whatever you want on there using the scenario designer with off the rails enabled
DTG Can’t win can they? People clamouring for accuracy but when it is accurate, someone complains that there is no 3rd rail (even when someone explains to them how they can use other trains on the route).
I am not complaining, I asked for clarification. I am not a fan of high speed routes so wondered if commuter trains operated on the FULL route. As they don't I have decided not to buy it as my prefered traffic is commuter and freight. If that's ok with you
To be fair, as far as I can tell, there are only 3 stations on that section (st pancras, stratford, ebbsfleet) and the javelin seems to always stop at all 3 stations. So it wouldnt really be any different if you did take a normal commuter train on that section, just slower. After ebbsfleet the javelin service becomes more like a traditional commuter service stopping at a fair amount of stations. I understand the lack of appeal with high speed. I love the high speed trains, but even I tend to get a bit bored of lgv after a couple of runs, especially the end to end runs. However sehs has a much different feel to it. The longest stretch between two stations is about 16 miles (I think) between Stratford and ebbsfleet, which takes about ten minutes. The rest is fairly regular stops. A standard javelin run takes around an hour, and less than 20 minutes of that is at high speed. For example, a service I'm doing now, you leave St pancras at 11:27, arrive at ebbsfleet at 11:44, then have 7 stops, before your last stop at faversham at 12:30. The route has quite heavy traffic, especially in the Rochester area, and there is a nice variety of 375 services, a nice freight run with the class 66 if you have ecw (with hopefully more to come soon), and 4 rail tour services. Long story short, don't let your dislike of high speed put you off this route. I'm not saying you'll definitely like it, but it is definitely worth maybe checking out a few live streams or something
The ‘commuter’ trains operate over a fairly long portion of the route (about the length of a standard TSW route) and there are a lot of services. I plonked myself at Rochester this morning and watched as a lot of trains passed by. Very busy in that area. Plus the high speed bit adds an extra bit of excitement for the rest of the route. As explained in detail above, this route is good without even considering the fast bit. Those sections are over in a flash, an exciting start or end to a normal commuter service. Or you can just drive the 375.
It's getting a lot of flak for various reasons (some very much justified), but it is fast becoming one of my favourite routes despite its flaws. FYI the longest 375 service that I know of is from Gravesend to faversham and takes about 40 minutes. So about the same as the longest services on East coast way
I was going to wait for Canecreek but who knows how long that will be so watched 2 streams for SEHS and decided to bite the bullet and buy it after all. Only had time for tutorials and a Railtour as I already know how to operate a Class 37 from Tees Valley I did this so I could concentrate on the route and not controlling the new train but first impressions are favourable
Glad to hear it. I think you will really enjoy it if you prefer commuter services. It is more like a typical passenger route than a high speed one. And because it is quite a busy route, there is a high likelihood of getting adverse signals, even without including the level crossing signals. It definitely needs some more work done, and hopefully the team are on it, but it could definitely become one of my favourites. By the way, I think it looks awesome with autumn settings. The autumnal tree colours break up the endless green scenery a bit. A definite improvement in my eyes ;P