Earlier this year, not long after the release of the Tohoku High Speed Rail & Main Line, Twitter user CNAurora (one of the devs from Union Workshop, I believe) started posting WIP pics of their newest project. What we can see on their first post is some very early work in modelling a commuter EMU. Later on we also got pictures of the bogeys. A picture of the work in progress train, alongside their previously made 103 series. Also an animation and a close up of the pantograph. For a good while I wasn't sure which series it is exactly, as frankly their bodies can be quite similar, many of them share the same bogeys and pantographs. Multiple sets can also use these similarly looking bi-level coaches. But after a quick search the other day I have found this image, the schematics of the JR E233 series, and it seems to be the same image as seen behind the 3D models above in the first image. So with that I think it's safe to assume that they are working on an E233, with the addition of the bi-level coaches. And the most well known example of E233s with bi-level coaches would be the Tokaido Main Line, as far as I know. So I think we can expect something like this. Which section of the line, I wonder? But anyway I am happy that it looks like we are getting another well known commuter EMU with a proper commuter route - busier and less rural than Wakayama was. And the E233 is a widely used train across Japan, so in theory it will be great for potential reskins and reusability. Though I wonder what the performance will be like. Union Workshop's rolling stock is known to be a bit performance heavy even with just a few cars in the scene, so I wonder how they will handle 10+ car trains? Maybe they take care to make them more optimized and performance friendly. I will also look forward to seeing the quality of the route itself. Their recent releases, the Tadami Line and the Tohoku Line were longer than previous routes, but due to that they suffered in scenery quality. I hope they can go back to Wakayama, Forest Rail and Hidaka Line level of quality, even if it means shorter route length.
Most japanese commuter EMUs like this have a top speed between 100km/h and 120km/h. And most line track limits will usually be between 80km/h and 100km/h. So yeah, not really high speeds, but usually plenty of curves and elevation changes due to the crowded nature of Japan.
It's the Tohoku rather then the Tokaido They've shared some more screenshots which appear to show the Tohoku line around Oji and Akabane Passing under the Keihin-Tohoku line at Oji The bridges across the Awakawa between Akabane and Kawaguchi It's the same trains, as these are cross city services either using the Shonan-Shinjuku or Ueno Tokyo connectors - with some services starting from Ueno heading north) I suspect it will probably start at Ueno via Omiya to Takasaki or Uetsuomiya The Chuo Line E233 fleet is currently being lengthened with Bi-level cars but they are not yet in service
Ohh, nice! Have not seen these ones yet, as I only follow CNAurora on Twitter. I assume these were shared on Weibo? Anyway, so far it looks pretty good. Though I preferred their own, greener foilage from Forest Rail and Wakayama Line over the original Railworks foilage assets, but I do hope they make good use of them. Hopefully the scenery will be better than on the Tohoku Shinkansen route, that route was pretty weak in that regard. By the way, on Twitter they have also shared a few new WIP screenshots of the cars as well recently. Really looking forward to this route. I do have some concerns about the performance, knowing Union Workshop's high-poly models. But the recent announcement to core performance imrovements from DTG gives me hope.
Oooh this is intriguing. That looks more like a E233-1000 interior - the 3000 has LED displays vs LCD (I assume because they work with the older E231s so have a compatible next stop system)
I'm a bit late to the party, but I would have thought this as well. Remember on Tohoku Main Line that there is a path going west with stations planned out but nothing sceneried along the entire route? That's what they're building. They are upgrading the scenery and everything else on that route and adding that train. That is my guess.
Thats was the Tazawako Line west out of Morioka though, No? Pretty sure that line only sees 701's and the Akita Shinkansen. Pretty sure the E233's dont run anywhere near it.
Tazawako line is Standard Gauge and 20kV so won't see E233s (narrow gauge and 1500V DC) - the 701s that operate on it are a special build with Standard Gauge bogies. Northern Japan is AC electrification, with the majority of the south being 1500V DC The E233s are exclusive to the Tokyo Area. Most variants are Metro, but the 3000 variant (with Double Deck Green Cars) runs out to the edges of the DC Network to the North and as far as the JR Central boundary to the South
Well, it may still be the Tohoku Main Line, except the Tokyo area of it compared to the Morioka section we previously had.
It is the Tohuku route from the screen shots posted. First one is here - Oji - Google Maps and the second is here Google Maps
Possibly - I suspect it may just be to Ueno where a lot of Tohoku services terminate - but if it goes further that's a bonus
Also, since it's the busy Tokyo area, which often has many different lines running paralell, I do wonder if they plan on making AI rolling stock (at least reskins of the E233, if nothing more) to populate any other line we pass. My biggest feel if it will be deserted and how bad the performance will be - though the latter might be solved by core updates when TSC finally starts utilizing the CPU properly.
Well I may be reading too much into the Screenshots - but the Interior shown is that of the Metro variant of the E233 - so it's possible they are doing reskins - South of Omiya you can get away with E233 reskins as far as Tabata where the Yamanote Line (E235) joins and Nippori where the Joban Line (E531/E231) joins. If the route is just to Ueno - you can get away with that. Keihin-Tohoku which runs the local services south of Omiya uses the Metro version of the E233, as does the Saikyo line (visible around Akabane and Omiya) Also I don't know how audible this would be as the Driving trailers are unpowered, but the Outer Suburban E233s have a different traction system to the Metro E233s with a very distinctive and loud motor sound.
Checking the weibo account of T9Express there is also this work in progress screenshot of the route from december. It shows the Shinkansen E5 as well, so maybe it will be similar to the already exsisting Tohoku Main Line route and will feature both commuter EMU and Shinkansen?
If you mean the empty northern section of the Tohoku Main Line route we already have in the game, then this is not it. This new route will be a completely different area around Tokyo.
Yep, that's Akabane, on the Northern edge of Tokyo Metropolis - other side of the river is Saitama - the Shinkansen crosses from North to South of the Tohoku Line over the top of the station to pick up the Saikyo line route. Now this raises something, the Shinkansen parallels the Saikyo line from Akabane to Omiya - so will that be included? Shinkansen speed is 130km/h over this section with tight curves in the urban area - high speeds don't start until north of Omiya (Saikyo line was built at the same time as the Shinkansen as compensation to the Saitama neighbourhoods getting the line blasted through them - it then took over the Akabane line to link to Ikebukero and Shinjuku on the western Yamanote. ) Approx Screenshot location - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@35.7719357,139.7219309,2522a,35y,18.94h,1.01t/data=!3m1!1e3
Looks like they are trying to extend the shinkansen Line south to Tokyo from the existing endpoint although the missing section is going to be the underwater Seikan Tunnel if Extended North to Hakodate.
I highly doubt they are doing that. From Sendai to Tokyo it would be double the distance of the already pretty long Morioka - Sendai route.
I think it's more Regionals then Shinkansen Also the Seikan tunnel is mixed gauge which TS doesn't do
I'm honestly curious if UWS will include the E5 as part of the new route for AI purposes or just using it to show off the route teaser.....
Even if it won't be driveable, I assume they will at least include it as AI, now that it is on the screenshots.
Here's a video of Ueno-Omiya, which seems to be the only bit we can be certain the new route will contain.
On one of their social media pages they have stated that the route is going to be their most extensive one so far. So judging by what we know so far, I think it's possible that it will feature parts of multiple lines - I would bet it might be both Tokaido and and Tohoku lines. I mean for a good while they go alongside each other, so if you already need to include traffic on both as AI, then might as well make them driveable, considering they are pretty much the same rolling stock. Really looking forward to see which lines and in what extent they are reproducing. I just hope the bigge scale does not mean poorer quality, like their previous Tohoku Main Line route.
There's a massive amount of lines they could do with the E233. I started to make a map but gave up when I realised that E233s operate on most of JR East's Tokyo lines.
Yep Standard E233s run Chuo (Rapid) Kehin-Tohuku Shonan Services (Outer Suburban on the N/S axis) Keiyo Yokohama Line Saikyo Nambu There is also a Narrow Body variant that runs on the Joban (Local) - These are built to Tokyo Metro standards as they run through services onto the Chiyoda Metro line
Well the route has been finally officially announced, with it being the Keihin-Tohoku and Utsunomiya Lines! It's not clear if it is their full length or what sections exactly? And well, I am afraid what the performance will be with 10 car long trains, knowing Union Workshop's previous works... On their previous routes even just 2 diesel railcars in one screen killed the framerate. Hopefully they worked on their LODs to make it acceptable.
Wouldn't mind a resurrection of the hisatau line and tokyo-hakone lines from msts. Also the tracks in the screenshots I've seen look better than what was used on the hidaka line etc.
It would be great to see some Japanese freight trains too. All of the Japanese routes currently available by Union Workshop could of easily had freight trains added. I wished Union Workshop did an expansion to Sapporo from Tomakomai this would have allowed freight trains even from Tomakomai to Muroran.. Would also be cool if Union Workshop could build the Tokyo to Osaka rail line both HSR and the main line in full. "Thinking of a freight service from Tokyo to Osaka'
Not really? As far as I know, neither Wakayama Line, Hidaka Line or Tadami Line run any freight anymore, even if they used to in the past. Tohoku Main Line could have had freight, as they are still running on that line to this day. And maybe the Forest Rail route could have used some, considering the freight sidings and industries alongside the route. But I agree, it would be great to have japanese freight in Train Simulator.
so pumped for this route i been wanting a route in the heart of Tokyo for a long time for Train Sim Classic 100% showcasing this at launch on my you tube channel
I would like to see either freight or Loco Hauled Passenger services on Japanese Routes but that would be up to Union Workshop to make some locos and stock An EF66 would be great https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EF6649_Fuji_Hayabusa_20090312.jpg
I would at least like to see some Koki Flatcars and generic JRF containers modeled just to add some life to some of these empty yards on some of these routes.
Union Workshop have confirmed on Twitter that the route is Ueno-Omiya. This is 26km long, along the true distance is a bit longer as the Keihin-Tohoku and Utsunomiya lines diverge between Nippori and Oji. They have also confirmed that there is an AI-only E231-500 for the Yamanote Line.
Yeah, I have read that one as well, it is pretty cool. Looking forward to see it. As for the length, it sounds a bit short, but hopefully will be fun enough with all the stop and go action. And I will still prefer a short but well made route over something like their previous Tohoku Main Line was, which was pretty lengthy, but the scenery was very weak and the route had quite a few issues.
I think given the density, I can fully understand the shorter length. The Outer Suburbans would be a bit meh with just 3 stops, but the Kehin-Tohoku has a lot of stops in that distance. Plus the sheer service level would probably give the dispatcher an Aneurism. The 15 car Outer Suburbans run every 7.5 mins, and the Kehin-Tohoku is every 3-4mins. Add in the every 2 mins Yamanote south of Tabata too. Would I like to see it go further, yes but also aware that TS may not like the sheer number of services. Also interesting that there is an E231 - hopefully that will get rebuilt into the longer distance variant to give a bit more variety. Take a look at the Akabane webcam for an idea of how many trains run over this line
Makes sense. To be honest I don't have many Train Simulator routes, as I mainly focus on just the japanese content, so I don't have much experience with TS on busy routes, but I do know it does not like busy timetables. It tends to run out of memory and such, right? But the good news is, they said on Twitter that they tried to make it more performance friendly this time. Hopefully it shows and the route won't be a complete slideshow.
Something I'd probably also add is even if this is short, it's probably a good building block for the future. Having both metro and outer suburban variants of E233*, and an AI E231-500 opens up future routes. For example the E231s from the Yamanote moved to the Chuo-Sobu local service when the E235s replaced them - with some mods to the E233 to make it a 0 series** you've got most of the stock for the Chou line from Tokyo to Mitaka and beyond. * I notice in the screen shots that there are obvious differences between the Metro and Outer Suburban interiors and window layout. Hopefully they'll have the different motors too, not that you'd hear them in the unpowered driving car. **The First gen batch have a few minor differences to the later builds.
