Here is an insane route suggestion/speculation for the upcoming German route on the roadmap The Route Correct me if i’m wrong, but the already existing Köln - Aachen route, and the Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr route are one of the most popular german routes in the game, so an extension/upgrade to these two routes would naturally make sense, right? This is why I am suggesting.. Aachen Hbf - Bochum Hbf via Köln, Düsseldorf & Essen This route would essentially merge two already existing routes, with the new track being Köln - Duisburg via Düsseldorf, (the following stats have been taken from chatgpt, so there is a high chance they are wrong), which is approximately 60km of new track with 28 new stations that would need to be modelled.This would be the piece of the puzzle that connects the Köln - Aachen route, with the Duisburg - Bochum route. Not only would this create an insanely long route with so much to do, but it would allow a TOD4 and timetable upgrade for two very liked routes. The Trains If this route were to come to TSW5, the main new train would likely be the RRX Desiro HC, which is a main train operating in this region. There is also a chance for FLIXTRAIN to make an appearance here, reusing the Vectron as the main loco and adding new coaches (and this does correspond to a certain leak, however I will not discuss this further to respect DTGs wishes). Any Evidence? Not really, however the Köln - Aachen timetable upgrade that was announced all the way back in TSW4s announce last year has gone completely radio silent, which could perhaps be a slight hint. But other than that, this is complete speculation. Will this happen? Most likely no, however it is definitely a possibility imo. Let me know what you guys think of this suggestion and whether it could be a potential upcoming german route!
I mentioned this in another thread just yesterday. Rhein - Ruhr Hauptstrecke is hands down one of my favourite German routes with the mix available and the rush hour feel to it. Frankly, I do believe the route is need of a refresh and agree with your suggestion - as long as they include some of the ICE services aswell to really add to the mix. If anything, would be a better rush hour DLC then Dresden - Riesa was imo.
I think it's certainly possible a remastered and extended route from the Rhein Ruhr area could be on the cards as the "big" TSW5 or route bundle release. The train that cannot be named for another 12 days does kind of point to that.
