The Cologne - Frankfurt High Speed Line (or SFS Köln - Frankfurt) would be a route of the same length as Kassel - Würzburg, but one with a lot more options than that has. Of course, Köln Hbf and Frankfurt (Main) Hbf both feature in TSW, with Köln being in the SFS Köln - Aachen route, and Frankfurt on the brand-new Kinzigtalbahn: Frankfurt - Fulda route. Both routes feature ICE units front and centre, with the ICE3M and ICE-T, respectively. The route would run for around 180km, with 18 stations. The Route We'll start from Köln. Naturally, the ironic Hbf, towered over by the Cathedral, will be the starting point. This route goes the opposite direction from SKA, heading across the Hohenzollern Bridge to Köln Messe-Deutz. Messe-Deutz is a significant interchange station, with it's lower platforms taking ICE services, to avoid the Hbf's bottleneck. Virtually everything running to the Hbf across the river will stop here, though. Moving south, you have the S-Bahn section, with the following stations: Köln Trimbornstraße Köln Frankfurterstraße Köln Airport-businesspark Köln Steinstraße Köln-Bonn Airport Porz (Rhein) Spich Troisdorf Siegburg/Bonn The Airport and Frankfurterstraße are on a loop, seperate from the mainline. ICE services also make use of this. After Siegburg/Bonn, the route opens up, with the next stop 63km away, at Montabaur. 20km from there, you reach Limburg Süd, after which there is a 59km run to Frankfurt Airport. Following Frankfurt, the High-Speed Line ends, and trains re-enter the local lines, specifically the Frankfurt - Mannheim and Main railways. The route, on this section, runs through Frankfurt (Main) Stadion and Frankfurt-Niederrad, before ending up at Frankfurt Hbf. In total, the route contains 17 stations, primarily in the north. S-Bahn Rhein Ruhr As mentioned previously, the S-Bahn Rhein Ruhr is featured between Köln Hbf and Siegburg/Bonn. The lines featured are also the lines on the Köln - Aachen route so, as a bonus, route hopping makes the entirety of S13 playable from Düren/Aachen to Troisdorf, as well as a significant part of S12 and S19. Edited S-Bahn RR map, showing this route's S-Bahn lines. Also shown (faded) are the Köln - Aachen S-Bahn lines. Trains Let's get to the important stuff - the trains. The Köln - Frankfurt SFS is limited in it's rolling stock, as it's grades of up to 4% are only achievable by the newer (3/4) generations of ICE Stock. We already have the ICE3 and ICE3M, however, so we'll go with Option B. ICE Included: ICE 4 The ICE4 is the newest generation (although new ICE3s have been built since) of Intercity Express train in Germany. Entering service in 2017, these units are split between three variants: 412.2 | 7-Cars | 37 Trainsets 412.0 | 12-Cars | 50 Trainsets 412.4 | 13-Cars | 50 Trainsets So, overall, there are 137 ICE4s. Why this? Well, naturally, this new route's new rolling stock has to be an ICE, so why not go with something new, that isn't an ICE3. Included: ICE 3 On that note, I think the ICE 3 should be included anyway, for the sake of variety, especially as the majority of the route is solely ICE. Regional Included: DB BR 442 'Talent 2' The Talent 2 operates a number of services in the Köln area of the line, including the RE9 service, which also runs to Aachen from Köln. Layer: BR 146 + Dostos (Kinzigtalbahn) The BR146 + Dostos can also be found in the Köln area and, of course, the Frankfurt area. Layer: BR 425 (HRR / BRO) The BR 425 also operates a number of services along the ends of this route. S-Bahn Layer: BR 423 (New Journeys S-Bahn Köln) Making use of this DLC (the best of the New Journeys pack, in my opinion), the Köln 423 can be used on the S-Bahn services in and around Köln. Layer: BR 423 (Kinzigtalbahn) Additionally, the Kinzigtalbahn S-Bahn Rhein-Main 423 can be used here. AI Basically everything that layers onto, or is included in, Kinzigtalbahn for Frankfurt, and everything from Köln-Aachen (423 Timetable) Services This is the fun part. There's a lot of services to unpack here... ICE Obviously, being a high-speed line between the biggest station in Germany, and one of Europe's biggest urban regions, there's going to be plenty of ICEs running here. Frankfurt Airport and Limburg Süd are also the only two stations in Germany which are only served by long-distance trains, so, heavy on the ICE. The following lines would be featured: ICE 2, 4, 20, 22, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 49, 78 and 79. Rather than explain that, here's a diagram of them, showing stopping patterns. Regional RE 6 - Köln - Köln/Bonn Airport Rhein-Weser-Express Direct - occasionally stops at Messe-Deutz DB Talent 2 (placeholder) RE 8 - Köln - Troisdorf Rhein-Erft-Express Calls at Messe/Deutz, Porz, Troisdorf DB Talent 2 (placeholder) RE 9 - Köln - Siegburg/Bonn Rhein-Sieg-Express Calls at Messe/Deutz, Porz, Troisdorf, Siegburg/Bonn Double Talent 2 or 146 + Dostos RB27 - Köln - Troisdorf Calls at Messe/Deutz, Köln/Bonn Airport, Troisdorf 1/2 BR 425 units S-Bahn (Köln) S12 - (Düren-) Köln - Siegburg/Bonn (-Hennef (Sieg)) S13 - (Horrem-) Köln - Troisdorf S19 - (Horrem-) Köln - Siegburg/Bonn (-Hennef (Sieg)), via Köln/Bonn Airport S-Bahn (Frankfurt) S7 - (Riedstadt-Goddelau-) Frankfurt Stadion - Frankfurt Hbf Conclusion It's a long high-speed route, but with speeds of 300km for the majority of the line (at least the high-speed section), it will feel relatively fast. Conflicting sources from a Google search suggest the route is anywhere from an hour to two hours in duration, which I guess could also depend on which route it takes at Köln, where it stops, etc. I think, being a High-Speed Line of much the same length as KWG, it offers a much more compelling experience than that does, with an S-Bahn/Regional option in the north, a short S-Bahn shuttle in Frankfurt (as a bonus, i guess), and a variety of stopping patterns and end points. The ICE 4 would take another big step in the ICE Fleet and, alongside the returning ICE3, would make sure the route is busy for the most part. With Frankfurt Hbf in the game at last, and the challenge of making that come to life now done - perhaps, it's time to connect the North with the South, to create what I, personally, think could be the best ICE Route possible (at this moment) in TSW. The S-Bahn, using route hopping, would offer a complete run from Horrem to Köln to Troisdorf, with the majority/core of the other two lines also available. Likewise, ICE 79 also benefit from this, with those running along the SKA route, before continuing past Köln Hbf to Frankfurt. At the end of the day, I just think that, as far as mega-project high-speed routes go, this may well be the one that has the most to offer to TSW.
I'm currently on my first trip to Germany and I'm based in Frankfurt. I have been going to Köln Messe/Deutz from Frankfurt using this high-speed line two round trips now and the first time (which also was my first ever ICE-ride) one of my first thoughts were: We need this route in TSW! It would fit TSW 5 very well with Köln Hbf and Frankfurt Hbf already being made and route-hopping options on both ends. I'm not sure about if any ICE-trains go from Frankfurt Hbf to Köln Hbf directly, but anyhow, just complete the short strip from Köln Messe/Deutz to Köln Hbf and there you have a bunch of S-bahn and regional services! I would also love to see the BR462 along with this. I don't see any reason why this should not be made.
This is one of the most detailed, well written suggestions I've seen in awhile. Excellent write-up, and I agree that this would make an excellent DLC!
Excellent idea, would instantly purchase this for double the price (please don't take that literally DTG) No idea why we don't have it already, it's like the most requested route since 2020 out there...
Hope you're enjoying Germany, it's an amazing country. My first (definitely not last) trip to Germany came back in June and I also (at the time, oblivious) travelled along this line. (As well as HMA, Linke Rhinestrecke and MSB) and I think it'd be quite nice to see it again, digitally. It'd also be a much more fun ICE offering than KWG is, or the shorter SKA/HMA routes. Frankfurt-Fulda is a bit better, but I think the cool tilting plays into that. This would be a much more varied route, with different stopping patterns and end points basically playing into a variety overload. That and, with the S-Bahn/Regional at Köln - which links with SKA - it would function as an S-Bahn route for anyone not interested in the ICEs. As far as high-speed routes go, this is definitely the 'most TSW' I can think of.
Edit: I just wanted to say that I'm NOT going to buy TSW5 unless we get this route, I mean TSW6 is coming in less than a year anyways, right? Also, I had an amazing trip to Germany and I'm on my way home to Sweden now, definitely going back to Germany again. At least those nice Swedish trains are waiting for me. While talking about Sweden, when do we get a Swedish route with the famous tilting X2000 EMU and the Rc6 locomotive with it's respective wagons?
Would the ICE 2 be good for this route. Ive heard its highly requested. Other than that, this route would be great for a core route
I would love this route and I have the feeling we are going to see this route either as the final German route on TSW5 or as one of the opening routes of TSW6
The ICE 2 (and the ICE 1) don't run this route if I'm not mistaken. But I would love to see the ICE 2 in the game and they better get the sounds for it right!
Even though I love The ICE 2, IT never ran there. No ICE except the ICE 3 Variants (Not ICE T) and ICE 4. why? Because of the gradient and tilt of tracks.
This Route must create for TSW - with the Route Hopping you can Drive the ICE FFM - Bruxelles Midi… oh My god i want this Route so Long…
I can absolutely mimic this. While Kassel-Würzburg is cool it is really fixed on two services: Kassel-Fulda-Würzburg (and back) and Kassel-Fulda(-Frankfurt). As such Köln-Frankfurt offers much more variety… plus it creates a huge route hopping network and crucially the hubs are already modelled… DTG if you see this: Especially with the TSW 5 features this route is almost a no brainer
The missing link between Köln-Aachen and Kinzigtalbahn Frankfurt Am Main to Fulda. Must be made to the game with ICE 3M DB BR407/408s and can layer to French LGV DLC as a Frankfurt Am Main to MRS train and Kaiserslautern route as Frankfurt Am Main Hbf to Paris Est service.
Unfortunately the TGV we have in game is not interoperable and cannot run on German 15 kV 16⅔ Hz electrification, so having it on the route would be a stretch of reality.
Yes and no… yes it would work on German rails because the TGV can run on 15kV 16.7 Hz but it lacks the German safety systems. Similar to the stupid mistake in Mannheim-Kaiserslautern: They use the ICE 3M but not the 3 MF as it should have been. So we have a train running services to Paris but it doesn‘t have TVM or KVB… had they made that effort I would have straight up bought the route despite there being no real new train because it would actually work on both German lines and LGV (and HS1 as a fun fact). They will do the same LOVE with the TGV from Marseille-Avignon: They will enable it to run on German electricity standards but they will not include the PZB/LZB extensions that exist in the 2N2 EMUs
The version of the TGV Duplex we have is the first series, it does not have 15kV~ electrification equipment installed, not just safety systems. Even the Réseau Duplex only had 3kV= added, not 15kV~. The TGV Duplex being used on MKN is fully inaccurate, and is only bring used because it *looks* right externally. Edit: Symbols
I would love to see this route; it has so much variety and is based on my hometown (Köln)! It is so highly requested that it is only a matter of time before it is released.
I think we should all agree that, based on Train Sim World 5 or perhaps Train Sim World 6 with better graphics features, now is the right time to include this route, since the level of detail would make it so nice! TSW would then be the first simulator to include this great route.
Well here we are back after the announcement of S-Bahn Frankfurt. I guess it's time for some changes: The included rolling stock shouldn't change (maybe a Velaro instead of the ICE 4 because it's a 300km/h line but generally one new ICE unit). The layers in the region of Frankfurt for driveable services should be the (Expert) BR 101 and the upcoming BR 430 (or 423 but the 430 services most of the lines in this area, in fact as of now the 423 services none of the line S7-S9). At the northern end the layers are unchanged. Now the big one is to think about adding the highspeed link to Wiesbaden Hbf for more variety given the station will be modelled for the S-Bahn route. That would make the length of the entire route add up (roughly) as following: Köln Hbf - Frankfurt Hbf: 183km, Airport loop Köln: 13 km Highspeed link Breckenheim - Wiesbaden Hbf: 13 km Total: ~210 km (Kassel Würzburg is 187km)
Maybe then we could spent another about 6km and continue S-Bahn services from Siegburg to Hennef, where many services terminate and have a fitting end for those trains.
This route has potential for many ICEs we don't have. I honestly would love to see the ICE 3 Neo, because I love the new sound and the new interior
Yeah, I definetly agree! Maybe also include the branch towards the Südbrücke in Cologne, reaching Köln Süd and Köln West, what would be great for Cargo Services going to Aachen
If DTG could work on this route, why shouldn't we, as a community, decide what we want to see in the route and what future features could be included? This way, we could directly collaborate with DTG, discussing our wishes and achieving something everyone will be happy with.
