My proposal starts at Ashford International now that is being added to the game. It might be a bit too ambitious, but it does provide some variety as opposed to going to and from the same places all the time. Two rail operators would be involved with these routes, Southern via the Marsh Link and Southeastern to Dover and Margate. The rolling stock would include the Class 171, 377, 375, and 395. Times and calling points below per route are taken from the Southeastern Railways and National Rail Enquiries websites. 1. Ashford International - Dover Priory, 31 minutes - Westinghanger - Sandling - Folkestone West - Folkestone Central - Dover Priory 2. Ashford International - Margate, 46 minutes - Canterbury West - Ramsgate - Broadstairs - Margate 3. Ashford International - Eastbourne, 1 hour 18 minutes - Ham Street - Appledore - Rye - Winchelsea - Ore - Hastings - St Leonards Warrior Square - Bexhill - Collington - Cooden Beach - Normans Bay - Pevensey and Westham - Hampden Park - Eastbourne
Everyone seems obsessed with Marshlink... It runs local stoppers using 171s back and forth every hour. There's a very occasional freight move. East Kent would be better, but even then there's little going on bar passenger 3rd rail electrostar and javelin (both of which we have in spades) Maybe look outside of Network SouthEast?
I live in the Southeast, so I only post what I know and what I have been on. I won't post a suggestion for something I know nothing about or have never personally used.
I agree, english routes based in the south are getting very boring with the same old class 377 and third-rail. We need some routes which don't have any of what I just mentioned. People may like sehs, but that doesn't mean people want more southeastern routes. Most people would prefer more exciting things up north like the ECML or WCML, not southern rubbish. -1 for marshlink +1 for no southeastern rubbish
If you don't want southeastern rubbish there's ccl, sos, tvl, ntp, wsr or tsc. I don't particularly want Northern rubbish with miles of flickering ole. S happens!
All the Northern England routes in tsw are based in the 1950s or 1970s with no electrification at all. Like I said before, most people would now prefer routes which don't have third-rail like the west coast mainline and east coast mainline with lovely ole. No English route in tsw has ole for the full distance. there isn't ole on every single northern england railway.
Plenty of people wanted London - Ashford in-game. And you don't really get to dictate what people do/don't "need" (which in this community is a synonym for "want"). "You don't need a Northern England route" - them. "You don't need a Southeastern route" - you. Both making the same arguement, with the words swapped.
Wow, I didn't realize a route suggestion would create such a response LOL. People will make route suggestions on TSW that are personal and relatable to them, and do not conform to what the baying wolves of the community want to push. Hastings to Dover Priory via Ashford International is a special route for me and has a lot of significance to my own life. I have memories that are meaningful having travelled on it many times over the past 10 years, and the idea of being able to feel those again (albeit via virtual means) would be nice. It is of no concern to me whether others need/ want this route or not, in the end, that is up to DTG.
Well it actually is up to others. If you are the only one buying a route how is dtg making money? They aren’t they need the community to agree and like the route
I looked up ashford on the forums and yes they were a few london to ashford routes, I guess it is quite popular (btw I am not saying the southeastern routes are bad, I do enjoy them, just saying we need something different.)
That's fine, but it takes hundreds of man hours to make a route and locos to go on it, and if said route is basically a there and back with little differentiation then that wouldn't to me be good development value
The Kent mainline splits at Ashford so yeah there would be a load of trains and routes through Ashford to various points in Kent, all of them electrostar (with a very few networkers) other than the Marshlink which is diesel only
Eastbourne to Ashford may seem like a low hanging fruit given we already have Eastbourne (and now Ashford) in-game already and the Class 375, 377 and 395 for layers. The Class 171 would introduce turbostars and provide something a bit different (rural diesel as opposed to 3rd rail commuter). I much rather we got a turbostar with another route like Edinburgh to Dundee, but if given the option I would still happily purchase such route (especially as it completes East Coastway too).
