Hi everyone, I'm a train enthusiast from Melbourne, Australia. I think the Frankston suburban line fits DTG's rush hour theme, so read on and find out why! Route Overview: The Frankston line is the 3rd longest line in Melbourne's metropolitan area. The line is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, and the line spans 42.7 kilometres (26.5mi). It runs from the monumental city station, Flinders Street, out to its terminus of seaside Frankston via historic South Yarra Station and the bustling Caulfield Station. The line features a unique stopping pattern, featuring express running services and stopping all services. During the peak hours, trains run every 5 - 10 minutes and in the off-peak they run every 10 - 20 minutes (depending on the day of the week). Services run from 4:00 AM to 11:30 PM, with 24 hour service on Friday and Saturday nights. Flinders Street Station is the busiest station on the network, and serves all commuter rail lines on the network. Because of this, the station gives an excellent rush hour feel during the day, with tight scheduling leading to trains arriving and departing almost every three minutes. For an idea of how busy it is, during the 2017 / 18 fiscal year, the station saw an average of 77,153 daily entries. The station is also served by 11 tram routes which are a part of the largest tram network in the world. Rollingstock & Station Styles: The Frankston line boasts a variety of station styles, including the older MATH (Malvern, Armadale, Toorak, Hawksburn) style stations, and the new trench / skyrail stations. All of the MATH stations date from the 1880s, featuring a single island platform and two side platforms with a total of four platform edges. The stations feature a pedestrian overpass, providing access to the island platform and have ornate red brick buildings on the island platform. The trench and skyrail style stations are apart of the level crossing removal project currently being undertaken across the network to improve safety and open new public spaces. The trench and skyrail stations are new and modern and feature upgraded facilities, they are all also made to have step-free access to the platforms and concourse. The Frankston line has three types of rollingstock operating on it: the Comeng, Siemens Nexas, and X'Trapolis 100 units. Comeng: Siemens Nexas: X'Trapolis 100: Scenery: The line features interesting scenery including Flinders Street Station, the iconic MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), the sprawling Yarra river, Caulfield Racecourse, and seaside views from skyrail sections of the line. Safety Systems: The Frankston line uses TPWS, and has an automatic block style signalling system. Future Expansion for DLCs: DTG could create a DLC for the Stony Point line, where players could drive the passenger service and freight route to the steel mill. This DLC would include the V/Line Sprinter unit and the VL Class loco + wagons for the freight aspect of it. In conclusion, the Frankston line would make a great addition to TSW5, and in my opinion, checks all the boxes!
