I've been with Train Sim World since the early days of Reading–Paddington. The immersion was incredible, and I still regularly return to TSW. But I’ve always felt a lack of progress and purpose — especially having seen what’s become standard in the flight sim world. There, add-ons like OnAir Airline Manager have created entire economic ecosystems outside the game that give meaning to every flight, without requiring core sim changes. That’s the kind of thinking I want to bring to TSW's future: a lightweight but deep Career Mode that provides long-term progression, replayability, and even optional multiplayer — all without breaking what already works in the game. This post is a structured collection of ideas (thanks to ChatGPT for organizing my ramblings). My hope is that if DTG ever seriously considers Career Mode, this proposal becomes part of that conversation. Why Add a Career Mode? TSW loses many players once they’ve run their route a few times. A Career Mode would change that by introducing: Progression: Start small and grow into a rail industry powerhouse. Purpose: A reason for each journey beyond personal enjoyment. Playstyle Choice: Stay solo, build a company, or team up with friends. Optional Participation: It enhances, not replaces, the current TSW experience. Freelance Jobs or Company Building – You Choose The mode should offer two main playstyles: Freelance Driver You start without your own trains and simply take driving jobs for different regional or freight companies. It’s ideal for new or casual players — you get paid per job, grow your reputation, and build up money and XP over time. Company Owner Once you’ve saved enough (money + XP), you can start your own fictional rail company: Choose a name, logo, and custom livery. Buy or lease your first train. Recruit AI (or optionally real players) to drive for you. Expand: build a fleet, unlock route permissions, take on bigger contracts. It’s exactly like how MSFS 2024 and OnAir allow players to form freelancing routes or run full companies — all linked to progression and world demand. A Living Job Market At the heart of Career Mode is a persistent economy that constantly generates new job types: Station Demand & Dynamic Pricing Each station has changing passenger and freight needs. If a route is neglected, demand rises, and payouts increase — nudging players to serve underserved routes and keeping the world fresh. Popular routes may temporarily pay less. ⚠️ Urgent Jobs Examples: Extra commuter services for a football match. Emergency freight delivery (e.g., medical supplies, grain). Congestion from storms, requiring re-routed trains or special relief services. These come with higher risk or deadlines but offer high payouts — which keeps gameplay spicy. Specialised Cargo and Licensing Carry hazardous materials? You’ll need a “HazMat Certification,” earned through a test or XP. Want to run high-speed passenger services? Pass a Class 395 or ICE3 driver exam. Skill-based progression like this adds depth without forcing everyone to play the same way. Job Board UI A dynamic interface shows: Available contracts based on where your current train is. Distance, cargo/passenger needs, time windows, required license, and payout. You could filter by region, job type, or distance. The key is jobs should be local — avoid the "mission spawns 3,000 miles away" problem from MSFS 2024. Light Integration Through Free Roam Key Insight: Most of this can be achieved using Free Roam mode today. When you accept a job: The system spawns your train on a selected route. Your path is auto-routed into the live timetable. You drive the service just like any timetable mode train. Add-ons like OnAir do exactly this for flight sims — they don’t change the sim physics or core engine, they just provide world context + UI that gives every job meaning. Building a system like this for TSW could take the form of: A first-party Career menu built into TSW, or A third-party companion app (‘TrainSimWorld Careers’) that tracks your progress, spawns jobs, and syncs to TSW via a lightweight API. No route editor or bespoke engine required — just spawn, drive, earn, progress. Progression: From RustBucket to Rocket Train Use your earnings to: Upgrade wagons/consists. Buy faster or more capable locos. Unlock regional permits (e.g., Scotland, Bavaria, Northeast Corridor). Pass tests for advanced or specialised operations. Optional: Let AI drivers operate routes for you, even while offline — earning passive income but at reduced payout or with service risks. Ultimate goal ideas: Own 10+ locos. Complete 100 contracts across 5 countries. Run 500,000 passengers. Unlock all rail categories. “Multiplayer” – Without Sharing Tracks TSW shouldn’t need real-time multiplayer trains. Instead, Career Mode can simulate indirect multiplayer: Shared world economy that reacts to everyone’s activity. Global leaderboards (Top Companies, Most Miles Driven, Best Safety Rating, etc.). Optional shared company rosters: you can hire/bring friends for co-op driving of your contracts and share income. No trains crashing, no griefing — all syncs through the shared economics, not shared tracks. What About Performance? The economy runs on a server, not in your game engine. All the sim needs are tiny updates like: “Player completed Contract #24891” “Spawn this consist here on load” “Deduct £1,200 maintenance cost” Even with 1,000 players active, it’s lightweight — this is a proven model from OnAir and similar overlays. Final Thoughts Career Mode is a natural next step for TSW. It builds replayability, competition, and progression by leveraging systems we already have (Free Roam, timetables, train spawns) with a low-impact overlay. This isn’t asking DTG to build a tycoon game — just to give real meaning to our journeys and maybe open doors for community-driven growth. Thanks for reading — I’d love your thoughts, feedback, and improvements on this concept! Let’s make Train Sim World not just a sim — but a career.
Interesting idea. The main issue being that in the real world, the driver has no direct influence or penalty on the financial performance of the company. Yes in the case of the UK you have the Delay Attribution system with money changing hands between Network Rail and the TOC’s/FOC’s in both directions. But even a delay caused by driver error would not be costed to the individual. The driver might end up with a disciplinary hearing and lose pay through a suspension or similar but would not be liable for the £20 a minute for the 3000 minute incident that he just caused!
