A quick question for those more knowledgeable about the Luzern to Sursee route, and the ETCS safety system implemented. As there are 3 levels, which level is most typically used? And under what circumstances does this change?
As a general rule you should always use the highest available level allowed by trackside equipment as they also provide the highest supervision, unless otherwise instructed by line or country operational rules. In case of trackside failures or trains failures (e.g: radio not working in level 2) you could use the lowest levels but only after allowed by signallers. Trackside is also able to order specific level transitions at some defined locations (e.g: border with other country/line or the starting points of the line). When going from a higher level to a lower one it usually requires a driver acknowledgment or brakes will be applied. So if you select a lower level but a higher one is available then trackside would normally command the transition at any of the defined transition locations. If you see balises nearby then most likely you are already inside a Level 1 area. In most cases depots and yards have no ETCS available until the transfer track to main line or their exit signal, so there either Level 0 or Level STM (if national ATP exists) can be possible. In many cases even station platforms don´t have ETCS. It´s also possible to start in Level 1 in those cases until you reach the exit signals. At the end this depends on the regulations mainly. There are no technical constraints in the system, so to speak. This is a basic guide for ETCS to understand when and where different features are used: Level 0 is used when there´s no ETCS equipment or it´s still being installed. In some countries this is also used in combination with a national ATP system, but the standard Level in the case of using national ATPs on ETCS lines would be Level STM. Level 0 only provides basic speed supervision (max train speed and temporary speed restrictions). The operating mode in this level is Unfitted (UN). Driver is responsible for safe train movements and signals are mandatory. Level STM has no ETCS equipment installed except balises for the level transtions at the ETCS-ATP borders. National ATP trackside systems are installed in this case where required. ETCS includes a max speed supervision only. The operating mode in this level is SN (STM national or national in short). Driver and national ATP are responsible for safe train movements and signals are normally mandatory. Level 1 provides continuous supervision but with semi-continuous signalling updates. Those updates are only available where balises are installed. Signals are mandatory and balises are located at signals and some meters ahead (infill balises). The main operating modes (there are some more for startup, degraded scenearios and failures) are: Staff Responsible (SR): used after start of mission until you get the first movement authorithy and used during override of stop signals or end of authority (via special override button). It supervises max SR speed and distance. Driver is still responsible for safe train movements. Full Supervision (FS): normal operating mode once you have a movement authority. There´s a continuous speed supervision (with a speed corona displayed in ETCS screen as in the LZB case). System is responsible for safe train movements. On Sight (OS): similar to FS in terms of speed supervision but still requiring driver responsibility for safe train movements (track ahead clear). It´s normally used to enter occupied tracks as train detection system is unable to determine where the rolling stock is located inside the occupied section. Shunting (SH): used to perform shunting movements with max SH speed supervision and limit of shunting areas (if balises are installed for that purpose). Post Trip (PT): special mode to allow moving backwards to a stop signal in case you overpassed and read it again once it´s clear. Overpassing a stop signal will trigger Trip (TR) mode first with an emergency brake application. Non-Leading (NL): special mode for tandem operation with two drivers in case traction/braking can´t be controlled by leading driver. Rear driver (with no visibility) would use this mode. This mode is barely used anywhere as isolating rear engine ETCS would be more practical, but it still exists anyway. Reversing (RV): special mode for fast reversing to scape from a fire on a tunnel or station up to a safe location still protected from following trains movements that are approaching yours. Level 2 provides continuous supervision and signalling updates via radio. The principles, operation and modes are similar to Level 1 case and signals are not mandatory in this level but many projects still include them to allow non-ETCS trains to use the line as well. Level 3 is similar to a CBTC and it´s also based on radio. There´s an hybrid Level 3 variant that includes virtual block sections inside the physical blocks (still using axle counters or track circuits) to improve headway. With regular Level 3 there´s no trackside equipment except some fixed balises for odometry updating and location. Trains create a virtual moving block around them as they move. In Level 3 there are no signals either. Some lines include Level 2 with Level 1 as a backup for instance. Others include Level 2 with a national ATP as backup. This depends on the project, country regulations and types of trains that will be using the line basically. Cheers
UPDATE: as far as I have seen automatic level transitions are apparently not implemented. So I would say you should always select Level 1 for gameplay or Level STM if you want to use the national ATP, at least in this route and for the time being. Level STM could be also used for platform to depot movements and viceversa or during shunting operations inside depot to still have some ATP protection. Level 0 in this is case would be used when you want to drive without using ETCS nor national ATP signalling (as if you were running with both ETCS and national ATP isolated). Cheers
What mode is actually the correct one to use on Luzern as well as Vorarlberg? Every time I try I get in the wrong mode and get speed limited when the actual speed limit is higher. How do I obtain if there are coronas on the route? What does this mean as search returns inappropriate results.
Level 1 is the correct one for operation under ETCS. With ETCS active you always need to follow cab signalling (the speedometer corona). In Level 1 you can be speed limited because of the braking curves. You may see that the block speed is higher in game´s track monitor but as soon as you have any braking curve active the permitted speed (the one shown on the cororna) can be lower than the block speed. That´s the expected behaviour of the system but there are still many bugs in game resulting in sudden speed reductions that shouldn´t happen, as the real system always uses the information from several blocks ahead to calculate the most restrictive speed profile and the braking curves in accordance to it. Cheers
What do you mean by coronas? Is this something represented by the transponder user interface or a trackside transponder unit?
the most commonly used level of ETCS on the Luzern to Sursee route, as well as on many other routes in Switzerland, is Level 2. Level 2 of ETCS allows for continuous train supervision and speed control by communicating with the train through a radio-based system. It provides information about speed limits, signals, and other safety-related data to the train's onboard equipment. The train driver receives this information and can take appropriate actions accordingly. geometry dash world
I abadoned Luzern Sursee as NoHud driver. In Tsw4 all the signal errors / bugs and wrong aspects are even more visible. Not gonna spend money on this Company any further. Begging for quality over and over? No thank you!
I am constantly getting stuck on Luzern because of other trains stopping across sections and getting stuck! I think it might be better if DTG find some alternative development partners instead, perhaps teaming up with developers in Japan might bring something better to TSW. There have been suggestions for more countries and there is plenty of variety there along with companies that are already familiar with train enthusiasts and train simulators, also another market for TSW considering how popular DDG was. For the UK market we have JT and I believe there is another new UK developer that has not been named yet along with DTG themselves, so we will not be without local content.
All they need to do is to use the same logic they have for LZB and add the ETCS release speed to it, which by the way it´s also implemented in game´s LZB to some extent thanks to the LZB release feature (exit from LZB areas to enter PZB areas). Both systems work in the same way: they supervise a continuous braking curve to a target speed and a target distance. Even the cab signalling indications are basically the same on driver´s display as ETCS principles were highly based on former LZB principles in real life. Cheers
Union workshop is creating their own Asian route. For reference, it took jt over a year to announce a route.
