Maintalbahn: The Most Underappreciated Route In Tsw History?

While we all have our own opinions of whether we judge a route DLC in TSW to be great, bad or average - and that's completely fair - there are some routes which I do think deserve recognition as I feel these are very underappreciated: enter Maintalbahn.



For context, when this route was first announced I wasn't too excited because single-track branch lines had never really appealed, whether because of their slow pace, lack of variety/rolling stock or a combination of both. However, Maintalbahn - while it does have flaws, whether from distant scenery to tight timetables which are near impossible to keep on-time etc - has its major strength thanks to its gameplay which keeps me interested in this route. Basically, I've never really understood why it always continues to be as bad as what some seem to think...



I'd argue from a gameplay perspective this 'smaller' route has an incredibly rich timetable (if you own all the relevant DLC, of course i.e. 628, 612, 363, G6 and now the 218/dosto all complementing the 642, plus not forgetting the extra AI traffic at Aschaffenburg such as the 146, 425, ICE 3, 185, 193 etc... So, with decent variety as well as a mix of fast/slow stopping patterns and, like Niddertalbahn, it being rather unique to most other German routes there's plenty of decent long-term gameplay. Name similar routes of such size which offer the same variety?



Plus, again, for a single-track branch-line it has decent 120km/h speed limits which is another positive. Finally, I've always enjoyed the challenge with Maintalbahn and PZB thanks to the many passing loops and thus many red signals means no service is boring with hardly ever any all-green-signal services.

Finally, a special mention for the 218 which is an absolute fantastic addition to Maintalbahn.



Just my opinion - and that's fair enough if you don't necessarily agree with me - but I enjoy Maintalbahn because of the reasons stated above and has certainly swayed my opinion on single-track branch lines to a positive. Plus, with many moaning that every route nowadays has an EMU, it's nice to see this diesel-only route - so who doesn't not like some good DMUs? So, please DTG, more diesel routes and loco DLC and I would like to see more Maintalbahn-style routes in the future.

 

This route got the reception it did because of some of the issues it had when it came out. The mixing of the 642 sounds weren't great. The route was also clearly rushed for immediate earnings. Poor trackside scenery, poor distant scenery, timetable issues reused assets, borderline lifeless environment amongst other issues.

The route was a good concept but had poor execution unfortunately.

 

How does the freight timetable look like there? It is currently for €14, but that still feels few euros more than I am willing to spend, based on their own preview.

 

The problem with this route for me is that it always spawns the wrong train. In journey mode I always get the tilting train and as it does not come with this route I always have the feeling this route still needs updates before it is time to actually play this route. I fired it up to see if the 218 loco would be worth purchasing for this route but I will wait for a fix.

 

I bought it in the sale and, while undoubtedly there are issues, not as bad as I thought. Still better than most Rivet routes. IMHO it got a lot of hate because of the 642 shortcomings which are still present and shameful DTG can’t get off their posteriors and fix the physics and sound, or instruct the associate who made it to do so. Fortunately it has been saved by the addition of the Class 218 to the timetable and thus far any Journey runs I made seem to be subbing in the 612.

 

It’s not so bad anymore. The 218 it great on it. But there are still a lot of things wrong that shouldn’t be. Every-time I see a car sink into the road, it breaks the immersion for me. There are places where the track and the road just look like they’ve been laid on top of the scenary with no attempt to blend them in. It’s still my worst non rivet route, but I don’t hate it. Just not very good in my opinion. If they were to tidy it up a bit, it could be a lot better.

 

Not much freight. If I'm not mistaken, there's only 13 363/G6 services between harbor and Aschaffenburg, plus two full route runs in the late evening.

And also you get one 363 scenario -- two hour long run picking up and dropping off wagons at industries along the route.

 

Porto area is symptomatic.
It seems to be in a post-atomic scenario.
There isn't a shred of life.
The route is unpresentable.
Furthermore, the port and station of Aschaffenburg had already been built before.
Built without passion, half-baked.
Horrible.

 

It’s not great, it’s not terrible; it’s just mediocre.

642 and scenery aren’t good for a tsw4 route. Timetable is pretty impossible to keep. Got red light bugs twice in like 6 services, which left me sour.

Redeeming qualities are that not every signal is clear, there’s service variety, and you can run a 218 on it.

Might be the most average route in tsw.

 

I’ve been waiting for this route to appear in a PS sale for a while now but so far it hasn’t. My interest in it is heightened by the inclusion of services for the 218, which I won’t buy until I have this route. Depending on how long I am waiting and if I decide the huge number of routes I already have aren’t satisfying me it may well just get bought at full price along with the 218. Feedback on the forum is always worth taking into consideration but I never take it as gospel that a route is as bad as made out here. I bought Fife Circle in the current sale and that isn’t as bad as it is made out to be by some. That route did have some improvements made after the negative feedback though. I was hoping to see this route’s current state in the preview for the 218 but a service in total darkness was chosen. DTG are poor salesmen sometimes. I’ll check out some ambassador videos before buying at full price just to make sure it’s worth it, or continue to wait for a sale. Always nice to see the positives of a route written about on the forum though.

 

I'd say it's a lot like Niddertalbahn. A small amount of freight, nice quiet branch line. I like it. Yes Nidder has better scenery, but Maintalbahn isn't "bad" in my view. It has "average" scenery in my opinion. The 218 does improve it a bit, but again most of that is not freight it's replacing passenger traffic.

One thing Nidder doesn't have is the port traffic and shunting that makes it feel like MSB (since they share the port between routes) so I guess it's a mix of MSB and Nidder. Again, it could be BETTER used but that's a DTG thing. They always develop WAY more route than they use in the scenarios/timetables for some reason.

Maintalbahn is a decent buy in my view.

 

What do you do with all those trains if 99 percent of the route is single track? Do you stand around in Aschaffenburg for hours to watch them go by? Personal answer: time wasted that could have been spent creating a more "inclusive" route. Wouldn't it have been better to improve the MSB by integrating it with the new single track route (maybe sell at full price or slightly increased) so as to give everyone their own game? By the way, there is also the little-used ICE1 that could have been used (not like AI only) between Aschaffenburg and (special stop because it doesn't pass through Gemunden) Lohr Am Main. Then it takes the ramp that leads to the high-speed line just before Gemunden. Wouldn't it have been better that way?

 

I think the word "mediocre" is indeed the best description for Maintalbahn.
The route is pretty straightforward, literally. A no-frills single-track diesel route like many others all across Germany. I got no problem with that, since I enjoy this kind of regional services the most. But definitely not much to do here for fans of fast trains or freight hauling.

The scenery is ok, albeit not stunning. It definitely feels half-baked and rushed, with bland assets at time, and many little issues which should have been noticed and corrected before publishing. A couple of timetable bugs or weird signal and PZB behaviour exist, but that's the case for most other routes too (which in itself is a little bit sad). Those bugs are espeically prevalent in the freight services with the 363 or G6.

One of the greatest selling points in the advertisement of Maintalbahn was the 642 DMU. Interestingly enough, of all the vehicles accessible on this route, this is the one I struggle with the most. The acceleration/braking lever is finicky and the acceleration overall is poor in my opinion, when compared to the original. For me it's much easier to stay on time with the 628, 612 or 218, which all sub into the route.

I'd say, if the route is on sale and you got either the 628, 612 and/or 218 already, you should give it a try. The 642 makes it more frustrating and tedious than it really is.

 

I agree on the freight, but with rare exceptions that's how most German maps are.
The 628 is a LOT better than the 642 for drivability.
I tend to think of this route as the "mediocre version of Niddertalbahn."
That route too is linear, but it doesn't feel as cramped since there is more variety and better scenery.
Agreed that it gets better if you have other DLC like Nidder or the 218 to add to it.

I can see how it could be added to the MSB, but I think we had this discussion in the "why can't routes be longer?" thread. They'd have to basically add the prices together and the download size would be a lot higher.

Then again, it'd still together only be about 56 miles of track, which is still reasonable and even if you add the prices together that's still only about $55.00 which isn't TOO bad (and the reuse of the port could put that a few bucks lower. So, it wouldn't be unreasonable.

 

Exactly my thoughts.

(btw cool to see an TOH fan here :3)

 

Indeed, that's one of my bigger issues about the route. I don't want to buy 1, 2 or 3 additional DLC's just to even be able to play properly, since the vehicle included in the route sucks.

Imagine this: You're new to TSW, your first German route is the Maintalbahn and you got barely any other DLC's. The 642 is your ONLY option for passenger service. Personally, that would leave a very bad first impression on me... And probably keep me from playing more, diving deeper and buying other DLC's.

Always! TOH 4ever

 

The route isnt bad, but the repetitive standard assets were criticized and the lack of polish.

There are long sections with missing km signs (maybe fixed now?).

But yes infact the timetable and freight/ passenger mix is rather impressive for this small route. Plenty of freeroam activities with all the tracks / yards. Good a.i service patterns to keep aschaffenburg busy.

 

Yeah, i kinda like it despite some real issues, and honestly it runs a lot better on my pc than Nidder does- i think it's all the dense foliage on the latter.

I can name several German routes i'd put it above, personally: H-L, KWG, and SKA i all find very boring for various reasons and i'd run Maintal above them any day.

The 218 really adds to the appeal imo.

 

Unlike Niddertalbahn, you can get up a bit of speed, particularly with the 218 though there were few locations where I could get to line speed of 120 km/h before having to break for the next station or restriction. It's a shame, which of course is entirely down to the prototype, there isn't a mix of stopping and semi fast services to break up the pattern a bit.

 

Mediocre route. The scenery is terrible, with empty areas even near the tracks! Many red light bugs (partially fixed now). Two level crossings don't work properly. The 642 has terrible acceleration, resulting in up to 3 minutes of delay/service. With other units (218) it's possible to contain the delay within a minute. Lack of freight traffic. The port area is embarrassing, remaining at TSW2020 level. Overall, I would give a 5/10. And I'm generous!
And this is coming from someone who loves secondary lines!

 

I like the route really much. It is a good contrast to the main line-style of other routes. The only thing I´ve ever complained about is that there is not a big diesel loco like the BR 218 which was really missing, but now we have one and I´m really happy about that

 

I played it when it was first released, but there some issues and I also got a crash or two. I don't think I've been back to it since, and I lost track of whether it was updated. But maybe it's time to give it another shot.

 

For me I found the only renewed interest in the Maintalbahn route was due to the excellent 218, and even then I have merely managed to run on it three times before re-shelving. I just find it like one of those old TSC quick-slap-together-routes; generally sloppy with poorly placed scenery and, well, overall kinda 'meh'. I have a pretty decent tolerance (ex., actually enjoying the MML while it was being review bombed to hell and back) but for me the two routes I find meh are Maintalbahn and, sadly, the Cornwall route. I am, however, glad there are players who enjoy those two routes. YMMV.

 

What do you consider is wrong with the physics on the 642? Cheers.

 

It's way slower than IRL

 

What he said. Has been criticised frequently for this and DTG or the developer who made it for them had done nothing to address the issue. More forgotten DLC unfortunately.

 

I like Maintalbahn, it is one of the most played route I have. In my opinion there is just few things needed to patch - missing "12" speed sign at Worth (am Main) station, low DMU power and tight timetable.

 

Im still in the believe that Maintalbahn wasn't meant to be released for TSW4 but way earlier.

Trackside foliage, vehicles on the roads, the laying of the Streets... All feels way more TSW2 than TSW4. Of course it was updated to Tod4 before release. Maybe some lineside fixes and it was good to go.

The scenery, especially further away from the track is super blend, at places empty and gives a quite underwhelming feel throughout.

The 642 was fixed which is good, but still weird that you get those rumbing brake sounds only on one bogie (the site where the BW Logo is attached) squeel noices are pretty weird aswell tbh. And the behaviour of the Gearbox also strange in some situations (pulling throttle to zero leaves the engine 'rev hanging' until you moved it up and down couple of times).

The Freight Services are nice. But nothing really special and imo not making the most of this route.

The Harbour Area is just poor, especially if you own MSB. What happend with the Turntable ? Its actually a great gameplay opportunity, but its broken on Maintalbahn...

Aschaffenburg Hbf Area was just sad to see. Especially if you consider that MSB had appropriate assets (like the Roundhouse and the Correct Signalbox). Where have they gone ? I cannot understand why you wouldn't use fitting assets that are available, but instead choose generic ones or just not implementing them at all.

Im not really sure 612 drove on these Routes ever, it seems odd to take a 160 kmh tilting train onto a single track mainline with max speed of 120 kmh. But that might have been a thing.

Missed opportunities also on the 363 and some freight wagons (which again indicates a earlier planned release)

Why wasn't the feedback and the definitely improved controls from TSGs 365 taken over ?

Why DTG did not use this opportunity to upgrade the Roost wagons to todays standard?


For me personally, Maintalbahn wasnt a good release at all. It feels like this route was meant to release earlier, then got behind probably because of schedule, and was digged out and quick polished to release.

29,99€ was a too big price tag for me aswell.