Overview: I was super excited when S-Bahn Vorarlberg was announced and released. And while I think it's a nice route, it ended up being pretty forgetful. I think the main reason for that is the fact that it's a little too short, and ends up feeling too linear. So here is my proposal on how the route could be extended, and potentially fix these issues. These will all be based on the Three Country Corner route in Train Sim Classic. Yellow: Original route Red: Swiss branch Purple: Liechtenstein branch Blue: St Anton extension Orange: S4 line Switzerland Branch: In TSW, the route stops right before the Swiss border. In real life, S-Bahn Vorarlberg services go past the river and terminate at St. Margrethen, which is less than 2 miles away. In the TSC route, the line continues to Rorschach. This would not only allow for playable freight services, but also S-Bahn St. Gallen S7 services, which continue to Bergenz on the pre-existing route. Lichtenstein Branch: Here is a branch line that is not included in either version of the route, but could theoretically be easily added, and feature yet another country. The S2 line on the S-Bahn Vorarlberg branches off from Feldkirch, passes through Lichtenstein, and ends at the station of Buchs SG in Switzerland. It’s a short branch, but not only would it add a little more service variety, but also add the novelty of having four different countries in one single route. Mountain Line to St. Anton: Going back to the TSC version, although the S-Bahn ends at Bludenz, the line continues into a much more unique mountain pass. This has always been my favorite segment in the TSC route, so I was pretty disappointed when I realized they didn’t include it in TSW. It quickly turns from a double track mainline to a steep, twisty, single track line; giving off a similar vibe to Mittenwaldbahn. Several intercity trains use this line, and it would add a lot more variety to the overall route. S4 Line to Schruns: Out of all the branches suggested, this one would probably be the least significant. But I still decided to add it to the suggestion as it would complete the entire S-Bahn Vorarlberg network. Despite being at the end of the line; heading southeast of Bludenz, it operates like a branch line. It’s a short 8 mile (13 kilometer) branch with half hourly services, featuring some pretty beautiful mountain valley scenery. Rolling Stock: Aside from the rolling stock already included in the original route, there are a couple candidates I have that could be either added alongside the extension, or as separate locomotive DLC’s. ÖBB 4748 They are a member of the Siemens Desiro family. They’ve become the main units for various Austrian S-Bahn networks, and would feel perfectly at home on this route. Nowadays they usually run alongside 4024’s on the same type of services. Some other variants of these units exist, such as the 4744, and 4746, but the 4748 are the ones used on the S-Bahn Vorarlberg. ÖBB 1144 The ÖBB 1144 is the former flagship locomotive of Austria. Although they’ve been mostly replaced by newer locomotives, they’re still commonly used on mountain routes. One of these is the line beyond Bludenz. They’re used with both freight and passenger trains, with passenger trains using double decker City Shuttle coaches. They’re also a common sight on Semmeringbahn, making them a suitable route to substitute on to. ÖBB Railjet Even though it's been suggested a billion times, it would still be a crime to not mention the Railjet. Hauled by the Siemens Taurus and a similar looking cab car, these trains are used just about everywhere on Austria’s rail network. Several of which run along this route, including the branch line through Lichtenstein. They could easily substitute onto several other pre-existing routes in game. Conclusion: The original route was 46 miles (74 kilometers) long. With all these extensions, this will bump it up to 93 miles (149 kilometers) long. This would nearly double the original length of the route; giving it the Leipzig - Dresden treatment. This would completely transform the feeling of the route into a sprawling, diverse mountain rail network.
personally, I would just extend it from Bludenz on the route where RailJets run, and introduce more Austrian rolling stock ... tho I think that RailJet should get proper introduction on sth more speedy, like Koralmbahn or new Westbahn (Vienna - St. Polten and further) - and for that we would need a reworked 1116 (as the one in the game has non-prototypical LZB/AFB exit procedure, for example) and the cab car (and new coaches... )
I always wonder if it would be best to focus on the flagship rolling stocks first when introducing a country, so there is a solid foundation from the start before adding the more lesser known stuff.
The Railjet wouldn’t have to exclusively be tied to this route. It could have scenarios for multiple, along with the obvious timetable layers.
RailJet is literally THE flagship of OBB... so any route that sees long-distance traffic would have it (tho in coming years RailJets will diversify - RailJet M will be Desiro/Mireo, then there will be the KISS 160 and 200 units for frequent stops RailJet services, and then Taurus/Vectron + cab car classic RailJets for true long-distance with few stops)... but as I said, it would require a near expert level of Taurus with most of stuff accurately (including LZB stuff)... and it would requite route with at least some proper 160 kph or highspeed sections and longer length (ideally Wien Hbf - St. Polten and at least up to Amstetten)
I mean, yeah, cos you can layer those the most - like Taurus and Desiros for OBB (or Vectron, if set in modern times where OBB is ordering massive quantities of those to succeed Taurus locos; and Mireos, those being the next gen Desiros pretty much), cos those you can use literally everywhere, except diesel routes (where you would use Hercules for loco hauled stuff and Desiro Classic or 5047 for really local lines)
